IT'S ONLY A GAME..

What do Brent Todd, Marc Ellis, Clint Brown, All Blacks, Lucky Mulipola, Jerome Kaino, Jimmy Cowan, Norm Hewitt, Josh Kronfeld and taking up the rear, Tony Veitch have in common? Well actually they have two things in common! One is they have all made the headlines for all the wrong reasons and the second is so obvious it shouldn't need mentioning, but I will… SPORT!

So there you have it, the answer to all our social problems is sport. I remember when I was a kid in Glasgow the smiles in all the men around town going to the Celtic Rangers match. You just had to wait till the game was over and see normally placid men become monsters. Wives in my town feared their men coming home after their team lost, kids where hiding in their rooms before Dad got home from the pub. Gangs of rival supporters would tear apart each other..it’s only a game lads!

I must admit I have never been into sports, never really saw the need for it. Not that I don’t enjoy watching events like the Tennis, Surfing or F1 racing. It’s the team games that brings out the pack mentality. It used to amaze me the way it would transform people into boorish, macho assholes.

Taking an example, the tv programme, Game of Two Halves. Must admit didn't watch it a hell of a lot. The over the top macho noise crap was too much, I sometimes had to wonder who watches this. Don’t they realize they are on TV, folk are actually watching them act like assholes.

Thankfully the Tony Veitch scandal will put the lid on that. Matthew Ridge who has a rep as a bit of lad has even said he would have to consider ever doing the programme again if Veitch was at the helm. So even some things in the Sporting Jock lifestyle are vorbotten, beating up your girlfriend! It's sobering to see it was one of 'The Lads' to draw that line in the sand, maybe there is a future for the sports fan after all.