By Louise Allonby

Last updated at 13:19, Wednesday, 11 April 2012

OF all the smug, publicity-seeking twerps with “causes”, who increasingly infest society, Trenton Oldfield, the smirking “anti-elitist” who wrecked the Boat Race, is surely the worst example.

Louise Allonby

This privately-educated, publicly-funded, privileged man represents the very worst of the modern generation of “protestors”, most of whom do not really have any real grievances to air – they just want their 15 minutes of fame.

I missed this year’s Boat Race live because I was at a point-to-point meeting near Kirkby Lonsdale. Watching the chaotic scenes later that evening on the news, I was infuriated this ineffectual little man could have ruined not only one of our great English traditional events, but shattered the hopes and efforts of the two crews, on the spurious grounds they are rowers from elite universities.

Presumably, if the Boat Race was held between the University of Cumbria and the University of Central Lancashire along the river Ribble, that would have been fine because they aren’t “elitist” institutions.

Where does this leave other national sporting events – especially this year’s London Olympics? The answer is obvious; open to sabotage by jealous killjoys who have neither the talent nor the work ethic to take part in these events legitimately.

People like Oldfield are too dim to understand the difference between elitism and being elite. Wayne Rooney is an elite sportsman who earns millions. Does that make Manchester United an elitist organisation? Of course it doesn’t. And, actually, so what if it did?

Oldfield himself must be delighted with his weekend’s work. He has achieved instant fame on the back of zero talent or effort, plus the almost certain knowledge that he will have inspired other fame-hungry losers to stick their oars (if you’ll pardon the pun) into the smooth running of this year’s big national events.

In this era of social networking and online video-sharing, we as a society are being held to ransom by rogue individuals who want to get themselves into the public eye. Sabotaging national set-pieces will become ever more appealing to these idiots. The result is the majority will, as usual, have to suffer because of the actions of a tiny minority. Security at every event will be tightened to intrusive levels; and at the very least the innocent enjoyment of events which should make our country proud will be compromised.

Unpalatable though it may be to the Trenton Oldfields of this world, the great British public are rightly proud of our national occasions and sporting traditions; and we enjoy the spectacle of elite sportspeople competing against each other to the best of their ability, in order to win.

The next time a shameless publicity-seeking egotist throws himself in the Thames for the sake of the TV cameras, I suggest we leave him there.

First published at 13:08, Wednesday, 11 April 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk