Show me a little respect (me = the sport)

So - let’s get this straight......  A player refuses to come on as a substitute when his team is in trouble - and the world is up in arms about how he must be sacked / this now gives his club the ability to sack him and potentially avoid losing the 40m that it invested in him / how much of a disgrace this is because he has let his team mates down.

It is a lack of respect on the players behalf to his coach, to his team mates, to his club and to the supporters of that club.

OK - I can see that - but  for me - that horse bolted a long time ago - and the fact that there is now so much uproar - for disrespect to the team - merely further highlights where sport has gone wrong so much in recent times.

It’s not always the win that counts

Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing - so said Vince Lombardi (* - see below on completion of this page) - a phrase that sums up the accepted approach to professional sports across the world.  Certainly with coaches who will demand the best, stress the need to invest/over-invest in the team and its assts.  If you don’t put everything into winning - well.....  you are a bunch of losers.

Well for me - I disagree.  Yes I know - it’s sacrilegious...  for someone who has led sports teams - but for me, there is more to it that just setting yourself to win.  Here’s why....

Does having the right make it right???

Another weekend of phenomenal sporting events down (RWC, some truly outstanding NRL playoffs, lots more premiership goals, and the NFL season moves into 2nd gear) - and the one that most are talking about is Money Mayweather’s latest (of albeit irregular) appearance.

Controversy follows this great boxer everywhere - from his trash talking, to his court cases, his brilliant fighting and his extravagant spending.

So no surprise that the Saturday night bout vs Victor Ortiz brought us not one but two more talking points....

Where Sports Marketing has worked

This weekend sees Boxing’s Cash cow Floyd Mayweather step back into the ring for the first time in a while - to take on former future Golden Boy - Victor Ortiz.  A loss stalled Ortiz’ rise, but Mayweather’s appeal will undoubtedly drove audience numbers - though the result is likely to be similar to the rest of the bouts on his record.

Everyone is waiting of course for the fight of the Millennium (certainly from a cash point of view) - will Floyd ever take on Manny Pacquaio.

This weekend sadly though is a bump in the current shift away from boxing.

Snow White and the 8 characters

Show White and the Seven Steps to a new Job

This item is inspired by the ‘Joke of the Fringe Festival’ (thanks to Marty M for on the ground reporting in Edinburgh)

....."I was on the internet the other day and one site asked me for a password made up of 8 characters, so i typed in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs!"......

Now having used the fantastical Snow W in an earlier blog - I thought it was about time we wheeled her out again.

Starting new in USA

Well, a big Howdy Doody welcome to y'all

Welcome to one of the first of my new “Coming to America” blog.......  As I sit here counting down the days till receipt
(hopefully / fingers crossed / please nice Mr Visa guy/gal) of my ‘right to work’ documentation - I am at a pretty exciting 
stage in life.....    The whole of America (though it is faced with a few problems currently) to go at, the motivated (and 
motivating) American population to interact with - it’s the land of opportunity, of milk and of honey (and plenty more 
packaged products)....  I can’t wait to get started....

This blog is going to be about my education into American society, about my thoughts as to what life is like in the big ‘ole 
US of A, and about how my family and I get settled over our first few months.

Dependent on how it all goes with the Green Card - and you hope that after 5 years of relationship, 4 years of marriage, 
trekking around 5 different continents together (SA and Ant to go) - that it should all go pretty smoothy - I would hope to 
keep the blog going on and on and on......

Nic is #ComingtoAmerica

Coming 2 America - what’s it all about......

So - I dragged you here with all manner of new fangled techno-tactic methodology - I have hijacked the normally sports-centric blog with "personal stuff" - I had better explain what is going on......  Go get a cup of tea, put your feet up and relax - this will take a few minutes.....

WHAT DO I WANT?

I want a job...!! (there - easy - now we all know what is going on)

A modern day fable needs a revisit......

The Hare and the Tortoise

Hands up who wasn’t told this parable as a young ‘un growing up in the big bad world......  The moral of the story being that whilst it’s more exciting to race off with no plan, all confident that life is good - the real winners in life are those that are slow and steady....

We have all used the analogy at some point in life - and tortoises have a pretty well regard spot in our culture as denizens of wisdom (along with their friends, Mr Oliver Wisdom-Lyngate the Owl, Sir Lionel the Lion and Danny the Doplhin - more smart than wise really).

But I have just had a revelation and it’s about time that the Hare got his rightful spot at the head of the race.  With today’s social media driven society making life even quicker still - it’s about time to really take a long hard (and possibly slow ‘tortoise-like’) look at the actual race.