What a bunch of show-off morons
Last updated at 16:36, Wednesday, 11 July 2012
WHAT is it about sport that makes so many people behave like complete morons?
I’m not referring to the participants (with the possible exception of some Premiership footballers) but more to those attention-seeking spectators at major televised events who constantly feel the need to shout inanely at the competitors.
I gave up watching the men’s singles final at Wimbledon partly because of the idiots in the crowd who just would not stop yelling at the players.
By which I don’t mean the general shouts, cheers and groans of the main audience, but those “I’m here!” idiots who think their voices should be heard above everyone else’s, so they wait till a quiet bit before shouting some partisan nonsense for the non-entertainment of everyone around them.
It’s the same with golf. I long ago stopped watching major tournaments on television because I got so heartily fed up of hearing apparently recently-lobotomised spectators bellowing “Get in the ho-o-ole!” every time a player putted a ball.
Every once in a while, there will be someone who is reasonably amusing. Like the Wimbledon spectator last week who, when a player had taken a clearly very painful direct hit into his groin, shouted “new balls, please”. More generally, however, the shouters at these events are just incredibly irritating.
Shouting at football matches is a different matter, of course. No one expects the average footy fan to behave with much restraint. The majority of them are far too tribal for that – and anyway, team games don’t require the quiet concentration and millimetre-sharp accuracy that sports such as tennis and golf do.
Those mind-blowingly annoying vuvuzelas aside, football and rugby matches benefit from some spirited spectator participation.
But why the recent escalation of shouting, heckling and general attention-seeking behaviour from spectators at events such as Wimbledon?
Look back on a Wimbledon final from circa 1980, when Dan “Oh, I say!” Maskell was commentating, and the spectators were far better mannered.
It seems that in this world of Twitter, Facebook, You Tube and all the other “look at me, here I am” digital outlets, today’s generation finds it increasingly difficult to watch anything without feeling the need to participate in some way – however mindless that participation may be.
People who inform others via social networks that they’ve just made a cup of tea/taken the dog for a walk/got divorced, clearly find themselves and their opinions so fascinating that they need to make their presence felt all the time – whether by incessant Tweeting on any given topic of the day, bellowing unselfconsciously into their mobile phones, or shouting “Get in the h-o-ole!” to Tiger Woods’s golf ball.
On the bright side, I suppose that while we Brits may not be able to field a Wimbledon singles champion, when it comes to attention-seeking and showing off, it’s game, set and match.
First published at 16:24, Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk
Look at me, I'm here outlets, Like personal blogs you mean?
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Yes it's a part of the general deterioration of manners across the board. Unfortunately those reading this are unlikely to be the ones I am referring to, and in any event they are so sure of themselves, so 'safe' in their little bubble of conceit they are not even aware of their boorish primitive ways.
Posted by Frank Boase on 17 July 2012 at 07:46