Friday 30 March

For a conference on heroes there was much talk of ordinariness at Headingley Carnegie Stadium, scene of many sporting heroics.  There was nothing ordinary about the performances of the likes of Beryl Burton, Anita Lonsborough, Dorothy Hyman, Billy Boston, Fred Trueman or Jackie Milburn.  Many of the speakers suggested that the public associated with their chosen hero because they were nobut a slip of a lass, in touch with mining roots, a wife and mother, worked throughout.  None though were current.  Is that just because the presenters were largely social historians, or, as some argue, that celebrities have replaced heroes? 

I'm not sure that there are people in sport that I would elevate to the status of hero, but certainly there are people whose skill and style I admire.  My best stab at defining a sporting hero is that they are an ideal representation of our selves in the sporting arena.  Once a centre myself, I would choose one centre as my favourite player for Leeds (rugby league); I would choose his successor as the best to play outside as a winger.  It's all so complicated, but that makes the subject rich pickings for pub arguments and academic study alike.

Professor Jonathan Long
Carnegie Research Institute