The good, bad and the downright ugly
I MUST admit that I’m sick to the back teeth of the English Premier League (and I’m not a Liverpool supporter, honest!).
In truth I haven’t sat down and watched a full 90 minutes for quite some time, finding highlights packages, or even just the bare goals, enough to quench my easily satisfied thirst for top-flight football.
With the way games are spread out, there’s just too much of it on and rather than watching another two teams go through the motions, I’m more inclined to turn to Netflix to while away an hour or two for a much-needed break from reality.
I shouldn’t be complaining because a little less than a year ago we didn’t even have sport to guide us through uncertain days, but it gets to a saturation point where there is too much of a good thing.
That said, calling the EPL a good thing is overselling it somewhat as it’s becoming increasingly obvious that football without crowds is a pretty cold and soulless affair.
That’s why I was so grateful for other sports over the weekend, in particular the European Indoor Athletics Championships beaming into our living rooms from Torun in Poland.
Irish athletes may have drawn a blank in terms of medals, but the performance of Phil Healy got the nation to sit up and take notice as we dreamed of her taking a place on the podium.
With the Cork woman securing victory in both her 400m heat and semi-final it raised our hopes, and she certainly didn’t let anybody down in the final, running a personal best to finish in fourth, agonisingly just two-tenths of a second outside the medals.
Healy and her coach, Shane McCormack, should be immensely proud of her efforts and it certainly whets the appetite for the Tokyo Olympics, where she hopes to run in both the 200 and 400 metres.
There was plenty of love for Healy on social media, but sadly it can be the real cesspit of society and that viewpoint has been further hardened by a couple of episodes in the past week.
Twitter and the rest have their value when people reach out for good, but all too often it’s used as a tool to dole out nastiness and hate in the manner of an out of control slurry spreader.
First we had the Gordon Elliott saga, where all and sundry were weighing in, desperately grappling for their pound of flesh.
The furore may have been of the trainer’s own making as the disgusting image of him straddling a dead horse surfaced, but you wouldn’t see as much kicking a man when he’s down in a bar room brawl.
Of course, Elliott’s cause wasn’t helped by the sanctimonious claptrap from some in racing, virtue-signalling as they try to protect the image of their industry while the buzzards circle above.
I even heard one high-profile pundit claim that the Elliott photograph was the worst thing ever to happen in horse racing.
In fact, it’s not even the ugliest subject in the so-called sport of kings at present, as human rights issues surrounding leading owner Sheikh Mohammed hang over British racing like a dark, foreboding cloud before a deluge.
Also high-profile handlers have been found guilty of doping horses in the past, while former professional footballer turned trainer Mick Quinn was hit with a ban for neglect in 2001, blatantly worse than what Elliott has done.
There’s no denying that the disturbing photograph has been damaging for racing, leaving a sour taste due to the downright stupidity and thoughtlessness of the highly-decorated trainer, but sometimes you have to call time and say enough’s enough.
Some of the hate-filled bile thrown in his direction has been more sickening than the harrowing image itself, with self-appointed judge, jury and executioners giddily dropping the guillotine.
There’s many who believe that they have taken the moral high ground, but have shown themselves to be lower than an earthworm cowering for cover.
The other thing which stuck in my craw was the reaction of some to James Wade winning the UK Open Darts Championship, just because he doesn’t conform to what they’d like him to be.
‘The Machine’ will never be flashy or exuberant in his approach to the game, but he suffers from bipolar and ADHD, so his achievements should be applauded rather than swiped at.
Giving the benefit of doubt, there’s probably some who are not aware of his mental health struggles, but other smart-arses will simply double down and row in with more abuse even when the reality is pointed out to them.
Everybody has a right to voice their opinion, but we have to put an end to the ugly and vitriolic comments that are allowed without censure.
Unfortunately we’re dealing with more than one pandemic at the moment as abuse goes pretty much unchecked, but sadly there’s no hope of a vaccine for ignorance and stupidity being administered any time soon.