Federer and Nadal’s tears are a shining example of good sports

IHAVE an admission – I don’t know a lot about sport. The rules of rugby and the skill of soccer tactics are mostly lost on me. I don’t go gaga over GAA, nor do I lose my head over hockey.

I find when I do watch a game, I get carried away by the emotion of it all, even if I don’t have much clue what is going on. It’s impossible not to be affected by something that stirs the passions of so many, and has such complex connotations, socially, physically and emotionally.

I’m aware of the many things sport can teach us, such as fairness, team building, equality, discipline, inclusion, perseverance and respect. I know it has the power to bind us together, uniting people from different backgrounds, creeds and colours.

And of course, it also has the power to do the complete opposite, dividing opinion like no other form of entertainment, extreme fandom being a driver of violence as identities clash over issues that run deeper than the colours on their preferred team’s shirts.

Some blame hormones for the hotheadedness. What’s happening on the field or the court can affect a player’s or a fan’s cortisol and testosterone levels, depending on the outcome of the game. According to livescience.com, the clues about what’s happening to sports fans can be traced back to the ‘fight or flight’ survival mechanism.

‘So if you feel your heart begin to palpitate or your breaths are shallow and racing it’s likely that you are getting a little too far into the game and a little too far away from the pleasure,’ said Ken Yeager, associate professor of psychiatry at Ohio State University.

There’s a litany of examples of sport descending into violence, but some of the most recent shocking GAA brawls represent a depressing toxic trend. This is the antithesis of fun – what happens when competition turns ugly.

In fact, the appalling eye-gouging incident by Armagh’s Tiernan Kelly on Galway’s Damien Comer – which fans will say tarnished what would have been a great All-Ireland football quarter-final – was not about competition at all. It was quite simply, hateful.

Taoiseach Michael Martin said afterwards: ‘There is no room for that in any sport. When young people are watching their heroes on the football or soccer field, they don’t need to see this type of behaviour.’

He’s right. They don’t. Toxic masculinity seems perfectly at home on our pitches and fields and rings and locker rooms the world over. The lowly opinion of this fair-weather sports spectator is that we need a healthier version of masculinity.

So that’s why I was so taken by the scene of tennis legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, pictured above, sobbing next to one another last week. Here we have two sporting icons – and sworn enemies on the court – overcome with feeling, in a wholesome, edifying way.

In fact, their outpouring of heightened emotion at the conclusion of Federer’s last match, in which they played alongside each other, will go down as one of the most memorable moments in tennis history.

They’ve had countless battles over the years, but they clearly were able to compartmentalise any frustration, jealousy or rivalry, and channel that energy in a true sporting way.

They were arch-rivals, but they were also best friends. They shared a love of a game in which they were both gods, and they knew that each one’s incredible talent drove the other to achieve levels of excellence never seen before in the sport.

What showed through their tears and even a tentative hand-hold was mutual understanding, love and respect.

THE weeping represented something quite beautiful, and not often seen in this environment, and that’s vulnerability. It was impossible not to be touched by the image of two grown men, famous sporting backgrounds aside, openly expressing their gratitude for each other. There were life lessons there – namely that it’s okay for guys to shed ‘happy tears’ while the whole world watches. There is no shame in it. It’s something to be celebrated.

BBC presenter Dan Walker put it perfectly in his commentary: ‘This is officially too much. Sport is brilliant. Winning is amazing. Friendship is everything.’

For Federer, ‘it’s been the perfect journey’ that he’d do all over again. I wonder if some of our players of our national sport can say the same thing?

For too long, men have repressed and bottled their emotions, both good and bad. Federer and Nadal have shown it’s okay to show a softer side, and in doing so, they are modern role models for us all – not just sports fans.