The English language is very often a thing to marvel at. It is a huge melting pot of other languages with a literary tradition to rival many of the modern languages. It has a great fluidity and playful spirit at it’s core which lends itself to poetry and creative writing. All the rules are there to be broken and to use the same adjective twice is to sully the essence of the language with all the clumsiness of a striker putting a tap in over the bar.

Sports journalism has been a great beneficiary of the language. Cricket especially has embraced the language and it has at times existed in perfect syncronisation; an idiosyncratic language married to an eccentric sport. You need look no further than the work of Neville Cardus.

Neville Cardus
One of the great
sports writers

But like a new cricket bat of the finest English Willow, it’s effectiveness and worth can only become a valuable attribute in the correct hands. In the wrong hands it’s detrimental effect can blight sport and have a direct effect on it.

There is one word which is a millstone around the very muscular neck of modern sport. We hear it branded on everything and everyone as the media machine and modern hyperbole present us with a kaleidoscopic vision of modern sport. It is used with such unerring regularity that it is damaging sport itself.

The word ‘great’ is, in truth, a great word. ’It does exactly what it says on the tin’. Unfortunately the regularity with which it is showered on sportsmen & women, is a detrimental force on the game.

‘Great’ has many defintions but the one that should be considered eulogising about sport is:

 ‘extraordinary powers; having unusual merit; very admirable’

‘Great’ is one of those words that can only be applied with hindsight and put into the context of history. So many players are branded great or potentially great before they have even achieved mediocrity, that they begin believe their own press.

The present English football team we were told, would be a great or golden generation. Now though because they have not lived up to their billing all guns are targeted squarely between managers eyes. Maybe the media jumped the gun though. Maybe the rage being hurled at Maclaren should be turned on the media. They are the ones who promised ‘great things’ from a group of players homegrown in the ‘greatest league’ in the world. For all his short comings as a manger, there is not much you can do with the likes of Wayne Rooney who has been told he is great before he can possibly be measured with the true legends of the game

And then the hacks have the nerve to brand fans as naive, for believing what they read in the media.

The Ashes in 2005 was another example from recent sporting history. Flintoff put in a great performance. He did not suddenly become a great performer. By sports own definition of the word, the word great requires a career of achievement - not a few months of glory. Since then what has Flintoff achieved that is great. Not very much and certainly nothing approaching any high level consistency.

Pele was great. Mohammed Ali was great. Sir Donald Bradman was great. Gareth Edwards was great. C.B Fry was great.

Some of the sportsman that grace the worlds biggest stages now will rightly be considered great in time, that is not in debate, but before their achievements are measured against their predecessors and contemporaries, a decent helping of time and reflection is required to measure and balance the equation.

So esteemed members of the media. Consider your own affect on sport and those whose careers we will one day measure by your words. Think before you open your mouths or put finger to computer keyboard. ‘Great’ is a big word. Use is sparingly.