uncleduck

An old copy of Ring Magazine ('The Bible of Boxing') I found among my grandfather's belongings poured scorn on professional wrestling. The writer wondered how long the fans would put up with obviously faked matches and outcomes that were taking over removing the element of honest sport from it. That was in the 1930s and the fans still watch with the fakery's domination now complete.

I lost faith in it long ago. Once I realised it was fake, it was difficult to see why people remained enthusiastic about discussing who was likely to win. Why bother spending a week in the playground discussing whether Hulk Hogan would beat the Undertaker and who might be strongest? The two combatants knew the outcome already and the WWF presenters hyping it up knew the outcome.

This past week I had to challenge a few youngsters over copied coursework. It was the usual "Is this your own? Are you sure?" carry on, to give them a chance to come clean. They denied all knowledge until confronted with the facts and finally owned up that yes, they had copied that one question or that one section. "So how do I know you did the rest yourself?", I asked. They assured me that they had done the rest themselves. "But you told me that before and you were lying. How do I know that I won't discover the rest is copied? Why should I believe you?"

Hopefully, in time, they will learn their lesson that trust lost is difficult to regain and that outside school, such breaches of trust often lead to instant dismissal from the workplace.

So what has all of this got to do with football? Around ten years ago I watched an FA Cup match in which Alan Shearer was being completely outplayed by a player who was several divisions below him. Shearer responded by falling in a heap any time the player came near him to get free kicks and the other guy was eventually sent off. The commentator's praised Shearer's guile and use of his experience. No, he cheated. What should have been a sporting event was ruined by a cheat who was not challenged by the authorities for bringing the game into disrepute.

Around the same time, Micheal Owens took a dive in a Euro / World Cup match to get England a penalty. The video evidence clearly showed he was never touched and the commentators, including Kevin Keegan if I remember rightly, praised him for this. Again, sporting ability had nothing to do with it. Over time I have become used to the inevitable dives that nobody is doing anything about and gradually lost interest.

Football fans will no doubt tell be this is a small part of the game and they may be right. However, how do I know they are not as taken in by their fake sport as I was once taken in by professional wrestling? How do I know that referees and authorities alike are not in on the act? How do I know that failing to punish an obvious cheat is not part of the entertainment being provided? How do I know that the outcome of some major matches is not pre-determined?

This may seem extreme, but the authorities obviously do not care. If they did then something would be done. Why should I invest my time and effort getting interested in a sham? Anyone who watched Argentina cheat against England (1986) with Maradonna's 'Hand of God' handball and be rewarded with the world cup will see where I am coming from. Maybe that's where my loss of interest really started?

Wrestling fans ignored the gradual creep of fakery and fixing and today WWE (née WWF) at least has the honesty to not claim to be a sport anymore and openly admits to the fakery. In time, football fans may react to the fakery and hopefully for them it will be before this dominates the game.

As for me? I was a casual football fan once. Now I don't care.