Oh, well played Sir!

Big sporting weekend just gone - or perhaps I should say a big weekend of sports, because I see precious little sporting attitude among competitors these days. When Stephen Potter wrote a book just after the war entitled "Gamesmanship: The Art of Winning Games Without Actually Cheating" he wrote it and meant it as humour, but in fact it now seems to be taken as a blueprint for success, whatever the game being played. Just notice how often Potter's Rule No. 1 - "Break the flow of the opponent's play" is utilised. The old mantra that "it's not the winning, but the taking part that counts" now just produces looks of incredulity. Has sportsmanship gone the way of chivalry - or in fact did either of them truly exist? Am I simply seeing things through my old man's rose-coloured spectacles?