Why Ballesteros was an all round great sportsman who was respected beyond golf

Ballesteros' death took away what could have been a possible ambassadorial role for golf

The sad passing of Severiano Ballesteros today highlights how a star in his own profession can transcend beyond their sport and appeal to everyone.

Golf was a game I was not interested in growing up in South Yorkshire. It never really appealed to me. The idea of running around an 18 hole golf course, putting a little ball into a hole didn’t seem that enthralling. But wanting to be a sports writer, I kept up to date with the regular on-goings of the sport and there weren’t too many people in the world who didn’t know Tiger Woods, golf fans or not.

My interest in golf emerged a few years ago, when watching the atmosphere of a Ryder Cup event, it drew me in as I ignored the perceptions I had of golf and started to realise the value of a sport that I had in my teens, dismissed as boring.

Woods’ utter dominance of the game shrouded the lack of charisma in his personality which irritated some people tired of hearing his robotic cookie cutter answers in press conferences.

It made people reminisce about a player from Spain in the 1980s who like Woods, had achieved similar success to the American but more importantly, was more appreciated by the public not only for his golf skills but for his warm and cheeky exterior.

Alongside Woods, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus ensconced on the table of golfing legends, the name Seve Ballesteros will also be there with them.

Watching archive footage of Ballesteros’ big successes, it was too clear that this man who ran around playing 18 holes of golf was no ordinary individual. His exuberance, confidence and smile ingratiated fans towards him as they urged this plucky likeable Spaniard to win all before him.

He won the Open Championship three times (1979, 1984 and 1988), and a holder of the snug Masters green jacket twice in 1980 and 1983 but without doubt the best player ever to have played in a Ryder Cup match.

Racking up 20 points from 37 matches, he was the inspirational figurehead of a team and also as a leader, captaining Europe to victory on his home country’s soil in 1997.

But as with all legends of sports who exceed their boundaries, there comes a time when the passion doesn’t fade but the reality of their powers does.

Retiring in 2007, the Spaniard would most likely have been an instrumental weapon by European Tour Golf as a man to promote the game even further in areas of the continent that needed much needed advertisement. He would have been a perfect individual for the role. Sadly the finding of a brain tumour in 2008 saw him battle, as he described it, “a 6^th Major” and one which he was unfortunately unable to win.

There was always a hope that the determination and never say die attitude that the man from Pedrena in north Spain brought to the game, would ultimately be the force that would see him beat this battle against cancer. A few rare appearances only reinforced this view.

But Friday’s statement from his family that his health was deteriorating was a sign of things to come as the 54-year-old passed away in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The world of sport has been in a sombre mood of late, first with the passing of snooker commentator, Ted Lowe. Then British boxing’s great fighter, Sir Henry Cooper died last weekend and now Ballesteros.

Ballesteros’ passing has left an undeniable legacy that will forever be etched into European and world golf’s folklore and the great man can rest peacefully knowing that he succeeded and transcended a sport that I once had dismissed and now watch with genuine interest.

Why snooker needs a new standout star to dominate proceedings

Hendry is nearing the end of his time in the game

As the sun shines down on the city of Sheffieldas it hosts the Snooker World Championship yet again, the sport’s evolution continues albeit without a standout star dominating.

Watching snooker really intensified in my household in the mid-90’s when the sport had its stars reeling off tournament victories in the same way Manchester United dominated English football.

But in the latter profession, other rivals emerged to take their crown and try to assert themselves on the status quo. But in snooker, watching from the outset, it is lacking someone who can take the game by the scruff of the neck and strangle the competition behind.

In the time when I watched snooker regularly (I watch it now when I can although without company, which detracts from the enjoyment), it was Stephen Hendry who was in his prime and looking like he was never going to let anyone else win anything.

Slowly but surely, the emergence of players like Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams and the late Paul Hunter started to challenge the snooker hegemony that Hendry had created.

Since Hendry’s last World Championship victory in 1999, there have been seven different World Champions, including last year’s first ever winner from Australia, Neil Robertson.

The diversity of the players now participating is exciting and intriguing to see whether the likes of Ding Junhui, Liang Wenbo and Judd Trump will be able to translate that raw potential to permanent dominance of the game.

If that was to happen, it would only grow the sport and the standards from those chasing the top. In the era of Hendry, other players beneath always raised their game taking him on in the hope of getting the big scalp they wanted but also to let him know that other players were around to take his crown (No intentional cheesy rhyming intended).

With his form fluctuating from the lower ends of disappointment to confidence boosting efforts in his first round win over Dominic Dale, the challenge of new faces to snooker’s top table could also motivate O’Sullivan to continue his career in the game. Recent noises from ‘The Rocket’ have hardly been too reassuring that he’ll stick around but if he senses consistent challenges emerge then it could be the spark needed for him to show his consistent, irresistible form.

At the moment, the winners of the World Championship fail to stamp their authority on the game and tend to wane away into the backgrounds. What’s needed to really reinvigorate snooker is one man winning the trophies. That could be the spark to energise the following pack and give new moments of snooker that will be remembered.

As this year’s tournament is in its early stages, it is difficult to see whether a new star will be born but if there is, then he has to work hard and attempt to create a new snooker dominance into a new competitive era.

England’s 2018 dreams end in a miserable first round exit

With a World Cup bid filled with optimism, hope and one which included the big hitters of the country, England‘s failure to win brings more questions than answers.

Prime Minister David Cameron, ex-England captain David Beckham and newly engaged Prince William travelled to Zurich at the start of the week to push forward the bid. However, after a promising start to the day, it ended in huge disappointment as Russia were named the surprise winners of the right to host the World Cup in 2018.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter may have alluded to England’s forthcoming disappointment when he described their slick presentation as “remarkable”. Was this a warning that despite coming up short, England had shown the executive FIFA committee that it could bring a slick presentation group consisting of big names, a smooth running verbal performance by it’s presenters and a nicely put together video but not good enough to host a World Cup?

Its executive committee believes so judging by the results. Russia’s successful bid on the other hand, seemed to be in third place behind favourites such as Spain/Portugal and England. With its PM Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev not attending, it lacked the political punching power required to knock the executive committee off its feet but its muted tone and presentation of facts and figures seems to have done the trick.

As always, England’s bid was launched amidst huge fanfare and captured the national imagination. Would success have been achieved had the approach been more low key?

FIFA already know the passion England has for the game, the entertaining value that it’s domestic league brings and the passion football has for it’s citizens. Could England have helped themselves by focusing more on the practicalities of the bid, highlighting issues of transport, accommodation etc rather than delivering a bid which was filled with too much emotional drive. Russia showed that it’s simplistic bid had succeeded where England’s had failed. Russia’s capital Moscow, which hosted the 2008 Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea, will now become the main focus on it’s country’s hosting of the World Cup in 2018.

Other issues also had an effect. The British media’s scent of corruption within FIFA saw it delve into a taboo area for the governing body and it was unrealistic to expect the members implicated to turn round and vote for England considering the publicity of their touchy subjects. Despite Issa Hayotou voting for England’s bid which could be construed as voting as to not get revenge on the bid itself but the whole investigation must have alienated the voting committee.

It should be noted that corruption should be investigated in all sport but the timing of BBC Panarama’s programme suggests that it was designed for maximum public effect and may have costed England accruing more votes.

All that expectation, attention and dreams failed dramatically at the first stage in Zurich. Whatever the real reason was for the failure, all we now know is that England until 2030, will not host a World Cup on it’s shores.

Welcome To Sheesh Kebab Talk

Welcome to Sheesh Kebab Talk

Sheesh Kebab Talk aims to encourage debate and comment relating to sports within the country but also anything that I feel discussing about. If you would like to contribute, or alert me to any news stories, please do not hesitate to contact me.

You might be slightly puzzled about the name of the blog, it’s weird I know. I was sat in front of my laptop, puzzled what to name it. Then I thought of one of my invented slang words I brandish about at home, “Sheesh Kebab”.