Yes it's trivial — that's why sport is so precious in this dark world
It's fair to say that JJ Spaun played one of the shots of his life on the 17th hole at Oakmont Country Club — a drive on to the green — to give himself a chance of winning the US Open, before following up with a 64-foot birdie putt on the last that led to a gasp of astonishment in the stands and the millions watching on TV, transfixed by the curious activity of people hitting rubber balls into small cups with sticks of iron (or, these days, some combination of steel, titanium, graphite and tungsten).
A little earlier, Tadej Pogacar, perhaps the most astonishing specimen of cardiovascular range yet seen in road cycling, won the Critérium du Dauphiné, the appetiser for that epic test of endurance known as the Tour de France, not sprinting to the line but instead sending a message to his rival Jonas Vingegaard. As my colleague Sean Russell put it in a wonderful report on Sunday: 'He had no need for second place. The Dauphiné had already been won by 59 seconds, and he had barely broken a sweat'.
And on the subject of magnificent sport during this first month of a glorious summer, forgive me for mentioning Carlos Alcaraz's defeat of Jannik Sinner in a contest so epic Tolstoy could have written a novel about it. For more than five hours we watched and gasped as these two young men tested each other's limits — tactical and psychological — in a match of kaleidoscopic shifts in momentum and magisterial shot-making (if you get a chance, watch the highlights on YouTube: I guarantee, it'll bring a smile to your face).
And look at what's still to come in a summer pregnant with promise: Wimbledon, where Sinner and Alcaraz are set to resume their rivalry (and let's not forget the increasingly impressive Jack Draper) and the inspirational Coco Gauff will gun for two grand-slam titles in a row after her stunning victory over Aryna Sabalenka in Paris; the British Grand Prix at Silverstone; the Tour de France, which will wind its way through cobbled streets and open spaces, including the fearsome climb at Mont Ventoux; the Open at Royal Portrush, where locals will be hoping that Rory McIlroy finds his most superlative form; and, of course, the Test series between England and India (I look forward to the elegant writing of Athers and Steve James almost as much as the action itself).
Why am I telling you all this? Well, because the world is dark and ominous. I doubt I'm alone in watching missile strikes in Ukraine and the Middle East with growing alarm. It is understandable to feel a sense of trepidation. But isn't it at times like this that sport (not unlike other cultural pursuits) is more precious than ever, an opportunity not just for escapism but a safety valve to help gain a sense of perspective? Sport is not (I suggest) a distraction, or frivolous, or a way to avoid thinking about momentous issues. Rather it is a means of switching off, letting go, losing oneself in these invented games and heroic battles, the better to think clearly about more serious matters.
Winston Churchill went on recuperative swimming holidays at the height of the Second World War. During crises, Harold MacMillan turned to his beloved Trollope (I love the story of an aide who said that at the height of the Profumo affair, the prime minister 'took the news with a grave face, then retired upstairs. The next morning, he appeared, as immaculate as always, and said: 'Well, I've finished Phineas Finn''). Psychologists have often argued that political leaders benefit from a 'hinterland' but isn't such a place of value to us all? Pope John Paul II is reputed to have said: 'Of all the unimportant things, football is the most important', a phrase that has always resonated with me. Does it not hint at the deep truth that the serious and the seemingly trivial do not exist in opposing categories, but in a deep if unspoken symbiosis?
This is why I always found it curious that some people are sniffy about sport. It is inconsequential, they say. It's absurd to get so caught up in people kicking a football around, they mock. Well, if you must, see sport in such terms. But I'd retort that sport is wonderful precisely because it is 'trivial'. Indeed, is it not a boon to civilisation that millions thrill to these invented games — just as the Ancient Greeks travelled hundreds of miles to the sanctuary of Olympia to witness the sporting heroes of antiquity, such as the famed wrestler Milo of Croton (who commanded the Crotonian army while wearing his Olympic wreaths and a lion skin). As the historian Lucian put it: 'Oh, I can't describe the scene in mere words. You really should experience first-hand the incredible pleasure of standing in that cheering crowd, admiring the athletes' courage, their amazing physical conditioning, their unbeatable determination and unstoppable passion for victory.'
Royal Ascot (to return to the present day) is already under way, with Field Of Gold flying to victory in the St James's Palace Stakes. The British & Irish Lions commence their tour down under on June 28. England's women will kick off their bid to win the Euros against France on July 5. I also can't help mentioning the US Open tennis, which starts in the last week of August and has always been a personal favourite, the hard courts of Flushing Meadows asking particular (and often penetrating) questions of the world's top players.
'The crowd's voice, multiplied and magnified, becomes a living thing. You don't just watch sport; you enter it.' I love these words of my former colleague Simon Barnes because they express the allure of sport when you suspend disbelief and fully 'enter' this magical kingdom. So let's soak it up and drink it in. For here's a prediction that I am almost certain will pan out: despite the gloom and foreboding, this is going to be the most glorious summer of sport.
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