time to blow the whistle
It was only a matter of time before I decided to have a rant about the celebrity obsessed society we have we cultivated and now dominates. The term celebrity derives from the noun celebrate, which officially refers to the act of engaging in festivities after success. Aha, therein lies the key. For someone to be regarded as even a minor celebrity there has to have been some level of success enjoyed beforehand.
Undoubtedly, we all have our pet hates in terms of celebrity and one of mine is the boorish cult of the football celebrity. It would therefore come as no surprise for me to have a pop at the Rooneys and Terrys of this world but when one of their own does it, it’s so much more poignant.
Enter stage left, Ryan Giggs, a footballer with a difference. Britain’s most successful Premiership player made his first-team debut for Manchester United at 17, and he’s still there almost 20 years later. Yet we know precious little about him. Unlike several of his more ’high-profile and famous’ teammates, Giggs has never sought to make himself a ‘brand’ and has intentionally kept his family firmly out of the spotlight and himself out of the red-top headlines. Giggs openly states that he did not become a footballer to be famous, he did it to become successful. His ambition can only be measured in football terms and this is how he wishes to be judged. Hence, train, develop, enjoy the success that comes through the combination of effort and ability and you will be celebrated in the correct manner. This was most clearly evidenced in last year’s Sports Personality of the Year – it was Giggs’ achievements on-field that were celebrated, not that he had the most gregarious of personalities or brand, was the most charismatic of celebrities, or that he was the most rich. It was plainly obvious he was embarrassed to be in the final line-up let alone win it. Being caught in the spot-lights of fame for once, an acceptance speech was the furthest thing from his mind.
But more than the celebrity culture, Giggs regrets that football is now completely awash with money; money that lesser players demand in vast sums. It leads, he says, to a spiral of greed which is neither based upon ability or success. Never mind developing and nurturing of one’s talent and enjoying the fruit of that labour, or of displaying the loyalty to a team and club which lends itself to greater degree of stability, for the vast majority of players it’s now purely about the money. Giggs says he’s heard it a thousand times “I want to earn that money”.
