Broadcast April 11 2011
If asked to name a sport that is likely to lead to crowd trouble I wouldn’t be quick to answer Darts, but that’s what happened in Glasgow recently as English player Adrian Lewis was hit with coins and a pint of beer from the audience during his match with Scotland’s Gary Anderson.
Not much of a welcome. Now the police are investigating the incident.
Now sport needs rivalry. Sport is based on rivalry.
And sport needs passion - from players through coaches and fans alike.
And part of the “game” of sport is letting off steam.
But at what point is a line crossed beyond what is acceptable?
Rangers are in trouble again with UEFA (the European governing body) over the singing of sectarian songs. They could face an outright ban.
Only the fans can stop it.
Over this weekend Walter Smith was honest enough to admit that as a young person he had sung those kinds of songs. He pointed out that though he had joined in he didn’t really understand them (then or now) and that now he realises these songs are unacceptable. He is right. Society has changed.
In Jesus’ day, his fellow countrymen were a prejudiced lot. They looked down on anyone who was different and regarded them as inferiors. You could be a woman, a child, a foreigner, a person with a disability, and worst of all a neighbouring Samaritan. But Jesus refused to discriminate against others or demonise them. He wouldn’t accept the stereotype, teaching that everyone is a child of God.
Nowadays, believing that every person is important is basically accepted by most people of all faiths or none. It’s easy enough to say but the implications continue to be worked out in our world.
I think it is possible to compete to the full, to be passionate about your support, to want your team to win and the other to lose, without personally despising or insulting your opponents. Once we do that we have crossed the line.
And I know I too need to remember this the next time I see the referee trot out at St. Mirren Park...