Team work could make dream work

Jul 5 2009 by Neil Farrington, Sunday Sun

THERE’S something special about being part of a team. Something that’s difficult for many individuals to understand.

Difficult, even, for many team members to understand.

The here and now are rarely so captivating as when you pursue a shared goal, particularly amid the adrenalin and endorphin rush of sporting battle.

So it’s no surprise that many professional sportsmen should fail to appreciate what they have – in terms of talent and camaraderie – until it’s long gone.

Less shocking still that top footballers in particular seem to exist in such blissful ignorance.

Little wonder those of us with everyday worries, like making ends meet, can cast moral judgement so easily on the more petulant, pampered sporting icons of today.

In return, they might accuse us of basic and bitter envy. And they might be right.

But England’s cricketers earn a pittance in relation to their footballing counterparts, and yet I envy them more than I do Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard and co.

For as they each of them strives to collectively achieve the remarkable – a second successive home Ashes series victory – I reckon our cricketers realise just how lucky they are.

Lucky to have the opportunity to make legends of each other, and live the dream of any kid who kicks a ball or picks up a bat.

I know I’m not alone in my jealousy; not alone in having said a reluctant goodbye to the days when my world was built around team-mates rather than work, wife and kids.

Don’t get me wrong, sport should never take precedence over children, spouses, siblings and their health.