Bunch Of Amateurs. What was it that was the reason sport should stay amateur? Was it the glory of the game? Playing for all the right reasons untainted by mammon? I wonder since the dull old Olympics are coming up, which used to be the home of amateurism, and now – well – isn’t.
The Great British Rugby League Amateurs Lions team are a dying breed. Off they tootle on a goodwill tour of Australia and end up engendering anything but goodwill. Instead after a punch up, a few get sent home and they don’t have enough players to field against a Police XIII. The later is probably a good idea, considering that many of the players had been involved in illegal acts. Now I am not suggesting professionalism rules out this kind of behaviour. In reality professionals are often more lary and arrogant, and they have people to sort out this kind of problem (security before the fact, PR men after). But how amateur is a trip to Australia anyway. Its a jolly, a benefit. The reason amateur sport dies was that it had ceased being amateur for quite some time.