Britain’s War Against Competitive Sports
There was a time when Britain had a reputation for excelling in competitive sports. These days, however, the experience of children engaging in competitive sports comes with a health warning. Since the 1980s, many schools have drawn the conclusion that team sports are an outdated and psychologically risky masculine vice that should be heavily regulated if not banned altogether.
A bit of a problem for a nation that will host the Olympics in 2012; that is why Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that the nation needed to have more competitive sport at school. He stated that his government had begun to “correct the tragic mistake of reducing the competitive element in school.” Brown’s announcement is unlikely to undermine the powerful cultural crusade against children’s natural instinct to compete against one another. It is worth noting that back in 2000, a government minister, Chris Smith, promised to put competitive sport “back on its feet.” Three years later a member of the Cabinet, Charles Clarke, argued that it was “ridiculous” to ban competition on school sports days, and last year another minister, Alan Johnson, stated that it was “absurd and perverse political correctness” that led to the outlawing of this practice.
Unfortunately, the challenge of reversing this “tragic mistake” faces formidable obstacles. The ideals associated with a sporting ethos are bitterly opposed by a formidable army of educators, psychologists, and health professionals who contend that competition threatens the emotional well-being of children. They claim the spirit of competition sends the wrong signals since it undermines cooperative behavior. Apparently, children who fail to come in first suffer long-term trauma and their self-esteem risks becoming damaged for life.
Hmm… Revenge of the Nerds? No big deal, anyway. Brits have always been somewhat effete. Now it’s institutionalized. Wankers.
The most manly sport they have anyway is soccer. Compare that to American sports. Even baseball has intentional beaning with a 90+mph hardball, sliding into the basemen, skinning yourself sliding into the bases, and collisions at home plate. Basketball has lots of hard contact. And then there’s football, played by the big boys, leading to the term, “Welcome to the NFL, rookie!”
Britain is doomed.
This is what happens when society take seriously the utopian dreams of lefty intellectuals…
Britain, France, Germany, Spain etc., etc, are doomed but isn’t the U.S. about to take another step into the arms of the far-left intellectuals? Tag and other innocuous games are already banned in many public schools and Phys. Ed. has been replaced with social equality, gender equality, diversity and political correctness.
My son who is eleven just won a football game that sends his team to the championship. It was an amazing game and the culmination of five years of playing in which the team lost a vast majority of games and had some miserable seasons. At the end of the game the opposing squad had a minute and a half and the ball on the ten with first down and goal to go. The coaches son had just gone down with a neck injury stopping the winning touchdown from scoring. Our head coach was on the sidelines tending to his son and star player and could only crane his own neck to see the next four downs. Our eleven year dig their heals in against a team that had just driven 50 yards without much roblem to the threshold of the goal. Four downs later with 20 seconda left our team tackled their receiver on the five yard line after a reception and the game was over. There was jubilation on the sideline for a group of kids who had been counted out and told they had no busiuness being in the game. Our head coach have a year filled afte game talk while he kneeled beside his son who was not moving well. Fortunately his son is fine after spending some time going through diagnostics and will play in the championships. My son leaned more from gus five years in junior football than I could teach him with wordsin a million years. He knows how to stand together as a team and how to come out swinging when your back is against the wall. He is more of a man now a 11 than I am at 45. BTW he plays nose guard and on first ang goal with a minute to play he came busting through the line to stop a running play for a two yard loss. This forced the opponent to start throwing and won is the game.
Britain and Europe are an example of what happens when your best and most courageous of two to three generations are killed off and replaced by the slackers and timid mice who managed to stay at home during the World Wars. Never forget has become whistling past the graveyard.
My kids schools in the city of Chicago value participation over competition. They are training kids to value equality over freedom. There is a huge difference. You cannot have both.
While we each may have equal protection under the law-we aren’t equal because we are human. Everyone has strengths and limitations that we bring to the table.
Teaching kids not to value competition is training them to become socialists.
In American sports, someone (or some team) always wins and someone always loses. It’s all about the thrill of competition and the sacrifice and effort required to win. Socialist Europe’s sport is the idiotic (and extremely boring) game of soccer, where the fans rave of a match that ends 0-0. For decades soccer enthusiasts have tried to force our children to adopt and play that game, but in the end most American kids opt for the intense competition of football, baseball and basketball.
Soccer, the only sport where Venus de Milo could become a superstar.
RE Soccer being the roughest sport in GB – Ever play Rugby?
Cato, that was spot on. One can only hope abortion will, over time, even the genetics between the effete left and real men out. I guess if so, then even abortion has a silver lining.
When you turn over the culture to the university professors, sociologists, teacher’s unions, government employees, eurotrash, feminists, and child psycologists, you are on the fast track to being enslaved.
Say what you will about the Mexican illegals, at least they aren’t effete wimps, and they might just put enough spine in our collective manliness to get us over all the soft boomers who are going to run things for a while.
This is what you get for letting the left / socialist rule the country. These kids are going to turn into thin-skinned adults.
I have been coaching boy’s soccer for several years. Each season I have a number of children that I actually have to teach how to run. These aren’t 4 or 6 year-olds but 10 and 12 year-old boys that run like Maureen O’Hara walked.
I’d agree w. not publishing the results — honestly, who, aside from bookies, would care about the results of a child’s game, aside from his family and friends, who wouldn’t need to read the results in a paper.
Otherwise… Children are supposed to be educated to prepare them for the world — which includes learning that sometimes you lose, and you have to work to obtain goals. It also helps a child find out what he can do well at — there’s a nearly endless variety of sports/hobbies, etc, and nearly anyone can find something which they enjoy.
Aglifter – Publish the results. Recognition is part of your reward for all your sacrifice. It reinforces a mindset of achievement, and preps them for success in the future. It’s one of the huge advantages America has over the rest of the world: we are intensely competitive!
Look at Palin. She was known as a ferocious competitor and as fearless. Now, the Alaskan tundra is littered witht the bodies of political competitors. This is part of why she is so admireds by heartland America. They love a winner. The weak lefties hate her. They know an Alpha female when they see one.
I’m afraid this type of thing will happen in the U.S. if Obama is able to gain the white house. It’s quite a shame. There is nothing like American Football on a crisp fall day.
This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve read all day. Risk nothing, get nothing–this is how they want their children to grow up? OMG.
All three of my children were involved in competitive sports and the benefits FAR outweigh the drawbacks. I knew where my children were, who they were with. They learned hard work gets results. They learned discipline. They learned to win and lose with grace. Most of all, my children were not hanging out at the mall or on street corners doing drugs and drinking because they were kept busy doing something constructive. They learned that their bodies would work better for them if they took care of them so they did not abuse them the way so many kids do today.
I recently went to my neice’s gymnastic class, and on the wall it read, “The Joy of Winning Without the Fear of Losing.” My sister and I talked about that and agreed that there is no joy of winning without the fear of losing. She pulled her out and put her in a serious gym. She is now being pushed and really starting to improve and learn about hard work and determination.
Sure, it isn’t football, but even in something like gymnastics, the philosophy of the club is important.
OMGosh. I think I felt bad about not getting as good of grades as some of my classmates. Plus there were a lot below me that had to feel completely useless. Come on people, you are going down the tubes.
This coming from the most obese and unfit country in the world, the us of a?. and note that UK far outperformed the usa in the recent olympics when head of population is taken into account
look to your own, before criticising others
So much for winning wars on the playing fields of Eton. Not only Wellington but also his spirit has been buried.
While you can win or lose in other games (Chess, poker, and the like) I have to admit there’s a much more satisfying feeling coming from a physical win. Even in sports I dislike like Baseball it is honestly more fun and exciting to win by pushing yourself physically more than mentally.
chris – You felt bad about getting worse grades than someone else? It huwt yow widdow feewings?
Well, did it motivate you to do better at all? Don’t assume that those who did worse felt useless. Not everyone reacts like a loser. Some get motivated… whether by themselves or by some Dads whippin’ their kids’ backside.
Weenie.
Pez,
On a population basis, Jamaica scored 6 times the number of medals as the U.K.
Additionally, Australia, New Zealand, Bahrain and Belarus, which are ahead of the U.K in world obesity rankings did better in Olympic Medals per population than did the U.K.
One last thing, if team medals were counted as individual medals the U.S. would have no peer.
I don’t like oldest first or FIFO comment software.
Yahoo did away with the best system on planet a while back…
too bad, they are A DINOSAUR NOW…when i read an article and want to comment, I like to read the most current comments first because 1) the overall thread could be toooo many pages back buttoned (if a Jump to Message 1 is not implemented) 2) the most current generally refer to a previous and so on and is easy to follow (Again, if Threaded and messaged/comment numbered)
anyone else out ther thinking? and can’t stand the trap we are in due to lousy programmers ???
Because libs ( most these professions are lib since they live off the wages of others) …working environments where cooperation is necessary – i.e. the old myers Briggs E types touchy feelys and the ole How am I doing feedback every 10 minutes…. however in other professions where competition reigns these kids will not be prepared vry well…after all it’s still a pretty nasty world overall out there… isn’t it? Dictators/Strong men count has increased since WW2.
England is doomed. How does England pretend to win any more World Cup Soccer Cups if it ridicules competitive sports?
I tell you these Brits, what a sad joke. Once a great superpower, a mighty nation, reduced to a sad joke. If I were British I would be lining up to jump of the London Brigde.
Although, I will give it to them, their special forces units are very formidable. They stand up to our Delta Forces and other elite amred forces units. But I don’t expect this to last too long.
and has anyone been to Britian lately? All they care about is drinking and sex. I found it terribly disturbing that once work is done in England, all the British pubs are filled up to the max. I was actually shocked. hey, i enjoy my beer and drinks ,but this happened every day, seven days a week. It was a bit scary.
by the way, this type of nonsense has already infested many American schools, park districts, etc, etc, etc.
There are schools in New York, Chicago, San Francisco etc were no grades are given at all. Many park districts around the USA force parent volunteers who coach not to keep score. I know, i am one of these parent volunteers who coaches his 4 year old son’s soccer team.
It is not in mass scale as in Britain, but it is there.
My wife’s cousin majored in education here in Chicago. One of the things that they brainwashed her with is that you should not use red ink to correct homeworks, papers, exams, test, quizzes, etc and that you should avoid using a grading system that makes those that do poorly feel inferior.
This has even infected the armed forces. I was speaking with a father and son pair who both went into the Marines. The fater was shocked at how easy boot camp was on his son and let me tell you, his son’s story were not exactly a walk in the park.
Western nations are becoming nations of pathetic, cry baby whimps. We have become nations of fat cats and we are going to pay the price for this. WE are going to pay for it in blood, in wars, just wait and see.
CJ:
please do not knock British drinking culture. Oblivion drinking is one of the few things we do well. It helps us forget the soccer results.
the British can drink anyone under the table, except perhaps Russians and Finns. Those guys drink like somebody is going to take it away from them.
The USA is a land of piss-weak beer for adults who are not trusted with alcohol until they turn 21. Whilst you Americans are worry about your sexuality and whether school is competitive enough to prepare you for a tour of duty in Iraq, we’ll be in the pub having a laugh with our mates.
In Chicago, there is an establishment called Celtic Crossing. Many tourists from the UK and Ireland end up there after a day of sightseeing.
Skink, you are absolutely correct. These Brits, and in particular, the Scotts put any and all Yanks to shame. Long after their American couterparts have deserted the pub in drunken delirium, the Brits are still having a jolly good time.
I guess that’s some form of competition. Bad, bad, bad.
Drinking, swearing, fighting, darts and snooker are to be introduced into the 2012 London Olympics, and we are going to kick your arse
the five events will also be combined into a single “Modern English Pentathlon”, where one has to start drinking at lunchtime; complete a darts match; a frame of snooker; cop off with a barmaid; get punched by a bouncer; throw up on the pavement; and by midnight be sh*tfaced drunk and shouting random obscenities as passers-by.
bonus points will be awarded for artistic interpretation.
let’s see the bloody Chinese try and cheat at that one.
skink, I will grant you the drinking title. When I meet British men my age (42), I’m stunned at how broken-down, soft, and out of shape they are. I suppose that I would look that way if I had been drinking continuously for the last 25 years without a bit of exercise.
This is just another step in the long march through the institutions advocate by Marx. Europe continues to pacify itself and turn its men into effete metrosexuals who care more about their clothes than any manly pursuit. They are ripening themselves for their dhimmification. Their eventual Muslim overlords will find an easily subdued, easily converted, sheepish people waiting for them. Unfortunatley Sweden is far ahead of them and some elementary schools are now making young boys wear dresses to deconstruct gender differences. It’s on the Gates of Vienna blog which I can’t link to from work.
My daughter is only nine yet I push her every day to excel in school and everything else she does. When she gets a poor grade I tell her that the slackers working at McDonald’s likely got poor grades in school as well. I also tell her that government is the embodiment of evil and should be limited as envisioned by the Founders. Liberalism ultimately leads to conflict as those that are forced to play by the Liberals rules eventually rebel. One day, I pray, the masses of Europe will rebel against the oppressive enforcement of political correctness that can get them jailed for opposing the massive Islamic colonization of their countries they are being forced to accept by the EU elites.
Skink,
Well, I wouldn’t talk too much my friend. Britons haven’t been much on the world stage for a few decades. shoot, all you could do is bit up the Argentinians at the Falkan Islands and even that you almost lost for poor planning. Yes, once you got it together you destroyed the very poorly equipped and poorly trained Argentinian armed forces. But let us be real, that was taking candy from a child. But you guys barely pulled that off.
Sadly enough, you will not be having a laugh with your mates. You will be at the pubs regreting the lives that you have led. I have been to Britian and I will say it, Brits are shallow, uneducated, lack any knowledge of history and they have been indoctrinated to have such immense guilt for their past history.
I was truly shocked at how the Brits literally fill up ALL of their pubs seven days a week. I mean what type of life is that? They have given up on God and made alcohol their god.
England is, but a mere shadow of what it used to be. As the saying went, the Sun sets and rises in the English Empire. Today the sun barely shines on England.
and skink, soccer? Once again, England used to be a formidible soccer country. Today, you barely win international matches. I know that you guys were surprised when Barcelona demanded that you guys keep score when playing them.
I did see a lot of British players, like Rooney walk of the field crying when they were told that they were going to keep score.
and let us not get into the fact that England has been over run by Islamic terrorists and radicals that are slowly, but surely taking over your education system, your judicial system, etc, etc.
England, once a mighty empire, once a power to be feared, once a nation to be proud of is a sad joke, a truly sad joke.
Let’s not forget, the same mentality that is bringing Britain so low is also at play here in north America.
When you’ve got the likes of Ayers, Dohrn, and others attempting to subvert the US education system theres’ no basis for antyone here to adopt a condescending attitude towards Britain’s plight.
pez….you idiot
so gb won more metals in the olympics than the usa when population is taken into acct?? how about a better statistic?! the fact that if you take china’s count out of the olympics, that the atheletes TRAINED in the usa accounted for about 75% of the rest of ALL the medals. that includes all the brits that train here too. and it is never the reverse.
wanker!
oh dear,
you people really do take yourselves very seriously
Great Britain—GROW SOME BALLS!-you’ll need it to fend off your muslim problem.
KG2V–amen to that!
And would everybody quit bashing on soccer? Not only is it rougher than you might think, it’s a competitive, physically-involved sport where there are winners and losers–that’s what the article’s about anyhow…
Marc, I didn’t get my point across. I meant with the British attitude, I wonder how long it will be before we (they) do away with grades. It will hurt some feelings to compete and be judged.
Absolute Garbage! An article full of misinformation and, quite frankly, lies. How do I know? I live in Britain, England to be precise. My son is 10, attends an ordinary state run primary school and has been competing in competitive sports since he was 5. At school he plays various sports throughout the year – football (soccer), rugby, basketball, track and field etc. Outside of school, he plays for a local FA (Football Association) affiliated football club (and has done for 5 years). He also enjoys Judo and used to belong to a gym club. His annual school sports day features competitive races, and has done since he started at the school at the age of 5. My nephew attended the same school before him, and it is my own old school. Competitive sport has ALWAYS been a part of school life and always has been for children in the UK. Children (and any family) attending these school events are encouraged to cheer and support all the children for their effort as well as their achievements but at the end of the day, points are awarded for winning and an overall trophy is awarded. Local football league results ARE published in the local papers – leagues start at an Under 9 level. There is a movement here to restrict the amount of shouting and ‘support’ that spectators give when watching their children play sports, soccer in particular. This is nothing to do with the government or ‘nanny-state’ – it was instigated by pro teams such as Manchester United (following on from the example set by Ajax in Holland, a club who have always been at the forefront of developing kids and have a world-wide reputaion in doing s) as there have been increasing problems with parents trying to live their lives through their children and becoming abusive and threatening at games. The idea behind it is to let the kids develop their skills. Please do not believe the factual inaccurasies in this article – ask anyone who actually lives in Britain and has children of school age and they will tell you the same thing.
Absolute Garbage! An article full of misinformation and, quite frnakly, lies. How do I know? I live in Britain, England to be precise. My son is 10, attends an ordinary state run primary school and has been competing in competitive sports since he was 5. At school he plays various sports throughout the year – football (soccer), rugby, basketball, track and field etc. Outside of school, he plays for a local FA (Football Association) affiliated football club (and has done for 5 years). He also enjoys Judo and used to belong to a gym club. His annual school sports day features competitive races, and has done since he started at the school at the age of 5. My nephew attended the same school before him, and it is my own old school. Competitive sport has ALWAYS been a part of school life and always has been for children in the UK. Children (and any family) attending these school events are encouraged to cheer and support all the children for their effort as well as their achievements but at the end of the day, points are awarded for winning and an overall trophy is awarded. Local football league results ARE published in the local papers – leagues start at an Under 9 level. There is a movement here to restrict the amount of shouting and ‘support’ that spectators give when watching their children play sports, soccer in particular. This is nothing to do with the government or ‘nanny-state’ – it was instigated by pro teams such as Manchester United (following on from the example set by Ajax in Holland, a club who have always been at the forefront of developing kids and have a world-wide reputaion in doing s) as there have been increasing problems with parents trying to live their lives through their children and becoming abusive and threatening at games. The idea behind it is to let the kids develop their skills. Please do not believe the factual inaccurasies in this article – ask anyone who actually lives in Britain and has children of school age and they will tell you the same thing.
It seems to me that the stated claims against competitive sports are probably bunk. I suspect those against competitive sports are simply egalitarians and the idea of winners and losers is offensive to them.
Why are Americans so prissy about drinking?
Wimps.
Americans are either mountains of blubber or skinny neurotics running for to the therapist. Abraham Lincoln would turn in his grave…bla…bla…bla.
(I don’t actually think that, by the way – it’s just an example of the type of inane commentary that appears when the UK – America’s closest ally – is discussed on this site. Arrogance and ignorance combined.)
Mary Jackson – The purpose of drinking is to lower one’s own IQ. I’ve never seen the appeal, nor have I ever found drunks appealing. Ever. The hottest babe, when drunk, is a gross turnoff to me. I drink a little here and there. I like some of the interesting flavors. I like a beer with my spicy food. I hate American pisswater beer. Getting drunk though? No thanks.
I guess I’m just prissy. (Sigh)
I’m on the losing side of the track at least 50% of the time, usually more. It has never dampened my ardor for competition and I have never once been disappointed by a loss where I played well. I’ve run into people like that…the “don’t try, you’ll just lose and feel bad crowd.” They’re usually just reliving their past failures and their self-imposed humiliation.
Britain will be fine. They put up with a lot of crap but when push comes to shove, they won’t budge.
@Red Brick
Spot on, this is the country I recognise. Maybe it’s different at the Universtity of Kent. Or maybe someone has a book to sell.
Nearly all the above comments confirm all the worst stereotypes that Brits have regarding Americans. Ignorant, boorish, absurd. Thank goodness there are plenty who break the mould. Obama appears to be one of them. The rest of you, please grow up.
Yep, Obama appears like one of the effete Euros. That’s why he’s so popular there. You can have him. As to the pejoratives, we hear the same from our effete liberals, too. They never like the strong, either.
You know which Brit we liked? We liked Thatcher, who dragged you Brits kicking and screaming out of complete Socialism. You were the 2nd poorest economy in Europe, on your way to 3rd world status. She was the Alpha female, equivalent to our Reagan. We loved her! She was one of us, the Iron Lady. Call us ignorant, boorish, and absurd if you like. Our heroes are those like Reagan and Thatcher.
my word – you’re awfully forceful and impressive Marc.
As far as I can see, Obama seems quite popular in the US as well, Marc
Teach children to brutally defeat their opponents? We’re no 1 (does that mean everyone else is not as good as you?)! Sounds like WAR to me. We have been training children for WAR fro so long, we don’t recognize it anymore.