I’ve just finished Ed Smith’s “What Sport Tells Us About Life”. Ed Smith was a professional cricketer (who played a few times for England) but he has now developed a career as a journalist and writer. His book WSTUAL was much lauded in the media when it came out and, as someone who likes sport and likes analysis, it seemed to be very much my cup-of-tea. It is basically a series of essays about various aspects of sport and watching sport (cheating, money, leadership, coaching/management) which each try to connect with some observations of how we lead our lives more generally. I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t as interesting or insightful as I thought it was going to be. I think this is perhaps because there is no over-arching theme or argument. I particularly liked one section on how different people watch sport in different ways, within which there was a comment from the head of British Airways, who, when watching sport, focusses on the leadership that is taking place. He grew up in Australia and played cricket in a team that was captained by Rodney Marsh (who went on to be one of the greatest cricketers and wicket-keeper-batsmen there has been). He noted that Marsh (and others) were successful leaders because “They set people up for success by creating the right environment” (one that is confident, tough but always fun). I like that quote and I like the idea that the “right environment” should be one involving fun. That’s something I am going to try to hold onto in my own work.
Tim O'Hare 