“ALSO RANS !”

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 July 1927, Page 7

“ALSO RANS !”

BACKBONE OF SPORT. This is the story of the “also rans,” —the men who are the backbone of every sport (writes Frank P. Brown, in a. Melbourne paper). As 1 followed the tailenders in the Marathon walk recently, their cheerful courage roused a great admiration in my heart. There were neither prizes nor cheers for them, but only the satisfaction of seeing it through. On such staunch hearts.great nations are built. Let. us pay them a tribute. Here the "also rans,” although they are the field mice of athletics, are a long way removed from the lions who take Hie prizes. Yet. a mouse once saved a lion, and in sport these humble athletes make it possible for Hie Imns to survive. Ol' what interest would a "lion" be if there was not someone to hen t. On Saturday last 1 drove my car beside two men clad in shorts and singlets, walking along the Point Nepean Road. One was a veteran who had been competing in endurance events for twenty years. The other was a youngster comparatively new to the game, The veteran was last. The rest of the (mid had finished; the winner was dressed and polished up. He had lx on presented with cup and saslj, friends cheered him, everyone praised him. No one had a thought for the veteran and the youngster who were seeing it through in the dimming light somewhere back along the road. A motorist drove up to the veteran. "Let’s give you a lift,” he offered. The walker raised a haggard strained face. His muscles were sore, His legs were lead, but he raised a grin. ‘Til see it. out.” he smiled. "It’s over—tin* race is over,” the motorist, urged. “You’ve, got. no chance of getting a prize.” • I’m not looking for a prize.” replied the veteran. "I’m —we’ll. I’m just, seeing it through, that’s all.” Though darkness was falling fast, he could see the dim figure of the voungster ahead. “Maybe I’ll catch him,” he added, hopefully. “There’s still a couple of miles to go.” Tho veteran's step quickened, and be strode forward with determination. The race was the thing—the sport. What, does it blatter if you never win so long as you try hard and see it through. That’s the spirit. Did he catch the youngster ahead? I don’t know. It wouldn’t, matter one way or the other. It wouldn’t matter to anyone if he did not finish at all; that is, to anyone but himself. Here was an athlete who has been competing for twenty years, and in that time he has never risen above mediocrity, and never felt the warming blaze of the public limelight—neither has he never failed to finish. He knew he had no chance when he entered for this event. What did that matter? “Put me down,” he said to the secretary. “I won’t be in the hunt, but it’s us ‘also rans’ who keep the sport going.” This veteran is a. gardener by occupation, and he is a good gardener. He shows the same capacity for “seeing it, through” in a. garden as he does in a Marathon race.

The reason of Britain’s greatness does not lie in her heroes. It lies in the “also rans,” the field mice of the nation who see it through. They battle along without reward or without thought of reward or kudos. The game’s the thing. They are the true heart of a nation. They are like the wheel horses who do the solid graft. The leaders are groomed and petted; the wheel horse is just a wheel horse. But, where would the team be without him Io take' the strain when the pulling is tough? You won’t, find him lying hack in the britchen. One of the reasons that sport has not thrived, say, in a. country like South America, is because the young men are not content, with sport for sport’s sake. If they cannot get reward or glory, they won’t play. They have games, it is true, but the essential thing—the sport—is missing. What is the use of playing unless you can get. applause or reward?” they ask. They can win gracefully, but, oh! what a different story when they lose. They cannot cope with defeat. They look for an excuse. South America will need to cultivate an army of “also rans” before they can be great in sport, peace, or war. "We find the “also rans” in every sport. There is the boxer who goes in to fight, but. who knows he has not the ability to get, to the top; the wrestler who makes a. good wrestling partner. and usually is dumped on to his shoulders. He keeps going for some reason that is not plain at first glance but. a moment’s thought will satisfy you that, “the sport is the thing” in his mind. We find the “also rans” on football and cricket, fields, in buckjumping rings, taking their bumps and coming up smiling for more. They thrash seat water in swimming races, and throw up cinders in foot races. You will find them sportsmen at heart, eager to give praise and honour Io the winner, and never expecting a. pat on the back themselves. The ranks* of the “also rans” are large, but they could be much deeper. Too many young men are on the wrong side of the fence looking on. They are not much good to the nation, and not much use to themselves. Thev would be better employed swelling 'the ranks of the “also rans,” raising a sweat and taking the leader’s dust. They would learn something by joining the "also rans.” They would learn the meaning of “sport,” and any man is the better for having learned that. My hat. is off to the. “also rans. They stand for the essence of true sport.