What was the greatest moment of Saturday night’s thrilling rugby test match where the Wallabies managed a tight victory over a magnificent French team? It’s hard to say. There were so many wonderful moments in a game that see-sawed from the first kick off. The most patriotically inclined might have experienced a moment of chicken-skin even prior to the kick-off as they watched … [Read more...]
Their sporting life – A journalist’s story
Last weekend, when driving around a sharp bend (that overlooks one of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful ocean views anywhere in the world), I remembered an incident that happened on that very spot over forty years earlier. On that day, my best mate demonstrated that he would not put up with bullying or bullshit from anyone. He bloody nearly got himself (and me) killed, but … [Read more...]
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 … [Read more...]
Never cheated in my life!
Cheat? Not me. My high school rugby coach thought that I was a terrible cheat. I went through an entire season of semi-serious high school rugby under the constant threat of being dropped from my team for my cheating ways. I was a rugby hooker. This was the seventies. Rugby scrums were different then. I was never a cheat. Well, not really. Even back then the … [Read more...]
Sport and the question of ethics
"Come on. Get over it. Move on. It's just a game!" Most sports lovers have, at some stage of their sporting lives, experienced what they perceived to be a significant sporting injustice and had their complaints answered with just such a response. But is it "just a game?" Do injustices within the sporting realm have the potential to do real damage to individuals and to … [Read more...]