Sporting Overtures

A fellow supporter at St James’ Park whose seat is the same row but about 8 places in the direction of Gallowgate, has an unfortunate habit of arriving for the match about a minute after the rest of us have settled in our seats for the kick off. I usually mutter something about the BBC having put everyone out by delaying the time signals, stand up, and allow him to pass.  These days, there is no live football to be watched but we seem to be deluged with behind closed door matches on the television, all of which are preceded by an overture of ritual grovelling.  It is not, as far as I can see, that the grovellers feel they have anything to grovel for, rather that they have identified grave failing in others and therefore feel compelled to apologise on their behalf.  Nice of them but I have recently become sympathetic to my fellow season ticket holder at St James’ Park and have taken the habit of not joining the televised proceedings until the pre-match knee bending is complete.  I now switch on my TV a couple of minutes after the scheduled start so that I can enjoy the spectacle of watching footballers do what they are paid for, playing football (I agree that is an inadequate definition as far as Newcastle United are concerned), rather than seeing them prostrating themselves in support of some loosely defined slogan.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I am a supporter of injustice, it’s just that if anyone actually gave me a specific example of “institutional” or “systemic” practice I might pay more attention.  Meantime, as Brendan O’Neill observed, "we can’t see the prejudiced wood for the virtue-signalling trees."