We Sweat To The Tune Of The Sporting Technique

I did not come here to praise sport, I came here to question it. 

I came here to ask wether Jacques Ellul was correct win his analysis of sport. While fellow Frenchman Camus is endearing in his classic comment about sport and its value in teaching us camaraderie, and fraternity; Ellul is not as positive.

“In every conceivable way sport is an extension of the technical spirit. Its mechanisms reach into the individual's innermost life, working a transformation of his body and its motions as a function of technique and not as a function of some traditional end foreign to technique, as, for example, harmony, joy, or the realization of a spiritual good. In sport, as elsewhere, nothing gratuitous is allowed to exist; everything must be useful and must come up to technical expectations.

Sport carries on without deviation the mechanical tradition of furnishing relief and distraction to the worker after he has finished his work proper so that he is at no time independent of one technique

or another. In sport the citizen of the technical Society finds the same spirit, criteria, morality, actions, and objectives--in short, all the technical laws and customs-which he encounters in office or factory.” Jacues Ellul The Technological Society (384).

For Ellul, sport is all about Bread and Circuses. Keep the people fed and entertained and they will be malleable, content for the nation to deal with. Every sport is the continued reinforcement of technique for the human body and mind. It is not an Olympian ideal in the classical Greek conception but something else.
“For the Greeks, physical exercise was an ethic for developing freely and harmoniously the form and strength of the human body. For the Romans, it was a technique for increasing the legionnaire's efficiency. The Roman

conception prevails today.” Ellul (382-383).

Are You Saying Sport Is Bad?

You may want to say that there is a sport that is closer to a harmoniously and freely developed form. And that may be possible. But even a champion darts player has developed their body to the rigour of international darts.

Even a suburban park cricketer like myself has a gym routine that is based on the physical resilience that I require to play the game. I have to get into the gym otherwise I will not have the strength to keep up playing to the level I want to play. Again, efficiency.

What Is Traditional And Not Technique?

One could say dance is one of those traditional forms that has little of nothing to do with technique. Which is plausible, if the people dancing have little connection to the forms and techniques that we are born into. This from of traditional dance is one that is established and dedicated to the telling of a cultures stories to foster and maintain the identity of a distinct group of people.

While these traditional dances may have methods and movements they are not focused on the pursuit of higher, better, faster. I am not sure there was an indigenous Baryshnikov though they obviously had and still have those who shine. This is not the same as the lessons and instruction learned by Baryshnikov.

So when you want to watch something that is not technique, or not as much technique. A practice that is very much human and not indoctrinated with the influences of technique, perhaps NITV can help? Perhaps the whirling Dervish is better, or the Gregorian Chant? Maybe listening to traditional music forms. A documentary on the evolution of Hip-hop or Jazz could. But even these have been turned or will be turned and made to fit into our society, into a technique.

How Does This Relate To Sport Other Than Denigrating It?

In the AFL and in Cricket there have issues to do with the game and its structure. The relevancy of Test Cricket and its recent minimised versions, the constant improving conditions for batting. Then there is the fast track development of cricketers as a talented elite. All this in the face of players like Hussey, Rogers, and Voges who were in their late twenties when they began their successful careers. Maybe like Matt Wade there is something to do with experience and not just fostering talent?

In the AFL the battle is set against coaching tactics that have brought scoring down to levels not seen sine the 1930's. The recent rule changes are there to penalise the coaches but that did not halt them for long. Techniques have been developed and will still be developed. The game changes and always will, it has yet to be fully formed. Unlike American Football we have only recently tried to make it uniformly rigid.

These are all techniques. All of them no different to military, political, scientific, financial or corporate techniques. They begin in their way as an open pre-structure that is not fully formed. As people engage and play creatively the rules slowly form and coalesce. Tactics develop from this creativity and eventually into a rigid concrete form. Though not all techniques develop at the same pace.

Despite all of this, each technique is going through these development phases arriving at a solid form. Until a revolution comes to begin the process anew. It occurred with One Day Cricket and Twenty over cricket. It happened in AFL with Pagan's Paddock, with the Flood, with zone defence. Something new will develop. That is the gift of technique. We are just waiting for another idea.

However, this leaves us in the position of passively waiting for that new development. Once again we are restricted within the mechanised form of relief and distraction. I apologise to say that I do not know how to exit this cycle. Because like you, I was brought up in it and know nothing else.

Phillip Hall is currently writing an essay about hope and technology for The University of Divinity. Jacques Ellul's book The Technological Society is core to this essay. Techniques are central to our lives and sport is merely one of them. How we live with technique? Now that is the challenge.

Expectation Is Not Hope.

I watched the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos as they struggled to fly against the polar winds hitting Melbourne this morning. They were on their way to another of their many feeding grounds. I passed them driving home this morning all heads down, busy eating. They are one of my favourite birds. Though it made me think.

On such a cold day these birds, along with many others, have to eat to survive the cold. This is the same for many people in the world. Not for me though as I type this out in a heated room, a cup of tea to my right, and chocolate teddy bear biscuits within reach. I sit here writing this article while listening to ABC Classic FM, in a well lit room by led globes, sitting on an IKEA chair.

I did not make any of these things, except for the cup of tea, though that came through a tea bag and an electric kettle. So, really I made absolutely nothing. The power comes to the house, as does the water and the gas, and especially the internet. I am connected, established and well kept on this cold, wet and windy Friday.

Medical and Political Techniques Make Life Better.

Later on today I am off to the local Hospital for my regular appointment with the Liver Specialist. I have seven medical specialists in my life right now, and that is not counting my Dentist. I was born with a mixed assortment of maladies, a congenital deformity and idiopathic scoliosis. Without the medical scientific advancements accessible to me I would at best not be able to walk or stand.

What makes my position even more unique for me is that I have met another with one of my conditions. She was not born in Australia and lives her life in a wheelchair. There was no medical welfare in her country. Even if there was she would not have had access to the advanced techniques that enable me to stand, walk, run, cycle and play cricket.

What has been denied to her was made openly available to me and I have that series of Australian governments from 1973 to today to thank for the incredible situation I am able to live in. I have uttered thanks to Gough, Fraser, Hawke and Keating as the establishment of medicare and social welfare in this country has enabled me and many more to find themselves alive and in shelter on a cold and windy Friday.

Techniques, technology and Hope.

Now I mentioned “technique” again did I? Yes, there it is in the fifth paragraph describing the advanced medical techniques that I have undergone that enhance my body. Technique describes all the political, electrical, medical, musical, engineering developments that make it possible for me to exist and sit comfortably inside while the wind is howling outside my windows.

For this very reason there are those like Canadian Philosopher George Grant describe humanity as technology. We are technology, proclaims Grant. He is aghast at it especially the variant that he sees taking place south of the Canadian border (U.S.A). Grant harkens back to the ancient greeks, to an age of contemplation to something less technical.

American William F. Lynch S.J. (Jesuit) called for a rediscover of that which has “the taste of the human”. A call to revisit those earlier understandings of what being human was. In his work Images of Hope, Lynch points out the place of hope and hoplessness as a foundational element in the development of every person. In the act of wishing and imagination we are able to hope, together, for those very human goals.

When our hopes are revealed as not possible and hopeless we are supposed to rebound off this boundary and with imagination to attempt another way. That is until we realise that this wish is hopeless and to attempt to attain it only leads to endlessness. We have to move on to something else otherwise we will be trapped repeating the same futile actions that did not bear fruit.

Do We Hope In Techniques.

Techniques are not hope, though there are and were many who hope for the attainment of a technique. Francis Bacon for one, along with Descatres and even Oppenhiemer. Bacon hoped that in time humanity would attain and develop the techniques to enable humanity. Descartes was similar to Bacon though his process of attainment of scientific discoveries was less technical and more hope. While Bacon tested and repeated scientific developments, critiquing the language and terms used in his pursuit of a standardised scientific project, others like Newton followed the revelations and eureka moments.

Then there is Oppenhiemer and his quest for nuclear fusion and the atomic bomb. It is here when we begin the down stroke. Not one to damn someone over one line but when asked why he went looking for the solution to the atomic bomb (solution so not the right word) Oppenhiemer replied that the science was too sweet.

The task and development of technique has lead to where I sit right now, while the wind rages outside. While I hope to finish this article, where I do this, what I type it on, the electrical and technological design and development that enables all of this is beyond me. I cannot make or design any of this. It just happens around me. I pay for it by working. I turn the switch and the light goes on, the heater goes on. There is no hope involved in this. It is an expectation.

Techniques Magic of Expectation.

We are no longer hoping like we once did. There is too much done for us, even though I like many are alive because of the techniques and technological developments that we depend upon. Arthur C. Clarke's quote “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”. Has me in thinking that this is where we find ourselves. In a place where technique is the one magic that is the only choice for all the problems of humanity. No hope for technique but our expectation of technique.

When hope is fulfilled it is no longer hope. A hope is to come. Technique is the magic that fulfils hope. When it is no longer hope it is expected. At what point is the need for imagination? At what point does the condition of fulfilled hope lead to the end of wishing? If there is no need for anything but the continued practice of technique, then is this not a form of endlessness? An endlessness that give us hopelessness.

Phillip Hall studies at University of Divinity and is writing his Minor Thesis due in November. This is a glimpse of his conclusions as to the place of hope in the face of techniques and the technological society we live in.

Phillip Hall

9^th August 2019

Expectation Is Not Hope.

I watched the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos as they struggled to fly against the polar winds hitting Melbourne this morning. They were on their way to another of their many feeding grounds. I passed them driving home this morning all heads down, busy eating. They are one of my favourite birds. Though it made me think.

On such a cold day these birds, along with many others, have to eat to survive the cold. This is the same for many people in the world. Not for me though as I type this out in a heated room, a cup of tea to my right, and chocolate teddy bear biscuits within reach. I sit here writing this article while listening to ABC Classic FM, in a well lit room by led globes, sitting on an IKEA chair.

I did not make any of these things, except for the cup of tea, though that came through a tea bag and an electric kettle. So, really I made absolutely nothing. The power comes to the house, as does the water and the gas, and especially the internet. I am connected, established and well kept on this cold, wet and windy Friday.

Medical and Political Techniques Make Life Better.

Later on today I am off to the local Hospital for my regular appointment with the Liver Specialist. I have seven medical specialists in my life right now, and that is not counting my Dentist. I was born with a mixed assortment of maladies, a congenital deformity and idiopathic scoliosis. Without the medical scientific advancements accessible to me I would at best not be able to walk or stand.

What makes my position even more unique for me is that I have met another with one of my conditions. She was not born in Australia and lives her life in a wheelchair. There was no medical welfare in her country. Even if there was she would not have had access to the advanced techniques that enable me to stand, walk, run, cycle and play cricket.

What has been denied to her was made openly available to me and I have that series of Australian governments from 1973 to today to thank for the incredible situation I am able to live in. I have uttered thanks to Gough, Fraser, Hawke and Keating as the establishment of medicare and social welfare in this country has enabled me and many more to find themselves alive and in shelter on a cold and windy Friday.

Techniques, technology and Hope.

Now I mentioned “technique” again did I? Yes, there it is in the fifth paragraph describing the advanced medical techniques that I have undergone that enhance my body. Technique describes all the political, electrical, medical, musical, engineering developments that make it possible for me to exist and sit comfortably inside while the wind is howling outside my windows.

For this very reason there are those like Canadian Philosopher George Grant describe humanity as technology. We are technology, proclaims Grant. He is aghast at it especially the variant that he sees taking place south of the Canadian border (U.S.A). Grant harkens back to the ancient greeks, to an age of contemplation to something less technical.

American William F. Lynch S.J. (Jesuit) called for a rediscover of that which has “the taste of the human”. A call to revisit those earlier understandings of what being human was. In his work Images of Hope, Lynch points out the place of hope and hoplessness as a foundational element in the development of every person. In the act of wishing and imagination we are able to hope, together, for those very human goals.

When our hopes are revealed as not possible and hopeless we are supposed to rebound off this boundary and with imagination to attempt another way. That is until we realise that this wish is hopeless and to attempt to attain it only leads to endlessness. We have to move on to something else otherwise we will be trapped repeating the same futile actions that did not bear fruit.

Do We Hope In Techniques.

Techniques are not hope, though there are and were many who hope for the attainment of a technique. Francis Bacon for one, along with Descatres and even Oppenhiemer. Bacon hoped that in time humanity would attain and develop the techniques to enable humanity. Descartes was similar to Bacon though his process of attainment of scientific discoveries was less technical and more hope. While Bacon tested and repeated scientific developments, critiquing the language and terms used in his pursuit of a standardised scientific project, others like Newton followed the revelations and eureka moments.

Then there is Oppenhiemer and his quest for nuclear fusion and the atomic bomb. It is here when we begin the down stroke. Not one to damn someone over one line but when asked why he went looking for the solution to the atomic bomb (solution so not the right word) Oppenhiemer replied that the science was too sweet.

The task and development of technique has lead to where I sit right now, while the wind rages outside. While I hope to finish this article, where I do this, what I type it on, the electrical and technological design and development that enables all of this is beyond me. I cannot make or design any of this. It just happens around me. I pay for it by working. I turn the switch and the light goes on, the heater goes on. There is no hope involved in this. It is an expectation.

Techniques Magic of Expectation.

We are no longer hoping like we once did. There is too much done for us, even though I like many are alive because of the techniques and technological developments that we depend upon. Arthur C. Clarke's quote “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”. Has me in thinking that this is where we find ourselves. In a place where technique is the one magic that is the only choice for all the problems of humanity. No hope for technique but our expectation of technique.

When hope is fulfilled it is no longer hope. A hope is to come. Technique is the magic that fulfils hope. When it is no longer hope it is expected. At what point is the need for imagination? At what point does the condition of fulfilled hope lead to the end of wishing? If there is no need for anything but the continued practice of technique, then is this not a form of endlessness? An endlessness that give us hopelessness.

Phillip Hall studies at University of Divinity and is writing his Minor Thesis due in November. This is a glimpse of his conclusions as to the place of hope in the face of techniques and the technological society we live in.

Why I Do Not Support The Joker Origin Movie.

I will not be rushing to watch the new Joker movie. Yes, I know it had been critically acclaimed. That it won at the Venice Film Festival. That it stars Joaquin Phoenix who was great in the Johnny Cash bio-pic Walk the Line. I have read Batman comics since I was nine, but I will not give this stand alone origin movie of the Joker my support. My hope is that you will avoid it too. Unfortunately the fanboys will flock to it.

Comics: A Brief History

The comic book genre at its most popular was made under the comics code. Central to that code was that the villain should have his comeuppance. For the post-war generation this was what they needed. To be told that in the end the bad guys get beaten. Hope wins. It is more than possible that the Joker in this movie will not loose and not be caught.Where is the hope that evil will be beaten?

In the 1980's when comics got darker emerged the bible for all Batman movies, Frank Miller's The Dark Night Returns. Miller's dark, grim and gritty tale of a much older Batman is a classic. For DC it is holy writ, the template for super hero movies. This was the mid-point in the rise of the anti-hero, the era called the Bronze Age. Here began the rise of Wolverine and The Punisher at Marvel and so many dark tales of other heroes gone rouge.

By the turn of the millennium the comics code had been totally abandoned the now older Gen Xers who were still buying comics and wanted something more adult. By this time Watchmen, Deadpool, Spawn and other ultra violent anti-hero stories were common. The whole “what if the heroes were villains?” concept spiked and you end up with Cyclops killing Professor X, Elongated Man's wife raped, and now Kid-Flash is a murderer. Ok, they re-wrote that with a bit of time travel but still, the story had Kid-Flash murder other heroes.

DC comics executive Dan DiDio is often quoted as saying that all heroes have to be tragic. It is not that Marvel is any better, but, that Disney owns Marvel. For the Mouse, Marvel movies have to be a bit lighter. One wonders how this is going to effect Deadpool in the future.

Representation Matters

Why am I so deflated by this movie? It has to do with the reason why I am so happy about other super hero movies, representation. Black Panther showed the world a whole country full of African heroes. A whole African Kingdom that is more advanced and better governed than any other country in that world. They are powerful, and if they wished, they could be a world power. They do not wish to be so.

Captain Marvel (a movie that I have discussed before) is the most powerful Avenger, and in Avengers:Endgame she fights Thanos single handedly. Without the female heroes in Endgame Thanos wins. The damsel in a dress is a lost concept for Marvel now. Unfortunately they still need women to die for the male heroes character development.

The Joker is a violent creation, a psychotic, narcissistic, chaotic creature of spite. To make a movie that concentrates on all this is going to raise the characters profile. Clowns of violence appear to be the cinematic treat at the moment. IT with the vile and demonic Pennywise is back for another go. It astounds me that we continue to make films about these events and the violent characters with them taking centre stage. Just wait for the made for tv series on channel Nine about a certain New Zealand shooting.

The Power of The Dark Side

I have said at the start that I believe this Joker film will be a success. The dark and gritty template is the default for DC Movies. While Shazam, Wonder Woman and Aquaman were successful nothing has been a bigger money earner than Batman. And the darker the Batman movie, the better.

My concern is that in this dark descent the hero is not longer the focus, neither is hope. It is all about the villains. While we need evil in a narrative to create tension we also need it to be beaten. We need to see the hope that good can win.

To concentrate on Joker, to have an origin movie about the character leans too far away from hope. It concentrates on the selfish, violent, unstable machinations of a character who is broken and wants everyone to be as broken as he is.

So I ask honestly; who is going to be inspired by this Joker origin movie? Who is going to identify with the psychotic madman who kills without remorse. The Joker who laughs at the gore and violence he creates. Who is so utterly nihilistic to the point where life itself is a joke. Do we want to celebrate that? I do not.

Phillip Hall is researching Hope and Technology at The University of Divinity in Melbourne. Phillip has been reading comics since 1979 and still reads them today. While he knows many will see this movie, the whole idea of a focused movie about The Joker seems wrong. He knows there are many who will not see this point of view. It just has to be said.

In the AFL you've got to pick a pocket or two

Oliver! That musical set in Dickensian London. I am sure you remember it. The young orphan Oliver is put up for sale for wanting more. Never before has a boy wanted more! Oliver ends up in the charge of Fagan and his gang of pickpockets. In the AFL, like most sports, some players want more. Coaches are somewhat like Fagan. More than willing to pick a pocket or two of another club. For this reason players are traded in search of a win, or, just wanting to go back home.

As a supporter of one of the clubs that did not make the finals, Fremantle; I have made an interesting discovery. There are four former Fremantle players who are in the finals this season. Chris Mayne (Collingwood), Matthew De Boer (GWS), Hayden Crozier (Western Bulldogs) and Lachie Neale (Brisbane).

Chris Mayne will play in his second finals series in two years with Collingwood. If they make it to the Grand Final it will be Mayne's third Grand Final appearance. Not bad for a player who at the end of his time at Fremantle was derided due to poor kicking. At Collingwood they play him as a defensive forward and this plays to his strengths. It has been a joy to watch him bloom in this role.

In the past the ideal was the 1990's Team of the decade North Melbourne. You get the kids young and mould them into a core that you can build around. As they get older they win the under18's, the seconds and finally the Grand Final. That was the VFL before what has occurred. Now we have the VSFL for the under 18 players, and, the VFL where stand alone teams still compete with AFL second teams and finally the AFL.

Matthew De Boer was one of those players you could name but never point out on the field. One of those Yeomen that you realise has played 181 games and are a bit surprised you never noticed him. He is a very good player, classic half forward. Kicks goals, plays in the mid-field, got all the skills needed. Has taken his chances and done well at the Giants, deserves a Grand Final.

The AFL is a compromise. Due to distance the AFL cannot adopt relegation and promotion as in European Futbol. AFL teams are not owned like in European and American Sport. As AFL club members have some part of the decision making at their club. Other compromises are seen in the draw where it is impossible to play everyone twice. A well managed club requires the ability to develop players via the draft AND be good at finding talent elsewhere.

Hayden Crozier is plying his trade at the Western Bulldogs and is definitely required this coming finals series. Can take a role forwards or in defence, can kick a goal when switched forward. Its the flexibility a coach needs, as all clubs need that guy who can play at both ends.

This year the AFL had a mid-season draft from the 'lower' leagues. In times gone by the SANFL or the WAFL would never consider giving into such a proposition. But it happened. Clubs with gun players having great seasons had to relinquish these players to AFL clubs mid-season. These players may never play an AFL game. They may come back in a years time injured never to play again for their former club. It is a ruthless sport sometimes.

I was a bit sad when Lachie Neale was set to leave Fremantle. Though after this season I cannot deny the decision was wrong. A Fremantle fanatic would say he should have stayed and maybe won a flag at Fremantle. At the Lions, Neale is the number one midfielder and a Brownlow medal contender. Against Richmond he had 40 plus possessions. That is a severe case of leather poisoning. There was no way this was possible as Nat Fyfe's understudy.

A team needs to be looking out for new talent in many places. For those who follow Fremantle will know of Michael Barlow an amazing mature age recruit. For those who do not know he is still playing in the VFL back at Werribee where he was 'discovered'. Not all people mature or grow the same. A player with great potential can fade away, meanwhile, a player who has taken the time to develop and grow can be what an AFL club requires.

Charlie Cameron was traded to Brisbane from Adelaide in 2017. He, along with Neale has made a great impact at Brisbane. Cameron's former club, Adelaide has had a great fall since appearing in the 2017 Grand Final. In the final round of 2019 17 out of the 22 that played for Adelaide had also played in their 2017 loss against Richmond. In contrast, only seven Bulldogs from their 2016 Premiership played in the same round. The difference in turnover is clear and perhaps a reason for Adelaides woes.

Brisbane look good enough to make the Grand Final. If they win the first round against Richmond they get another home game, if they do not they are good enough to beat anyone in the top eight. It makes you wonder about Chris Fagan. Picking the pockets of both Adelaide, Fremantle and possibly Hawthorn too has led to Brisbane's place in the finals this year. While Chris Fagan's surname is merely a consequence; does this make Lachie Neale Oliver, the boy who wanted more?

Phillip Hall has been too long in Melbourne to see AFL in the same light as those back in Fremantle. East Fremantle born and bred, he would love to see the Dockers back in the eight. But would settle for just beating West Coast twice a year.

It was the last round of cricket before Christmas...

It is the last round before Christmas for our fictional local cricket club. Many players have family and work commitments and have withdrawn from the final round. Being able to get the seven teams the seventy seven players required for the final round has become desperate. It is a race to find numbers. Past players are being contacted. Uncles, cousins and fathers who have not played since John Howard was Prime Minister are being asked, once more, to wear white this Saturday.

Has Mount Park forfeited yet?. It was posted on the clubs Facebook page by the club President. If that happened the seventh team would not play allowing players to go into other teams. It did not help that the new chairman of selectors had already left for a family Pacific cruise. The President, the coach and the team captains were finding it harder than usual.

This year was already at a historic high for player absences. Two weddings held in October and November should have decimated the fourths finals chances. Never has Melbourne’s fickle weather been loved more. The weddings had no effect due to unseasonal spring rains. Matches have been cancelled this season for rain and heat. Unfortunately, the final Saturday for 2019 was forecast to be under 30 degrees celsius.

The thirds had two injuries and fingers were crossed that no one would hurt themselves at work before Saturday. Last week two players got a bit too much Christmas cheer and called in ‘sick’ and ‘injured’ on the Saturday morning. Their facebook and instagram accounts were checked. The images showed that ‘sick’ meant very hung over due to the innovation of Vodka pong. While ‘injured’ occurred due to misadventures in pole dancing. We neither condone nor endorse these activities. It takes all sorts to make up a cricket club.

After the final round Rohan delivers Pizza to Danny

While the cricketers played Facebook was filled with work parties and family celebrations. At the same time there were past and current players who for different reasons were not available to play. The final evening at the club rooms were a bit sombre. Only the fifths and the sevens won. There were a few who could not stay that night. Due to the Christmas party that they could not avoid once cricket had finished. Others, like Rohan had to work. Parties need pizza and pizza’s need to be delivered.

Rohan ran into Danny delivering pizza to Danny’s house on the Saturday night. Rohan plays in the threes and aspires to play in the twos next year. Danny used to play in the fifths when Rohan was a junior who filled in occasionally.
“Roh-man!” greats Danny from the front door.
“Dan-man! Long time, no see.” replies Rohan. “One Large Meat Lovers and a Vegetarian.”
“One for me, one for the missus.” says Danny as he takes the two pizzas from Rohan.
There is a pause as the obvious is unsaid. Till Rohan says it. “You ever coming back mate?”

Danny’s head shakes a bit and he sucks in a short breath and looks over his shoulder.
“B’tween us….i’d love ta. But….house, mortgage, and Taylah has a big European trip still on the go for 2021.” Danny is smiling but talking softly. He then adds. “Great to catch up.”
“Yeah it was.” replies Rohan.

Danny is not a sad case. He has a great job making good money. His wife of three years also works. They have to to pay the mortgage and Taylah’s dream European holiday. After that is the kids, and like Taylah, they are going to the big private school up the road. Danny would love to play and he does dream of one day playing alongside his kids. Though that day is at least fifteen years away.

Aaron and Lachlan conspire to play in the Finals

At the club rooms as evening strolls into the night the BBQ is long cold. The fat congealing on the hot plate is being left for next year to be cleaned.

“The threes are looking good this year.” comments Aaron. Aaron has played his second game for this season. At fifteen he had been a regular in the seconds. However grades were everything for his parents. From year eleven onwards cricket only existed when school was over. He is in the middle of an engineering degree and will play till the end of February.
“Yeah. They are in a good place to make finals.” says Lachlan. “Are you available for finals? You should qualify. They need another bat.” Lachlan knows this is a long shot as Aaron still lives with his parents. Though Lachlan has heard a little rumour.
“Yeah that could happen. Mum is going back to Sri Lanka for a cousin’s wedding.” Aaron smiles knowing this is far from what his mother would want.

“While the cats away…?” alludes Lachlan.

“When’s the grand final?” inquires Aaron.
“21^st and 22^nd of March. I think.”
“Mum gets back on the 23^rd” adds Aaron. He bites his bottom lip. It is going to be a close thing if the thirds make it to the Grand Final.

Perhaps this is more than just a cricket problem?

While numbers are always an issue for sporting clubs the problem is harder in rural areas and in certain city suburbs. And on this I wonder why.

Is it possible that the pressures on local sporting clubs come from the changes in working hours and an inflated property market? The dream of house and home requires many to take on working hours that are well beyond the 40 hour week. Education is seen as one of the few ways to elevate yourself and your family. All create a strain on families where time is limited to a few hours each week for rest.

Eight hours of work, rest and sleep a day is a far cry for many who work two and three jobs. Sport becomes only possible for those who can afford it. Rest and sleep are sacrificed to enable something better than before.

However, money is a resource and everyone cannot be rich. Team sports acknowledge that everyone is needed to succeed. Though the winners take all the spoils. It is a dichotomy that irritates me, because in life, un-like sport the looser’s do all the work while the winners get time to rest and play.

Phillip Hall plays park cricket in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. If you recognise someone in this work of fiction it is a coincidence. This story began as a lament on people not being available to play due to Christmas celebrations and ended up somewhere else. The final question I believe is valid and theologically relevant. God rests after working six days. Why do we have a society where for many, sabbath is becoming impossible?

Fullsterkur : Fully Strong.

Sport begins somewhere. At some time something is lifted, thrown, run with, caught, kicked. This object could be directed towards a target, or just out there. What comes before the sports of today? Where do they originate from? Probably basic feats of strength involving lifting and the propelling an object. We see this in the Olympic sports of javelin, discus, hammer throw and shot put. Old sports where modern technology has enhanced the people, clothing and the object that is thrown.

The sports of football and bat and ball codes integrate those older tasks into a larger group of techniques. Consider Rugby Union and the Scrum, the Line Out and the Maul. Feats of strength as two sides push agains the other for control of the ball. Power, speed, endurance these are the foundational attributes that all sports are based on. On top of these is a set of techniques that are on display to achieve the aim of the game.

What would happen if you stripped away all the technique? What would sport become? When you take away the clothing, the specialised equipment and the techniques developed; you are left with an object and the human body. What object do you use? Common ones. The day to day objects. Why do you do attempt to lift, throw or carry the object? A wager? To prove your worth in the community? A tradition?

Strongland.

On Netflix is the documentary series Strongland. It shows the lifting and endurance traditions of Iceland (Fullsterker), Scotland (Stoneland) and the Basque (Levantadores). In each culture the sport is lifting or moving stone. Each a proud tradition. Though there are differences in history and the place that each sport holds in their culture.

For the Scots the stones are being remembered. They are being re-found where they were left. The tradition is gaining a following once again. In Stoneland we are shown a sport that was once well known that is being revived. For some it is a connection to past roots. Those who no longer live in Scotland find themselves returning to lift the stones once more. In churches, fields and out front of pubs the stones are still there. There are locals who know what the stones were for. Some have placed plaques to inform young and the naive of the history of these stones. It is a rediscovery that feels fragile despite a history that weighs more than the stones themselves.

Basque country is in the north west of Spain, and the Basque are not Spanish. The Basque have their own language and their own culture which is proud and bold. They have their own lifting sport. A series of events based on the agricultural roots of the Basque people. Levantadores lift a variety of stones and even anvils. This is based on distance, and repetition. Different lifting descends from former trades and farming practices. Though the most unique are the different stones. These stones are manufactured and come in cubes, spheres and towers. They say that these sports came to be when either individuals or towns bet that they could beat the other. It was a feat of strength that showed who was the strongest. It is a unique tradition that is holding on through the passionate work of its practitioners.

Fullsterkur.

The final and longest in the Strongland series is Fullsterkur. Iceland holds its viking ancestry close to its heart. It has produced many winners in the world of weight lifting and strong man events. Like the Scots the stones are where they were left. The difference being that they were lifted at least once that year. We are taken on a tour of some of the stones and told of the connections and stories of the stones. There were different weights of stones. The biggest being the Fullsterkur. If you could lift the Fullsterkur you were strong enough to work on the fishing boats.

Iceland has a long and proud history of producing strong men and women. The reason I began this series come from the World’s Strongest Man competition. It used to be played as a series on Wide World of Sports in the mid 1980s. I remembered the blonde Jón Páll Sigmarsson who would compete with a smile and roar when he finished. His influence is throughout Fullsterkur. An influence that reaches to Game of Thrones. Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson who plays The Mountain from Game of Thrones takes part in the of tour lifting the Iceland stones.

Sport at the core is about human application towards a task. What the application is aimed towards can be very different. In Strongland we are shown different applications for the same task. One is about access in the society. Another is the celebration of champions. The third is connection to culture. All three stone lifting cultures do this to different degrees. All three look backwards to an older time. The hope is that the former lifting can be brought back as a connection to what was. A way of anchoring the people to the stone of this world.

After the High. Watch Out for the Low.

How do you come down from an intense period? It has been asked of me because I have just finished a minor thesis. I took me a whole year to write this essay of 1600 words on the contradiction between hope and technology. If this essay gets a high enough grade I will be given permission to continue my research. I have been under pressure for a while. As the final week loomed the pressure was showing.

I rang the Dean of Studies at my college in what I am sure sounded like a mad panic. This was the day before submission. I had to make sure that I was not required to add a cover sheet or anything else. I did not have to add anything. I should have known that. The Dean was polite and told me that it was a good to ask. That to find out was better than racing around in a panic.

On submission day I was exhausted. I was all bound up in the essay. Then I submitted it. All done. It was like the floor fell out below me. Since then I have been sleepy. Weariness has never been far away. I did wonder if this was because I fielded seventy two overs on Saturday. But it was heavier than that.

Monday morning came and I went off to work. There was something missing. I realised what it was. There was no intensity. I did not have to produce a 1600 word philosophical essay. It should have been weight lifted from me. It was not. I found myself missing the work load.

I texted a friend who has a Phd. He knows what I have been through. I wrote that I missed the intensity. His replay was “You adrenalin junkie.”. He was right. I was so used to the demand and the focus that was required to write this essay. Focus is a good thing, it helps you concentrate. Too much focus along with the deadline and the desire to do well might not be. It was a marathon not a sprint and now that it is over I miss it.

I am not Neurotypical. I am on the colourful side of the Autistic spectrum. I have had high-highs and low-lows. At times I can be fascinated and totally absorbed in ideas, issues and concepts. Absorbed to the point where I am thinking so much I forget what I was doing. It happens at work, at home, at cricket. Though none of those moments are as high octane as writing this essay.

My Father is a Psychologist and I am familiar with Mental Health issues. I am not sick. But I am weary. I want the ability to come down from the high of last week. The concepts and ideas that follow the idea of hope and technology continue to filter and orbit around me. I am tired but I am so used to running this marathon.

There is a lot to do with family and friends. Birthdays, Christmas and New Years to come. There is more than the concepts that have been spinning their way around my head for the last year. Though they continue to surface I am unsure if this is a good or not. I cannot stop the world for a few days, though I wish I could.

What I can control is how I deal with my thoughts. The marathon is over and I have to tell myself that, repeatedly. I know there are others who do not have that level of control. They are always running the marathon. Some are even sprinting, chasing the thoughts that race through their minds. To slow that down for some requires medication.

Some people love the race and the intensity so much that they stop taking their medication. The intensity has its own allure and I can see that. I too like the buzz of intensity and the focus it brings. I would deliberately delay lunch somedays to bring that focus on even more. I called it riding the burn. I could keep the writing coherent and clear for about two hours. After that my writing and thinking would get sloppy and I would loose what social filters I have. It was then I would go and eat.

When I am riding the burn I feel like I can focus on the issue at hand better. It is true but only for a few hours. How do I know this? Because of others who tell me. Friends and family tell me. Go have something to eat. How much sleep have you been getting? When these people tell me I know I need to recognise their feedback and change up. But now, after the marathon of this year it is different. I am not bouncing off the walls, I am not more socially awkward than normal. I am flat. This is new.

I would normally crash and get sick after an intensity like writing the essay. I am far from ill, though as I have repeated I am tired. Whenever I try to get back to the essay topics and continue my thinking I get tried very quickly. I am run down. I know it, but I want to bounce back. It has been a week and I am nowhere near doing that.

The year for me has been a marathon. One where in the last six weeks I have been sprinting to the line. Writing re-writing. Correcting, adding, subtracting. Having moments when I did not think I would get it done in time. I did. Which is great. Coming down from the mountain and returning to life after the essay is harder than I thought it would be. I have not realised fully how much energy I have spent. I want to rush onwards into what comes next and I have tried to. When I try to run I cannot. Now is the time for rest and I need it. I just have not realise that I needed it till today.

Phillip Hall is trying to rest. If you have a pizza delivery and the driver forgets the drink that is probably me.

The Dark Wrestling After the Fires.

There is something that I have seen when it comes to the fires and the many prayers that have been made concerning them. While we should pray for those caught in catastrophic events there is a situation that concerns me.

When cyclone Tracey hit Darwin in 1975 most of the city was flattened. There was a random nature to the effects of the cyclone. You could walk down a street and all but one house was standing. It is the same in towns hit by hurricanes in North America. Lone houses standing while others are no longer there.

The same has happened in Gippsland, New South Wales and Queensland. The fires have destroyed houses in some places and left others still standing. It is the same with lives. Some have not returned from fighting these fires. Others have found themselves with no way out and no way to hide from the flames.

In Mallacoota the fires moved towards those ready with woollen blankets to march out into the lakes and the sea. Then the weather changes. The winds blow from the south and the fires move away. Still the fires burn and the sky becomes dark red. Ash and embers still fall as people pour buckets on cars to stop them catching alight. These people escaped. Days later, many have been escorted home by the Navy.

The Trouble with the Expectation of Prayer

We see the devastating pictures of the towns and schools all but ash. The fires are still burning. So many are still fighting fires. And during all of this we still pray. We are thankful that many are able to escape. But there are many that did not.

Can you openly attribute your survival to those prayers when others did not survive. When your house is untouched and your neighbours house is gone, along with members of their family, can you tell them how great God is?

I ask this question because it is one that I have had to deal with. Not with fires or cyclones but with my health. I was born with complications, one of these is Scoliosis. It means my spine twists compressing my torso, bringing my shoulders and my hips closer than they should. As a kid I was prayed for, A LOT. Because I lived in Australia and was able to go to a great hospital I got a surgical cure for scoliosis. My family and I consider this an answer to those prayers.

At the same time I was getting this operation a person who I would meet many years later was being put in a wheelchair because of scoliosis. She did not have political leaders who were able to create the medical resources that we have in Australia. Without the access that I had she is still in a wheelchair. I still feel shame when I meet her. Why am I the beneficiary of providence prayed for and she is not? Her parents and family prayed too. What is the difference?

We Wrestle Together In A Great Tradition

This is my third attempt at trying to finish this article. Because it is not an easy thought. Because it is a personal quandary and one that may be in the minds of those who were fortunate in the face of these fires. We could call it Survivors guilt. Though when we attach it to prayer it becomes something else. Because God is not a Genie. Not all petitions to God in prayer receive a positive result. How many have prayed for release, survival, healing and nothing eventuates. This is a dark thought.

Jesus often told those he healed to be quiet. These same people were so happy that they told everyone what had happened. When we get a windfall we want to tell others about our good fortune. Though what about those Jesus did not heal? What about those who are the subject of prayers for many years and nothing happens.

There are those who have escaped these fires. Some with only the clothes they are wearing. The fires have devastated towns, and farms. It is possible that the costs are yet to be fully realised for some time. We donate, pray and support those still fighting and fleeing the fires. We mourn those who are no longer alive. For those with miraculous tales of escape we are glad. When prayer is answered we can be glad.

There will be those who in their sadness and mourning will enter dark places. Those who survive may walk there as well. Many will find themselves in the place of Job’s wife “Curse God and die”. The hopelessness will attempt to swallow them whole. In this we have to wrestle with our idea of God. Is God good for me and not for another? Is God bad because of the fire that took so many homes and lives? Is prayer useless? It is a struggle and we need to understand that such a struggle is ok. It is a struggle we do not have to face alone.

I heard someone say that the Jewish Scriptures are the recorded history and thinking of the people of God wrestling with the idea of God, where God is an active partner in this same wrestling. It is what Israel means, one who wrestles with God. It is an active and living practice that is still going for the children of Abraham. A practice we Christians claim to be part of. Do not ignore that you may need to wrestle in the face of this conflagration. On these things we have to wrestle, yet, we do not have to wrestle alone.

Phillip Hall plays cricket, delivers pizza and wrestles with the provision that God has given him while others are not so fortunate. Having a studied Art, Theology and Philosophy does not help sometimes, though it does give you the tools to wrestle well. You can find Phill on the internet as thischristianguy (tumblr and blogger).