“Oh what a circus! Oh what a show! Argentina has gone to town over the death of an actress called Eva Perón”. We might well be familiar with those lines from the musical ‘Evita’, which tells the powerful story of Eva Peron who was born into poverty, fulfilled her dream of becoming an actress before marrying the man who went on to become the President of Argentina, only to die of cancer at the age of thirty-three. The song goes on to say, “Oh what an exit, that’s how to go, when they’re ringing your curtain down”, becoming front-page news around the world. She was hugely popular, primarily because she was a strong advocate of labour rights, women’s suffrage and charity for the poor – “She had her moments, she had some style”. Yet she had her critics who saw through her: “Instead of government, we had a stage; instead of ideas, a prima donna’s rage; Instead of help, we were given a crowd.”
There was a similar sense of disbelief when another global superstar, a showman in many ways too, died at an early age, but in this case it was less a matter of “Oh what a circus” and more of “Oh what a pain!” Payne Stewart was a three-time Major golf winner who dressed and played with an incredible flamboyance and passion. He was easily identified by the flat cap and the plus-four trousers he wore, while for some time he wore the team colours of whichever NFL gridiron team played closest to the tournament venue. He had his moments and he had his style but it all came to nothing when the plane in which he was flying in 1999, four months after he won the US Open golf tournament, at the age of forty-two, suffered depressurisation which led to a lack of oxygen suffocating all six people on board. The plane flew on auto-pilot for over three hours before it ran out of fuel and crashed into the ground. Oh what an exit!
In truth Payne Stewart is remembered for more than simply his golf and dress sense. After initially being seen as a brash, arrogant, impish character he settled to become a man of real values. One of his strongest statements was, “In the end it’s still a game of golf, and if at the end of the day you cannot shake hands with your opponents and still be friends, then you’ve missed the point. It you can’t laugh at yourself, then how can you laugh at anybody else?” It is interesting that in many countries professional soccer players are required to line up before each match and shake the hands of each of their opponents, as part of their ‘Respect’ programme yet in many respects it is a meaningless ritual; the real test should be shaking hands after the game, looking them in the eye with a smile on the lips. The real test is if they are still our friends.
As a tribute and as a legacy to the man, the PGA Golf Tour in the US presents the Payne Stewart Award annually to a professional golfer who best exemplifies Stewart’s values of character, charity and sportsmanship, the latter of which “includes respect for the traditions of the game, commitment to uphold the game’s heritage of charitable support and professional and meticulous presentation of himself and the sport through his dress and conduct.” Stewart clearly loved what he did, playing golf, being with his family and helping others. He did it with adventure, excitement and individuality, all developing a deeper character. He had a crowd; he had his critics but he had his values.
Arnold Palmer, himself one of the most charismatic and influential golfers ever, declared on being nominated the first recipient of the Payne Stewart Award that, “we must protect the high standards that have been established by those who have preceded us.” As coaches and parents, we too have that responsibility to ensure we protect the high standards of sportsmanship in our youngsters before they leave school. We must not allow our school sporting fixtures to become a show, a circus, a charade. Small details count; dress counts; conduct counts; charity counts; respect counts.
What a man! What a Payne! However, it is only a pain for us in that he has set a high benchmark that we should follow. We are the stewards of Stewart’s legacy. As Ben Crenshaw, another highly respected American golfer, said when Payne Stewart was inducted into the World of Golf Hall of
Fame, “Things that live on are the right things – integrity, honesty, sportsmanship.” We must ensure the right things live on throughout every child’s life through sport. If we do not do so, then, as Payne said, we will have missed the point. It will simply be a circus. Let us shake hands on that now.
