In the novel Anthills of the Savannah, Chinua Achebe contemplates the relationship between an event and the storying of the event. An old man in the novel posits that the “sounding of the battle-drum is important; the fierce waging of the war itself is important; and the telling of the story afterwards - each is important in its own way…. But if you ask me which of them takes the eagle-feather I will say boldly: the story…”
Just in case anyone begins to wonder how the preparation for the Olympics and the breaking of world records at the Olympics could be less important than the stories of the victories, the old man reminds us that “it is only the story that can continue beyond the war and the warrior. It is the story, not the others, that saves our progeny from blundering like blind beggars into the spikes of the cactus fence.”
Before COVID-19, when we could flock to sporting arenas to witness the performances of our athletes, not all of us needed the teller of tales to tell us who was winning or losing and how. We did not need other people’s eyes to see. (Of course, there was the exception of spectators who went to cricket matches with transistor radios glued to their ears, listening to the commentary while watching the game.) Since COVID-19 and the mandatory conduct of sporting events in empty stadia, however, the storyteller has become even more mandatory than ever before. The televised/livestreamed images and the accompanying commentaries are the stories that now invite all of us to vicariously participate in these events. For this reason, the Faculty of Sport at The University of the West Indies has started a curriculum project to ensure that Sport Journalism and Broadcast Journalism are added to our academic menu.
In addition to the critical role of the sport journalist and sport broadcaster, there is another storyteller who is equally critical to our understanding of the importance of sport. That storyteller is the literary writer/artist. While the journalist/reporter/commentator’s products, unless imbued with exceptional literary qualities, are primarily for instant consumption and information, the literary writer/artist creates and interrogates sport not as an end in itself but as a vehicle for social engineering and for the building of intangible heritage.
It is the recognition of this function of sport that inspired CLR James’ question in his eloquent biography, Beyond a Boundary (1963): “What do they know who only cricket know?” That cricket is more than cricket is what James sets out to uncover in that book. He presents cricket as a character shaper, an identity crafter and a social equaliser. He narrates how, at school, cricket subjected the races and the classes (the “motley crew”) to the same rules of engagement and moulded them into a team.
George Lamming would touch on the same social engineering capacity of sport in In the Castle of My Skin (1953), where he suggests that the recreational cricket played by young boys in public spaces, like the road or the beach, provides opportunity for community engagement, bonding, and the witnessing of social interactions between those with power and those without.
Michael Anthony has at least two novels set against the backdrop of sport. The Games Were Coming (1963) focuses on the sport of cycling, not cricket (for a change; hallelujah!). It is the story of a young cyclist and his dedication to his training for a major meet, the winning of which would elevate him to the elite class. He would not allow carnival or romance to come between him and his training. This is a novel about the personal sacrifice, dedication, and coaching support needed to become a champion. His The Lamp Lighter (2013) is a romance novel set against the background of three historical events, one of which is the 1895 cricket tour of Trinidad by an English XI and the introduction of Lebrun Constantine on the Trinidad XI, which was traditionally white and prone to discriminate against coloured and blacks. The son of Lebrun Constantine, Learie Constantine would become one of the greatest cricketers from the region and his sporting exploits would become an inspiration for both writers and calypsonians. He would become one of the black athletes to engender pride and resilience in the oppressed.
Interestingly enough, the Michael Anthony work that best encapsulates the power of sport in the building of human relationships is a four-page short story, “Cricket in the Road” (1973). In this story, he implicates rain in the fortunes of cricket and advances individual attitudes to cricket as barometers of personalities. This throwaway acknowledgement of the dog-and-cat relationship between cricket and rain recalls the popular belief that if you want rain to fall, you plant cricket stumps. (A faster rain-invoking method than the obeah of African rainmakers, I must confess!) The real message in the story is that selfishness and the refusal to play by rules, as displayed by the petulant narrator, do not build community; and that forgiveness, as ultimately exhibited by the two aggrieved boys, can be beneficial to both the forgiver and the transgressor.
(To be continued)
Emeritus Professor Funso Aiyejina is Head, St Augustine Academy of Sport and can be reached at Funso.Aiyejina@sta.uwi.edu
