When it comes to best Australian sporting photographs with a killer back story, this one is hard to beat. What a beautiful image of a champion surfer and his mate at the infamous Sunset Beach in Hawaii. Think it looks good now? Wait until you see what the editors at an American advertising agency did to it. Ouch. Click the pic and read the full story!
greatest photographs
Peter Norman Wins Silver! But that’s not all – Photo 3.
The third in the series of all-time greatest Australian sports photographs. The image of Peter Norman collecting his surprise (and Australian record) 200 m silver medal at the Mexico Olympics in 1968 is only part of the story. The role Norman played in helping his human rights activist fellow competitors make their protest is possibly even more significant.
The flags that united a nation – Cathy Freeman Gold! – Photo 2.
The second in the series of epic photos from Australian sporting history that have a killer back story. While all of Australia celebrated with Cathy Freeman when she won gold at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, her victories and celebrations in similar events some years earlier attracted almost as much criticism as they did praise. Find out how Freeman and her flags changed attitudes and united a nation.
The Cutback that Changed the World – Photo 1.
Socrates introduces his series of the greatest photos from Australian sporting history. The first image in the series shows Midget Farrelly’s cutback that changed the world. With this photograph… as with the other images in the series… the story goes much deeper than the photograph shows. Click the image to read Socrates’ explanation of how this frozen moment in time represents a critical shift in Australian sporting culture and performance.
Kahanamoku – Australia’s first surfer? Nah!
Was Duke Kahanamoku Australia’s first surfer? Tim Edwards looks at a possible alternative history of surfing around Sydney in the early twentieth century. Whatever the truth is, even one hundred years ago, celebrity counted more than truth!
right and wrong
When is cheating okay?
When Socrates found out that Rugby League legend Wally Lewis had pulled off an outrageous State of Origin scam without a soul even realizing, it occurred to him that sometimes pulling a swifty should be tolerated. Here Socrates explores the history of sport and tries to establish the circumstances under which a little bit of rule book stretching is okay. Click the pic and see if you agree with him.
Yarns – Facts and Fiction
Sharky morning at Wategos
After the early morning check around the surf spots, Socrates made what he thought was the wise decision to avoid the crowds at the Pass and to surf alone at Wategos instead. Ten minutes after entering the water he thought that he might have made one of the worst decisions of his life when a large dark fin came slicing through the surf straight towards him. “Shit! This doesn’t look good”, he thought. “I had a feeling it was a sharky day.”
The Cull
SHORT STORY – Raffe has a problem. As a less than talented God, he has been ear-marked for extinction. His one chance for survival is to beat the pantheon’s most talented junior Warrior Goddess at the Deity Elimination Tournament. Even his Dad doesn’t think that he has a chance. It’s not fair. He may be pretty useless as a God but he’s a decent enough bloke. But there’s nothing quite as useless as a God who hasn’t even got a wyrd. Read about Raffe’s fate. Click the pic.
style corner
Team Names on Sports Uniforms? Why?
Socrates has been playing and watching sport for decades and one of the (many) things that has mystified and annoyed him from a young age is the way that some teams (usually basketball teams) emblazon their uniforms with their team name in text. He doesn’t get it. And he worries about where this tradition might be heading!
Mysteries of Surfing
Soctrates has been around the surfing world (trying to surf) for yonks so he has picked up on bits and pieces of the culture. However, here he explains eight of the things that he has discovered in surfing that still mystify him. Anyone who can explain any of these enigmas please get in touch with him. Maybe if he could solve any of these mysteries he would feel more like a surfer.
research
ACL and the sports bra
Why are female athletes at greater risk of ACL injuries than their male counterparts? Biological differences? Biomechanical differences? Hormonal differences? Yeah. Probably all of these things play a significant part. However, recent research indicates that a key factor may be breast movement and that the choice of a good quality and well-fitted sports bra may make a significant difference for female athletes. Choice of bra a factor? Yup. Choice of bra! Sports people who choose to play braless or with little concern for bra choice might want to read this story. Click the pic!
Why are some sports addictive?
Why would a thirteen-year-old girl risk death or brain injury over her sport? Because she is addicted to bull riding. Why do surfers risk becoming derelicts? Because they are addicted to surfing. Some sports are so complex and so hard to master that they have an addictive and enchanting effect on their victims. Such sports can be disabling. Even the most highly respected legends of such sports openly acknowledge the toxic impact that their sport can have if the participant is not careful. Click the pic to get the story.
rugby and rugby leaguer
Billionaire proposes hybrid Rugby competition! – “Heart of Rugby”
“Billionaire announces that he is backing a new hybrid-rugby competition” – In an unlikely and unbelievable April Fool Day story that has been dropped a few weeks early Socrates reveals his fantasy about where the two rugby codes should be heading and why. But Socrates is no fool. He knows the kinds of people who run the footy business in Australia and the world, and he doesn’t really expect them to actually embrace something that is innovative and makes sense. In other worlds, he’s not holding his breath.
code switch rumours
Nathan’s Future – Will Cleary Jump Ships to The Super League?
Last week the NRL press got all excited about Nathan Cleary hinting that he might be up for a switch from his beloved Panthers to the Super League. Socrates is no expert on Nathan Cleary… and doesn’t have any inside info on the subject… but he reckons that such a switch is highly unlikely. Socrates posits a financially much more viable and much more exciting and challenging jump to the “dark side” as much more likely. After all, he thinks, Nathan is smart. Get the latest from Socrates news desk right here. Click on the pic and get the story.
Socrates thoughts…
So Easy To Make Hasty Judgements – Angel Reese vs Catilin Clark
Is the behavior of some elite athletes judged more harshly than others because of their make-up, their nails, their eyelashes, and their personal style? My own reaction to the most recent NCAA women’s basketball tournament final and the shenanigans of one LSU star player in the final moments of the game had me wondering. At the very least the public reaction to these few seconds of hard-core “trash-talking” should remind us that we should not make hasty judgements about individuals on flimsy information. Always consider the full context.
Greatest Cheats in history
Greatest cheats ever Contender No. 2 – 2000 Paralympic Spanish Intellectually Disabled Basketball Team
When it comes to ranking despicable acts of cheating in sports history the performance of the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Spanish Intellectually Disabled basketball team comes close to the top. Click the pic and get Socrates story here.
Greatest cheats ever Contender No. 1. Nero
Socrates kicks his series of the greatest cheats in sporting history off by examining the illustrious career of the “great” Roman Emperor Nero. Bet you didn’t know that the mighty Nero competed in the AD 67 Olympic Games in the Chariot racing event. Like some other politicians, he wasn’t unprepared to go to unusual lengths to achieve a positive outcome. Read about his extraordinary efforts here. Click on the pic. Stay tuned for more talented cheater stories.
expert gets it wrong
Nathan’s Future – Will Cleary Jump Ships to The Super League?
Last week the NRL press got all excited about Nathan Cleary hinting that he might be up for a switch from his beloved Panthers to the Super League. Socrates is no expert on Nathan Cleary… and doesn’t have any inside info on the subject… but he reckons that such a switch is highly unlikely. Socrates posits a financially much more viable and much more exciting and challenging jump to the “dark side” as much more likely. After all, he thinks, Nathan is smart. Get the latest from Socrates news desk right here. Click on the pic and get the story.
myths
Peter Norman Wins Silver! But that’s not all – Photo 3.
The third in the series of all-time greatest Australian sports photographs. The image of Peter Norman collecting his surprise (and Australian record) 200 m silver medal at the Mexico Olympics in 1968 is only part of the story. The role Norman played in helping his human rights activist fellow competitors make their protest is possibly even more significant.
coaching
Postecoglou coaching pointers
Celtic football coach Ange Postecoglou’s post League Cup interview avoided the normal “we knew we had to…”, “full credit to the boys…” and “we talked about blah blah blah during the week…” bollocks that is so common in post-match player and coach chats with the media. The coach actually revealed important insights into the way great coaches think and how they seek to get the best out of their players. Any coach aspiring to become a great coach, no matter what sport they teach should listen to this interview. Postecoglou is the real deal. There are few coaches better at getting the most out of their team.
Socrates and the cranky coach…
Socrates, the ancient well known busy body, grabs a forlorn famous sports coach when he is trying to enter the gym and pesters him about why he gets so upset with referees. The ensuing discussion tests the meaning of words like “cheating” and “rules” and asks whether a coach has a role in how his or her players should approach the rules of the game and the officials.
Best Model of Sports Leadership? King Henry V
What are the skills and qualities that enable a coach or captain/coach to lead their team to great victories against all odds? One of Australia’s greatest ever actors, John Bell, reckons that Shakespeare had this leadership business summed up pretty well with his character King Henry V. Henry crops up in a few of Shakespeare’s plays but, as a gun fighter and captain coach of a top-notch brawling army, he came into his own around the time of the Battle of Agincourt when his English troops gave the French army a good thrashing (much to the bookies surprise). Click the pic and get the full story here. What wins great battles and sports matches? Leadership or the technical skills of the boss?
Fashion – can good turn bad?
Toxic style
Surfing and cool sports styles have an odd thing in common. If you get too much of either of them, they become toxic! Addiction to surfing can damage health, careers and relationships! Addiction to a popular sports fashion may not be quite so physically or emotionally dangerous, but it can ruin your ability to project an original, modern and iconoclastic persona. Be careful with your sports styling. It’s unfortunate but some of the very finest examples of elegant design and thoughtful manufacturing can make the wearer look thoroughly mainstream! And toxic!
Are surfers sheep?
Where do you surf? What’s your primary source of information about where is the best place to choose to surf? Over several weeks I watched the surfing grape-vine drag punters from one surfing spot to the next according to what the latest “word” was telling them about where they needed to surf. It made me wonder whether many surfers were just happier being part of the mob than in actually surfing great waves. It wasn’t long before I discovered that more people suffer from the sheep syndrome than I originally imagined. It is a powerful disease.
Walking with Nietzche – John Kaag follows in the philosopher’s footsteps
While preparing a thesis on Friedrich Nietzche, philosopher John Kaag took at trip to the Swiss Alps to experience some of the places and pastimes that influenced the 19th century Swiss/German philosopher’s writing. While Nietzche didn’t specifically discuss his exploration of the high mountains in his work, the impact that the mountains had on his thinking became clear to Kaag has he emulated Nietzche’s hikes around Splugen and Piz Corvatsch. The significance and importance of suffering and the impact that walking has for humans in the way that it provides immediate physical benefit as well as liberates the mind and unleashes it’s potential for creativity were just some of the things made real to Kaag. The way that mountains enable humans to sense their own ephemeral nature also became clear. Take a walk with the young John Kaag and discover how important hiking, movement and mountains can be in the search for the understanding of human existence, knowledge and experience.
This excerpt from John Kaag’s book Hiking With Nietzche (Published 2018 – Farrar, Straus and Giroux) is reproduced with his permission.
To share John Kaag’s journey click on the pic… and discover how his search for Nietzche’s philosophy nearly cost him his life!
Sport changing lives
Billionaire proposes hybrid Rugby competition! – “Heart of Rugby”
“Billionaire announces that he is backing a new hybrid-rugby competition” – In an unlikely and unbelievable April Fool Day story that has been dropped a few weeks early Socrates reveals his fantasy about where the two rugby codes should be heading and why. But Socrates is no fool. He knows the kinds of people who run the footy business in Australia and the world, and he doesn’t really expect them to actually embrace something that is innovative and makes sense. In other worlds, he’s not holding his breath.
Sport made fun for all – Urban Rec
My son calls me on the phone. He’s desperate. “Can you play European Handball with my team at Urban Rec tonight?” he says. I didn’t know what Urban Rec was. I didn’t know what European Handball was either. But I found out. It was a blast. What’s the best mid-week thing you can do for fun, friendship and fitness without worrying that some jerk is going to take it all too seriously? Its probably Urban Rec. I talked to Australian Urban Rec founder, Madeleine Wilkie, to get the low down. Don’t miss this story… or you might be missing your sporting future.
How working with horses changes young lives
Most of us know that sport, exercise, and a whole range of other physical activities are great for mental health and provide positive relief from trauma. But physical activity with horses? Why horses? Could horses actually change the lives of young indigenous people (who have experienced extensive trauma in their young lives)? Professor Juli Coffin, who designed and runs an equine assisted learning programme (Yawardani Jan-ga) for troubled young folks between the ages of seven and twenty-six in Broome, Western Australia, is confident that the relationships that are formed between horses and programme participants are making a big difference.
reviews
Girls Can’t Surf – film review
The blokes said that the girls will never be able to surf as well as them. Did they have a point? Film makers Michaele Perske, Christopher Nelius and Julie Anne De Nuvo take a look at the early female surfers of the seventies and eighties and explore their lives and careers in their new documentary film, “Girls Can’t Surf”. Amazing characters from professional surfing history like Jodie Cooper, Pauline Menczer, Pam Burridge and Lisa Anderson describe the lousy treatment, horrible conditions and discrimination they experienced in the early days of women’s pro surfing. Check out Socrates’ review. Click the image and read on?
Road Test – Cameron Smith versus Tom Brady (Socrates looks under the hood of second hand athletes)
At their prime they were the best in their class… but twenty years down the track do they still perform? Do one, or the other, or both offer value for money into future years or does their advanced years and way too many kilometres on the clock mean that they should be avoided like the plague. Socrates test drives the 1983 model Storm hooker and the 1977 model Bucc quarterback, rates their present-day performance, and considers the likelihood of them providing a satisfying driving experience into the future. Is one a better buy than the other? Is one more likely to win future championships than the other? Don’t consider buying a Cameron Smith or a Tom Brady without having read Socrates’ road test comparison report first!
Philopher’s Cafe
Surfer philosophy – Let no wave be unridden, no flip-flop unworn!
Two surfers sat down to a post-surf coffee and the discussion turned to philosophy. While one lamented the ill-fortune he had been dealt in recent weeks the other pointed out that he needed to take a look at himself and learn some of the important philosophical lessons that the beach and the surf can offer. Click the pic and discover the critical life lessons… epistemological, ethical, metaphysical and logical… that one surfer offers the other that were hard won through a life of surfing.
newsdesk
So Easy To Make Hasty Judgements – Angel Reese vs Catilin Clark
Is the behavior of some elite athletes judged more harshly than others because of their make-up, their nails, their eyelashes, and their personal style? My own reaction to the most recent NCAA women’s basketball tournament final and the shenanigans of one LSU star player in the final moments of the game had me wondering. At the very least the public reaction to these few seconds of hard-core “trash-talking” should remind us that we should not make hasty judgements about individuals on flimsy information. Always consider the full context.
To smash or be skillful? Can good defense be coached or are accidents like the Latrell Mitchell and Joey Manu incident inevitable?
In a tough body contact sport are occasional horrible accidents inevitable? Possibly. But probably not with the frequency that many former elite players and expert analysts argue. Socrates believes that good coaching and hard work from highly skilled players can prevent many potentially dangerous tackles and that accepting the horror accidents as inevitable and high level skills as “uncoachable” sells athletes, professional sports and coaches short. Get the story here. Click the pic.
rugby test
When is cheating okay?
When Socrates found out that Rugby League legend Wally Lewis had pulled off an outrageous State of Origin scam without a soul even realizing, it occurred to him that sometimes pulling a swifty should be tolerated. Here Socrates explores the history of sport and tries to establish the circumstances under which a little bit of rule book stretching is okay. Click the pic and see if you agree with him.
COVID IMPACT
Team Names on Sports Uniforms? Why?
Socrates has been playing and watching sport for decades and one of the (many) things that has mystified and annoyed him from a young age is the way that some teams (usually basketball teams) emblazon their uniforms with their team name in text. He doesn’t get it. And he worries about where this tradition might be heading!
True story from the world of sport
Just six words…
Have you ever wished that you could meet and have a conversation with someone you idolize? What would you say to your idol to convince them to want to stay in the conversation? What would they say in response to your brilliant social skills? How would the conversation go? How would it leave you feeling? An Australian ex-professional athlete who had played with and against some of the greatest basketball talent that this country has ever seen (Andrew Gaze, Ricky Grace, Shane Heal, Phil Smythe) once, by chance, had a meeting with possibly the greatest and most famous professional sports person that has ever lived. The superstar he bumped into, in a New York elevator, just happened to be the Aussie basketballer’s idol. How did the meeting turn out? Click the pic and discover the six most memorable words in this Australian point guard’s life.
rugby league shock
Nathan’s Future – Will Cleary Jump Ships to The Super League?
Last week the NRL press got all excited about Nathan Cleary hinting that he might be up for a switch from his beloved Panthers to the Super League. Socrates is no expert on Nathan Cleary… and doesn’t have any inside info on the subject… but he reckons that such a switch is highly unlikely. Socrates posits a financially much more viable and much more exciting and challenging jump to the “dark side” as much more likely. After all, he thinks, Nathan is smart. Get the latest from Socrates news desk right here. Click on the pic and get the story.
learning about life through sport
Toxic style
Surfing and cool sports styles have an odd thing in common. If you get too much of either of them, they become toxic! Addiction to surfing can damage health, careers and relationships! Addiction to a popular sports fashion may not be quite so physically or emotionally dangerous, but it can ruin your ability to project an original, modern and iconoclastic persona. Be careful with your sports styling. It’s unfortunate but some of the very finest examples of elegant design and thoughtful manufacturing can make the wearer look thoroughly mainstream! And toxic!
Are surfers sheep?
Where do you surf? What’s your primary source of information about where is the best place to choose to surf? Over several weeks I watched the surfing grape-vine drag punters from one surfing spot to the next according to what the latest “word” was telling them about where they needed to surf. It made me wonder whether many surfers were just happier being part of the mob than in actually surfing great waves. It wasn’t long before I discovered that more people suffer from the sheep syndrome than I originally imagined. It is a powerful disease.
Waves of Pain
Teen’s toes attacked at Tallows Beach
The ocean never fails to surprise with its choices for methods of torture of its adherents… as Byron Bay young gun surfer, Jack, discovered a few years back. While Jack had his heart in his mouth when he turned up for his surf lesson to discover that the Ocean at Tallow Beach was in an angry mood, he would never have imagined, in a million years, that his session would end up as it did. Click the pic and read about Jack’s adventure and discover how weird the ocean can be when it gets grumpy.
The little surf that nearly ruined a promising career…
Imagine growing up around big waves, being addicted to surfing and then being transferred to a work place more well-known for its bears, forests and snow than surfing breaks. It can be a cruel world! Under such circumstances young folk would do almost anything for a surfing fix. Imagine yourself taking your “once in a blue moon chance” to get a wave and having that wave work you over so bad that it not only bloody nearly ruins your year but almost ruins your career. That’s what happenned to one young fella from Perth. Now that is a serious “Wave of Pain”. Usually, a day in the waves is bliss. Ocassionally it is hell. Read about one rare hell day here.
Philosopher’s Sports Bar
Surfer philosophy – Let no wave be unridden, no flip-flop unworn!
Two surfers sat down to a post-surf coffee and the discussion turned to philosophy. While one lamented the ill-fortune he had been dealt in recent weeks the other pointed out that he needed to take a look at himself and learn some of the important philosophical lessons that the beach and the surf can offer. Click the pic and discover the critical life lessons… epistemological, ethical, metaphysical and logical… that one surfer offers the other that were hard won through a life of surfing.
Sport 2021 – Sports philosopher No 2. Aaron Kearney
Multi-skilled and multi-award-winning sports presenter, sports expert, sociologist and philosopher, Aaron Kearney, joins Socrates in the philosopher’s sports bar to run through some of the changes that we might expect in our sporting lives when the dust from the Covid19 epidemic settles. Not only does Kearney describe a bunch of changes that are likely in the world of sport over the next twelve months but he has a bit of a wish list as well. Let’s knock the boring sports celebrities down a peg or two might be one of his hopes! Other than a democratization of the world of sports stardom there is not a lot of negative in the sporting world of 2021 that Kearney imagines. Check out his conversation with our beloved “Round Mound of Scrumming-Down” (Socrates) here. Just click on the pic.
melbourne cup
Research shows whipping horses doesn’t make them run faster, straighter, or safer — let’s cut it out
Like many others I have always viewed horse racing with ambivalence. Previous and current generations of my extended family have had strong equestrian links but, on the matter of horse racing, opinions of family members have been split down the middle for decades. Attitudes were so powerful and entrenched that it was strictly forbidden, at family gatherings, to mention to Aunty Betty and Uncle Dick that cousin Matt and Uncle Dave kept race horses. And so, as this recent Melbourne Cup came around, yet again, my feelings towards the event were mixed. I had immense admiration for the athlete horses and jockeys for the extraordinary and difficult sporting event that they were going to participate in but I had huge reservations about the potential cruelty of the race and the gambling, drinking and foolish outfit wearing (described by many as “fashion”) I found repulsive.
Anyway, the first Tuesday in November came and went and, yet again, the horror stories that came out of the event far outweighed the heart-warming and life-affirming stories. Another horse had died during the running… and yet another jockey was handed a punishment for excessive use of the whip. As the news unfolded about the running of the race, my former ambivalence was rapidly swinging towards opposition.
The next morning, I heard Sydney academic Paul McGreevy on the radio discussing the Melbourne Cup. In the course of the interview he raised an issue that surprised me and, I suspect, would surprise most people. He and his research colleagues compared the performance of horses competing in “hands and heels” races (races where whipping is not permitted) with performance of horses competing in traditional, whip-use-permitted, events. They discussed their findings in a report for “The Conversation.” Here it is. Click the picture above to get the story… and read on!
aphorisms, insights and wisdom… about fishing!
“You know when they have a fishing show on TV? They catch the fish and then let it go. They don’t want to eat the fish, they just want to make it late for something.”
Brilliant and unorthodox American comedian, Mitch Hedberg, who like so many other comic geniuses, died way too young.
Wisdom
“Rugby is a good occasion for keeping thirty bullies far from the centre of the city.”
Oscar Wilde
While I appreciate Oscar’s humour, I gotta say he is being a bit harsh. There are a few rugby players who are not bullies!
wisdom
“These are my new shoes. They’re good shoes. They won’t make you rich like me. They won’t make you rebound like me. They definitely won’t make you handsome like me. They’ll only make you have shoes like me.”
Who else but the incomparable Sir Charles “Round Mound of Rebound” Wade Barkley.
sports style – or lack of it
Seven deadly sins of sports sartorialism and style.
There are hundreds of fashion choices that look ridiculous, foolish, horrible and offensive in a sporting context but seven particular style choices brand the “sinner” almost beyond redemption. Socrates smugly sticks his massive nose in the air and points the finger of sartorial disgrace at the “sins” he finds most hideous.
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