Yes by Ollie Todd
Pressure is something everyone has to deal with, but how often do you have the weight of the expectation of a nation looming over your shoulder?
No matter what level you’re at, unwinding and relieving pressure is important. Bobby Moore, one of Britain’s most successful athletes, was often seen working off a hangover at West Ham’s training ground the morning after the night before. Who cares if York rugby players want to make a drunken nuisance of themselves every Wednesday night? As long as they can pull of a whitewash at Roses this year, that’s good enough for me.
These men are adults, and if they can’t be trusted to maintain an element of control, then perhaps we shouldn’t be picking them; if they can, I’m happy for them to enjoy a few drinks. Capello’s England squad are the classic case in point. Locked away in their individual rooms with little more to do than play video games alone is a far from an ideal environment. Although, of course, the pendulum must not swing so far the other way as to replicate Eriksson’s England – a free-for-all of player’s wives and children.
As with anything, a balance needs to be reached, and the actions of Mike Tindall and the like in New Zealand seem to be far tamer than the national press make them out to be. A few drinks occasionally, alongside a relaxed atmosphere; this is an essential way to keep our players in a good frame of mind and can even help team bonding, ready for when the big moment arrives.
No by Will Cooper
High profile sports people now have to perform at such an extraordinary level that any distraction can directly affect the team’s performance.
In 2007, Freddie Flintoff was stripped of his vice-captaincy after an embarrassing alcohol-induced incident with a pedalo during the Cricket World Cup in the West Indies. It was an incident indicative of an abject tour. It’s no surprise that now discipline has been instilled, the team is flying high.
More recently, England’s Rugby World Cup team have had questionable displays of behaviour from certain players. Tindall, among others, was seen, worse for wear, after his team’s unconvincing win against Argentina, allegedly indulging in such unsavoury activities as ‘dwarf-throwing’ and impropriety with mysterious women.
Naturally, it’s necessary to wind down after a big match, but surely there is a better option than a drunken night on the town? In today’s sporting world, where margins for error are so small, and when every team is so well-drilled, these indiscretions off the field, however minor, can be the difference between winning and losing. Such reckless behaviour is insulting to a fan base that spends so much of their valuable time and money supporting the team, saying nothing of the negative image it sends to the young and impressionable. These tournaments are not long; is it too much to ask for players to avoid such unsavoury shenanigans so they can put their concentration into performing their best for the team?