| Sporting Christmas |
|
Looking forward to Christmas  ? A day or two off? And plenty to eat and drink? Well, if so, spare a thought for professional sportspeople, most of whom won’t be enjoying time off. Footballers for example, will be training on Christmas Day for the Boxing Day matches. Many will spend Christmas night in a hotel. To give just a few examples of teams who won’t be off duty on December 25th, Hereford must travel 149 miles to fulfil their fixture at Torquay on Boxing Day while Milton Keynes Dons face a 140 mile trip to Stockport and Manchester United will be travelling 96 miles to Hull. For most of the players concerned, that means Christmas training, a brief stop home to open their presents and have lunch, then three hours in a coach to a hotel near the opponents’ ground. And even lunch will be consumed with moderation. Linvoy Primus of Portsmouth FC says that a typical Christmas morning for him consists of, present opening in the morning, training and then lunch. “I will be focused on the game next day and therefore find it hard to enjoy Christmas Day. It is frustrating to watch everyone else having a great time while knowing that you have to be disciplined – watching what you eat and getting to bed early. When we have an away game it is a case of leaving the family in the afternoon.” The former Chelsea player and ex-television pundit Gavin Peacock recalls: “When I was at Chelsea I was living over an hour from the training ground. One Christmas Day I remember training on Christmas morning, back home at 1 for Christmas lunch and then off at 5 again because the manager, Glenn Hoddle, wanted us in a hotel the night before the game. Christmas lunch with the family was a challenge too. They are stuffing themselves with turkey, roast potatoes etc and I am having pasta – and no wine!” So much for football. What about cricket? The England team is returning from India on Christmas Eve. In previous years, they have been away for Christmas with a test starting on Boxing Day. Vic Marks, the former test cricketer who is now a journalist recalls Christmas Day tours that “might involve a midnight service, some kind of turkey and the team taking it in turns to entertain each other! Christmas resembles an obstacle course, something to be survived with the minimum of discomfort. We feel obliged to enjoy ourselves yet we would all prefer to be back home shivering in the English winter. It is a kind of enforced merriment.” There’s no rest for athletes either. Christine Ohuruogu the Olympic 400m champion says: “As athletes we all know how important the next four years are and nobody wants to look back after 2012 and say they didn’t give it their best shot. Every day is important preparation. My priority on Christmas Day is spending time with my family and enjoying the Christmas spirit but I’ll still find time to go out for a run and a light training session.” Let’s give the last word to Linvoy Primus who is in no doubt about the real meaning of Christmas: “Christmas is a momentous time in history when Jesus, the Son of God, came into the world. It is a time of new beginnings and for thanksgiving for God’s gift.” By Stuart Weir |
| < Prev |
|---|
