George Orwell’s The Sporting Spirit, first published in Tribune in 1945, is a short study exposing the facade of sports tournaments conducted in Europe post the Second World War. It recounts the events during the Britain tour of Dynamo Moscow- the league champions of the Soviet Union, as the guests of the English Football Association. Their invitation by the British becomes a point of debate amongst the intellectuals who were concerned with the recently ended war where the two nations stood against each other. Orwell maintains a view, which he believes many would hesitate to advocate, that sport is “an unfailing cause of ill-will” and such invitations hold higher chances of severing the existing ties instead of mending them.
He elucidates his opinion by describing the news that was in print after two matches were played by the concerned teams. The players had entered into a physical spat witnessed by the audience. Adding to the frenzy were the claims surrounding the composition of the Arsenal team that in turn questioned the abrupt exit of Dynamos from their tour, contributing to another controversy.
By tracing the origin and development of sports activities from the Middle Ages to his contemporary era, Orwell deduces the rise of nationalism that colludes with the politics of the time to be the major force that leads athletes of a team to associate their win with the national win. The preoccupation with prestige, pride and maintaining a competitive edge was never a push for the players when the games were played before the war years. These activities used to be an expression of enthusiasm and zeal for life displayed through vigorous engagement by men.
Claiming international-level sports as ‘mimicking warfare’, Orwell doesn’t hesitate to bash the audience who, due to their social conditioning, presume that a few hours of playing with a ball can be the ultimate criteria to evaluate a player’s “national virtue”. He continues with examples from various sports, commencing from cricket which has become a game of “grace rather than strength” to football which is played distinctly by every country. However, Orwell considers boxing to be the worst of all. It is a sport involving physical aggression and injuries and the heightened unpleasantness when the match is between a white and a coloured boxer.
The obsession with sports is observed in countries that have recently achieved independence and where nationalistic sentiments are fairly fresh. By listing instances from India, Burma and Spain where the spectators defied rules, Orwell throws light on the participation of an uncontrolled audience in such tournaments that become a spectacle for animosity. The influence of such an audience attempt to mark upon the players by cheering and raining insults on the opposite team is evidence that sport is “war minus the shooting.” He further argues that instead of praising the Olympics for its effort to bring all the countries together on one platform to showcase their talent, it is far more necessary to dwell on the formation of the “modern cult of sports” that does not involve healthy competition anymore. Earlier, games were perceived as a “waste of time” but gradually they attracted heavy finances that invited crowds and like an “infection” spread to each country.
Towards the end of his unveiling critique, Orwell clears his standpoint of not accusing sports as a cause of international rivalry but as an “effect of the causes that produced nationalism” in the first place. He asserts the ill-fate of sending a national team to play with a rival team in their homeland promotes the feeling of shame one must experience on losing the match. By sarcastically suggesting to not follow up the Dynamos’ visit, Orwell reflects on the political, economical and social struggles that are still looming around which should hold a much more significant position than the potential troubles caused by the knocking of men amidst hundreds of onlookers.
The Sporting Spirit | Analysis
As a first-person narrative reflecting contemporary political and national issues, Orwell’s work blurs the demarcation of different genres of writing and thus is loosely placed under the category of an essay. His composition is a realistic piece that delineates events revolving around the radical tour of Britain by Dynamo Moscow; the Soviet champions post the Second World War. The work is premised on the uncovering of the “ill-will” that the writer believes is fuelled by sports events organised at international levels.
Orwell exposes the strategies meted out on the political front to mend relations with hostile countries, in this instance Britain’s Football Association inviting a team from a rival country. Such moves put the existing ties at stake and lure the possibility of backfiring due to the collusion of sports and nationalism. The tournaments which should be seen as a celebration of skill, unity and physical valour in a healthy environment are otherwise viewed as a spectacle of prestige when one country stands against the other. But if the concerned countries have a history of conflict, it transforms into a matter of national honour.
So this interlinking between glory and win has contributed to a dynamic understanding of sports which is now no more a friendly enterprise.
The principal role of media and spectators in the evolution of sports is highlighted by the author to reveal the power that freedom of speech bestows and the web of censorship it endures. After the war, people lost a sense of touch with reality and experienced an existential crisis. The only way to maintain their faith was to provide them with a key that led to an exploration of a substantial meaning in their lives. This key was the development of the nationalistic trait among the citizens. When one loses hope as an individual, he/she finds strength in unity. As a group, they believe to possess a purpose in their lives, in this case boosting the morale of team players of their own country to win against the opposition to avoid tarnishing the reputation and honour of the country.
It is a well-known belief that when a game is played, one has an equal chance of winning and losing. It is necessary to exhibit sportsmanship and healthy competition against opponents. But Orwell’s commentary is a powerful disclosure of the evading sporting spirit each player should harbour while engaged in a game. And it is not just the players who should have it but the supporting audience as well. A sport was meant to be enjoyed but now its value has reduced to the question of who’ll be taking the trophy back home because one’s honour is now inclined with his/her own country. This is a perfect example of personal becoming political because international-level sports “mimic warfare”. No one intends to lose and the players play against one another with a passion equivalent to an army’s when fighting a war.
It is fascinating to learn the essence sports now have in our lives and Orwell’s words could not be more relevant to our contemporary times. If we reflect on what happens in India while a cricket match is played with its rival nation Pakistan, it’s no less than a war. The entire country is hooked to their television screens with many superstitious people even praying to god for their win. To lose a match against their rival country is no less than a sin committed. If a player’s performance is not up to the mark, he is showered with insults and criticism, not due to his bad performance alone but his bad performance against that particular nation. The previous accolades that the player might have achieved lose their worth the second he loses his form in the match. This is the power of nationalism that is emphasized in Orwell’s work which he condemns. His conclusion hints at a country’s resources to attend to more pressing issues like unemployment, poverty, social infrastructure etc. that were some outcomes of the war instead of organising sports events and inviting enemy nations that might lead to controversies and more troubles.
