A renowned writer once famously wrote that there’s no such thing as a second act in American lives – meaning that it’s not possible to change, to reinvent, to forge a new path. F Scott Fitzgerald’s epigram isn’t a truism and wasn’t intended to be. Reinvention is part and parcel of human experience. It’s what we do.
I’ve thought a lot about reinvention over the past four weeks as 32 footballing nations fought each other over to claim the FIFA World Cup. The team that grabbed my attention the most was England – solely because this England team was vastly different to those that have followed since their famous victory over Germany in 1966. Under the management of Garth Southgate, England performed and acted in a markedly different way, on and off, the pitch, than they have in the past 50 years. Entitlement, selfishness and arrogance were replaced with team unity, humility and self-awareness.
“Fans and the press have turned on them for failing to live up to perceived and imagined standards – in terms of results and behaviour.”
For many decades England teams, supporters, and the English press have treated football as a jewel of their own making and have tended to look down on other nations who play the same game. Indeed, England refused to participate in the first World Cup tournaments and saw it as beneath its dignity. When they did deign to take part they were beaten by the unheralded US team. The English have long regarded games they have ‘invented’ as their own preserve and have tended to be scornful of the way other nations play ‘their’ sports – think football, as well as cricket, rugby, maybe even badminton. Despite winning in 1966, England has been mainly disappointing in every subsequent tournament. Fans and the press have turned on them for failing to live up to perceived and imagined standards – in terms of results and behaviour.
How non-English perceive English sport (click here to view)
This time around, England’s management team pulled off an impressive feat – they created a team culture that garnered massive public support and press approval. The team weren’t eleven prima donnas expecting reward, they were a squad of players grafting out results and sticking to a plan. The football may not have been of the dazzling standards of other teams at the World Cup but making the semi-finals and letting Britons dream that ‘football was coming home’ was a fairly fantastic achievement.
Wayne Rooney lets rip about being booed by England fans (click here to view)
In essence, a total re-invention created a team that fans wanted to watch, wanted to follow and weren’t ashamed of. A second act forged out of the ashes of the first. Even though England finished fourth and couldn’t get past a nation comprised of the same population as New Zealand, they have been embraced as a team with huge potential for the upcoming European Championships in 2020 and the next FIFA World Cup in 2022 in Qatar. That’s a quite remarkable a turn-around for a team that was booed only last year in half empty English stadiums.
“. . .the All Blacks fell short and dashed expectations . . .”
New Zealand rugby fans with decent memories will recall the same thing with the All Blacks. For many years after the win at the inaugural World Cup in 1987, the All Blacks fell short and dashed expectations until Graham Henry initiated and instilled a markedly different team ethos and leadership strategy.
“It just goes to prove that in every facet of life, things can be overturned – forged into something new, better an more alluring.”
Although made up of a number of individually brilliant players, the All Blacks represented a unified team culture that translated to an incredible win ratio on the field. While there was one captain on and off the pitch, there were leadership groups throughout the playing 15 and the wider squad that pulled together. Today the All Blacks are the most successful team in the history of sport and that hasn’t been achieved by accident. Nor has it been about playing the best rugby. Often in sport the best team may not win on the day. Winning is never all about talent or potential. It’s about unity – playing as a part of a team rather than for oneself.
The All Blacks’ reputation used to hurt them, just as it did the England football team. They were perceived as haughty automations, distinct from the fans that supported them. Concerted efforts to overturn that resulted not only in greater support for the team, but for the game itself.
It just goes to prove that in every facet of life, things can be overturned – forged into something new, better and more alluring.
