EMOTION FOR VICTORY

Q

You have an interesting view on what inspires you watching Australian sportspeople compete. What is it?

A

There are a lot of sportspeople who have their own attributes in every way. I try to tell people that even with the Commonwealth Games coming up not to necessarily watch the results but watch the emotion in their faces when they cross the line and when they are competing, no matter what level. If they’re really into the game you can see the emotion that comes out on their face and how much that actually means to them.

Q

So it sort of relates to the size of the fight in the dog not the size of dog in the fight?

A

Watch the expressions on their face and how much it means to them. That’s what makes sports so special. Watch someone who has won and the reaction could be simply ‘cool, I’ve won’. It’s the person who drops to the ground crying whether they’ve won or lost, show that emo- tion and how much it actually means to them. That’s what we should cheer on. We can cheer for an Australian who wins a gold medal all the time, everybody’s going to jump on that bandwagon. But cheer for the Australian who gets fourth or who gets eighth. I do have one special memory and that is out men’s relay team smashing imitation guitars at Sydney to mock the Americans.