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Two days, then summer sports are overshadowed
TWO days.
That's how long football's close-season lasts now.
From the last kick of the England Under-21s' horrible humiliation against Germany - we had the ball for 90 per cent of that game and created one chance - to the start of pre-season training at our Big Two Sheffield clubs.
Just enough time for Michael Vaughan to retire, Andrew Flintoff to launch another comeback and Andy Murray to lift the hearts of Britain' starstruck housewives with his new muscles and Sean Connery drawl.
The best is yet to come for Wimbledon and cricket, with the tennis finals at the weekend and the Ashes starting in less than seven days.
But only these two competitions, golf's Open the Ryder Cup and the rugby union world cup are capable of shining alongside the perennial brilliance of football's flame.
Only when all the other major sports are at the peak of their pulling and excitement powers are they equal to the appeal of football - when it isn't being played.
Our national game is a monstrous melodrama and its larger-than-life characters feted like 1920s movie stars.
The allure of a '35m striker swoop' story, transfer fact and fiction, takeover talks, contract talks and talks for the sake of talking talks - beat the reality of all other sports.
Cricket has the Ashes and 20/20, tennis has Andy, Venus and Roger, Golf's best is yet to come, but they know their place.
They had their two days of glory.
A certain lack of respect for Michael Vaughan's legacy this week with writers and commmentators leaving their foot in with challenges on his Yorkshire and England record.
He used to do a column for us in The Star years ago and, having met him a couple of time and spoken to him on many occasions - he would often ring in with his copy between innings - I can say he was a great bloke before he became famous, he was a great bloke while he was at the peak and I've no doubt he'll be a great bloke when most have forgotten him.
He was world-class batsman and captain who won more tests than any other England skipper and led England to Ashes victory after 20 years of Aussie domination.
The rest is propaganda.
Got a view? Add your comment below.
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Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
