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Well what can you say....
Well what can you say about the last month, what a bizarre reflection of the business we are all in, sport.
Those who believe in bad omens clearly saw the sporting headlines coming when the whole Rooney foot debate was, literally, breaking news. But few of those muttering “We’re doomed, doomed” could have forseen Owen’s early homecoming or the catalogue of disasters that were to follow. And not for England either! Every Frenchman must surely have that image of “Zizou” sloping off the pitch past the World Cup trophy deeply burned into their memory. But it’s all ok because apparently we love our heros to be fallen ones (think Lancelot for Zidane), they are more interesting and charismatic, which obviously explains why you can lose the Cup, but win an award. Fair play to him I suppose.
In retrospect, the furore about replica sales, car flags, World Cup songs and sponsorships all seem a little pointless, when faced with a team accused of not even trying. How sad that our most memorable televised moments were the long post match debates about why the former England captain was sick centre stage (captured and reviewed from numerous camera angles), what really went on to cause Rooney to make yet another discraceful exit and turn Ronaldo into a headline winker . And finally, that head butt.
Bill Shankly once put the football perspective perfectly: "For a lot of people football is a matter of life and death, I totally disagree with them. Football is much more important than that". It certainly was, for the thousands of lionhearted fans and retailers who invested heavily in a whole range of products only to have their hopes dashed once again – were all those flat screen tv’s making their way back to the refund desk I wonder once we didn’t just think, but knew, it was all over? Will there be a knock on effect on the sale of all those “hero” signature products and what price an England shirt now?
There was of course Wimbledon to boost the sporting calendar and coffers. That is until Henman went downhill and Murray hurried out of the field. So what have we left.for our sports stars to show off and get the public fired up about. Cricket, or the showjumping filling the gap after their ballroom dancing and ice skating antics of course!
So we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and start all over again. Where to for the battle weary sports businessman and woman? In a market of change and conflict, it’s surely down to creativity, reinvention, integrity and knowledge. Leading by instinct, not waiting for inspiration. I imagine Sven may have some interesting notes for motivational purposes (after all, what were they doing so intensely in that note pad. International sudoku perhaps…), but I leave you with some advice from none other than Donald Trump: “Experience taught me a few things. One is to listen to your gut, no matter how good something sounds on paper. The second is that you're generally better off sticking with what you know. And the third is that sometimes your best investments are the ones you don't make.”
Lauren Fox, Editor
