Kevin Sinfield - BBC Sports Personality of the Yea

Kevin Sinfield - BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2015?
BBC Sports Personality of the Year has traditionally focused on this country's highest achievements in upper class sports. Rugby League and boxing seldom feature. Second places and silver medals have earned tennis players and Rugby Union players the title yet a boxer such as Joe Chalzhage who was champion of the world for an entire decade, retired undefeated, failed to have this accolade bestowed upon him. Rugby League, in my memory, hasn't had so much as a short listed contender. This year boxing is represented by Tyson Fury who despite finding all pundits and bookies alike dispensing short odds on his claiming the world heavy weight title by defeating Vladimir Klitschko, succeeded in a dour bout reflective of the lack of talent in the heavy weight division. Following the sports last great era where Mike Tyson unified the various belts of different governing bodies to return credibility to the sport, returning the ethos of the man who beat the man to be the genuine world champion. Sadly his talents were flawed and by the combination of sudden wealth bestowed on a poor boy and unscrupulous advisors and sycophantic entourage lost his way once his mentor died. Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis preserved the sports credibility for a while until the dull tactics of the Ukrainian Klitschko brothers ushered in a decade of dominance that failed to spark the publics imagination. Fury should be praised for bringing to an end this dull era though sadly but perhaps understandably his entourage and advisors are close family members of traveller stock who hold and promote values modern Europe has abandoned in shame. Since victory he has used his platform to advance sexist and homophobic opinions that only serve to embed the prejudices of the liberal classes. Kevin Sinfield has maintained composure and dignity throughout his career on and off the field garnering respect from everyone within the game and beyond.
Rugby League history is one of overt class bigotry. Whilst governments from Thatcher through Blair have sought to dismiss the existence of class prejudice through linguistic trickery, the division between rich and poor has drastically grown. Football in its basic form evolved from inter village rivalries where the entire communities man folk would battle together to claim victory in a lawless game, the objective being to take the ball by whatever means, to their home. Shrovetide football is still played but Victorian Britain saw public schools claiming the people's game by writing the rules and stipulations by which it is played. The core value being that what was now known as Rugby be played for fun, not money. The Rugby Union game remained under establishment control until the late 1800s. For a decade, northern teams comprised of dockers and miners had dominated all competitions. At the time these working class athletes worked six day weeks. The northern businessmen who owned and financed the dominant northern teams asked if their players could be reimbursed for lost earnings for taking Saturday afternoon off to play rugby. By now large crowds of supporters followed their teams and enjoyed tribal rivalries, sang songs and cheered in a different manner to the polite clapping of the lesser supported but more highly financed southern teams. These southern players were public school educated professionals; doctors, lawyers etc who could afford to play for fun. The rugby union refused the requests of the northern teams inflicting strict penalties for any player taking coin for appearing. In 1895 following a meeting of northern club owners the Northern Rugby Union, later the Rugby League was born. Creating their own competition, a more organised league system to test who was the real top team as opposed to the previous knock out cup competitions, Rugby League blossomed. Attracting vast crowds comparable in number to modern soccer the rule changes that have been a constant feature of rugby league began. Union being a game to play preserved its high numbers on the field with its idiosyncratic scrum sand line outs that provided positions for all to enjoy, from fat to thin, tall to short, union evolved as a game to be played. Having none of the private financial backing league began with innovative changes, less players on the field to encourage open play. Smaller scrums, no line outs, simpler rules to encourage a finer spectacle. Union was a game to play but League was a game to watch.
The impudence of the northerners offended the public schooled establishment to a degree hard to comprehend today. Dickie Lockwood was the David Beckham of his day. A northern hero who opted for league. Having captained club and country to many victories he was written out of union history. For a century any union player who so much as had a trial or was even spotted at a League ground was banned from playing rugby union for life. The bitterness of this bigotry echoes to this day.
The two games continued, growing further apart throughout the next century. The odd star player tempted by money left union to play the faster northern game. Usually coming from the Welsh teams who had a parallel working class origin to the northern league teams. Rugby developed a popularity over seas. With Australia embracing both codes, league ultimately becoming their national game. Less divisive class systems saw union and league blossom in New Zealand. Under apartheid rugby union was exclusively white but black league teams formed. Prior to the nazi invasion of France league was played down south amongst Catalans, union up north. The invaders banned league where players joined the resistance. Union approved of by the nazis was riddled with collaborators.
Throughout the 1930s, 40s, 50s and early 60s Rugby League through its constant experimentation with rule changes and a necessary need to provide an attractive visual product drew in vast crowds. By the sixties, perhaps through televisions provision of a clearer national perspective football became the most fashionable sport. Leeds could travel to London to beat the capitals finest in Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and arsenal. The excitement of a cross pennine clash between Wigan and Bradford Northern had grown to be seen as perocial by modern northern man. Billy Liar. Saturday night, Sunday Morning. The Beatles. The sixties saw the northerner reconnected to his nation. Outsmarting, more creative, more savage in hooligan battles. Football may have been a boring low scoring game but Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Leeds could all find glory in the defeat of the effete southern public schooled puff.
As League crowds dwindled so too did Union crowds. League players, bar the elite dozen or so worked still as bricklayers, policemen, window cleaners, supplementing meagre incomes by turning out for League teams. Meanwhile a system that came to be known as 'shamateurism' evolved where Union players were rewarded with houses, cars, boardroom chairs they were never required to fill, under the table payment was rife. By the eighties through public school and family connections Will Carling was mixing with royalty, fucking Dianna Spencer whilst Northern stars still struggled.
Finally, no longer to hide the underhand payments nor justify the prejudices heald against rugby league, union went professional. In a seminal event, Bath, the dominant union team of the day agreed to a two game showdown with Wigan, rugby leagues strongest team. The first match, played to league rules saw Wigan defeat Bath 82 points to 6. The return game played to union rules saw Bath win though not by much. It was clear. League was leagues ahead in all but what the players were being paid.
With the advent of a dehooliganisation of football following the Hiesel disaster, the Bradford fire disaster and the battle of Birmingham where Leeds fans ran riot, the premier league was formed. Games now attracted wealthier fans as prices went up, the concept, created by Rupert Murdochs Sky satellite TV company grabbed the middle class imagination. following Italia 90 where the greatest England team since Alf Ramseys World Cup winners of 1966 came closest to winning a major competition football really took off. Paul Gascoigne inspired a team of other greats, Chris Waddle, Glenn Hoddle, Gary Linekar to heights not seen for years.
Years of establishment prejudice had seen little respect from the BBC. Negotiations to show league through the BBC were met with derisory offers. Sky offered to buy the sport under certain stipulations. Teams must take on Australian commercial sounding names. 96 million sounds a trifle for a foreigner to ride roughshod over tradition. Super league was born. Live matches shown exclusively to sky but money to enable a twelve team league of full time professionals and a shift from winter to a summer season . With union adopting league promotional techniques. The employment of league coaches to usher in a fitter professional era. League had little choice. Though many feared this could be the end for the sport they loved most involved knew it was the only offer on the table.
The club names sounded American at first, something that still sticks in the craw of older fans but moving to summer rugby with a full division of full time players alongside a club salary cap meaning proved genius. The sport has gone from strength to strength. Regular fears over financing the game and the sad fact of top clubs with proud reputations stretching back over a century going in to administration continue but the product on the field has grown to become far and away the most exciting British team sport.
Union maintained its support from the media. The public school roots of the sport ensured a disproportionate coverage in papers owned by the wealthier classes. Journalism from ex public school boys sees to this day regular snipes at league. But it's clear to any impartial observer that union knows it may have the money it still lags behind league in many ways. Each new innovation in league will soon be adopted by union. Video replays for refereeing decisions, cross field kicks, the off load, even the change to summer rugby seems to be brewing in the minds of union chiefs. Though employing ex league players as coaching staff in an attempt to engender some of the onfield spark of league has seen Mike Ford at Bath, Andy Farrell at Saracens and England and Shaun Edwards at Wales amongst many others.
This year union held its World Cup on English soil. Having seen the league World Cup the year before, Sam Burgess, the league centre was signed in a high profile move by bath and England with a view to his fast tracking in to the England team. His performances for South Sydney in winning their first NRL grand final and playing for England RL who went out of the RL World Cup after a scintillating semi, lost in the last minute to New Zealand, had shown he was a great of rugby league but learning the complexities of union in a year is damn near impossible. Union should be ashamed for piling hopes on a new comer to their game.
England failed to pass the group stages. Rather than accept failure to greater Southern Hemisphere teams, ironically playing a more open league influenced expansive game, union following pundits heaped responsibility on a young man who through no fault of his own was thrown in too early. He hardly put a foot wrong if not inspiring in his performances yet union bigotry once again should it's ugly face. The pompous upper class arrogance sort to blame League for unions failings. Seldom in sport has such supreme arrogance, blindness and class bigotry been witnessed. Sam Burgess, having been treated appallingly returned to the code of his youth. Four years before union establishment figures blamed England's failings on league coaches. This time not the 99.9% union responsibility but the sole short comings of a single league player provided the scape goat for unions egos.
The dour 2015 season of union was the polar opposite of the stellar season of rugby league. Captained by Kevin Sinfield Leeds won all three competitions. Challenge Cup final against Hull KR saw Leeds put in a flawless performance to win 50 points to nil. The league leaders shield came next after a slump had seen Leeds table dominance bring the decides down to the last games of the normal season. In the final minute Ryan Hall scored from a Danny Mc Guire chip. Such excitement seldom before witnessed on a rugby field. Finally the treble was sealed in what many described as the greatest grand final of all time as Leeds narrowly beat a magnificent Wigan side. Over the past dozen years Sinfield had captained Leeds to seven Grand Final victories, three challenge cups and three world club challenges. In becoming Leeds and perhaps the sports greatest ever captain he became the clubs all time highest point scorer and in 2012 was awarded the golden boot as the sports greatest player of the season. Only the fourth Englishman to win this prestigious award.
His career capped by an unprecedented treble Sinfield watched on as the England league team defeated New Zealand in a three test series. 2015 was a moral victory for league over union bigotry. Sinfield, always speaking with respect and dignity of the other code now takes the semi retirement from the harder code as he tries his luck next season for Leeds Tykes, the union club.
If ever a sportsperson deserved the BBC sports personality of the year it is Kevin Sinfield. Seldom does the game receive the column inches it deserves. As dour union fixtures at club level often poorly attended garner an unwarranted amount of press, league seldom receives attention. Popular in the pennine corridor, far from the news papers London offices staffed by southern journalists working often under public schooled bosses, Rugby League is seldom praised. This years England RU shame, from team to pundits, ex playing commentators to journalists, has been mind boggling. On the surface cultural changes regarding most people's views on gender, sexuality and race may have moved forward. For several years sociologists fell in line with politicians from thatcher to Blair who declared society non existent, class a thing of the past. But Rugby Union remains a bastion of class bigotry. On the field League has grown more expansive, more creative, more beautiful. Spearheaded campaigns against homophobia. Highlighted problems of mental health stigma through their State of Mind campaign. Whilst union has descended to its worst excesses that historically bedevilled the sport. Its roots in class hierarchy and supremacy of the fortunate of birth. Through nazi collaboration in occupied France. In overt racism in apartheid South Africa. As New Zealand and Australia where the two codes aren't affected by class history the game of union has grown to be creative. Yet in England, the only victories over Southern Hemisphere sides have come from a style of play designed to kill the expansive flamboyant attempts to score tries. By embroiling the game in messy rucks and mauls, line outs and scrums, not attempting to score tries but to engineer penalties or drop goals as teams developed a style where players need not get near the oppositions line, scoring instead from kicks from out field. A dour and cynical tactic to mirror the deep, dark prejudices of the English establishment. Sinfields nomination marks a possible acceptance of leagues moral superiority, skill set superiority, fitness and aesthetic superiority, and deeper than all of this, a victory of good over evil. The people over the establishment.


Sent from my iPad