Who's Watching the Commonwealth Games?

Thomas George explores the half-hearted enthusiasm that is stimulated by the 18th Commonwealth Games arriving in Melbourne this month.

As a sports writer, I should probably feel ashamed for writing this, but feel I have to get it off my chest. I have absolutely no interest in the Commonwealth Games.

The largest sporting event to hit Melbourne for years is less than two weeks away, yet so far I have felt nothing aside from an occasional lukewarm enthusiasm for the Games, and it appears that I’m not the only one.

In fact, from a number of recent conversations I have had with people regarding the Commonwealth Games, their responses have either been along the lines of unaffected indifference to the Games, or a borderline contempt of their presence.

It turns out it isn’t that easy to find someone who is unreservedly excited about watching Australia, England and Canada dominate the mixed-bag of countries that is the Commonwealth. Many of which are tiny in population, without significant sporting programs, and are unknown to most of our population.

Someone who is much easier to find, however, is a Melburnian upset at the cricket or football being switched from the MCG to the Telstra Dome as a result of the Commonwealth Games. Not to mention the re-scheduling of the Grand Prix.

And who can blame them?

About a third of the size of the Summer Olympics, the Commonwealth Games are somewhat of a diet-coke alternative to a major international sporting event.

Which wouldn’t be so bad if there was some intense, heated competition; however unfortunately the only real rivalries that exist at the Games are between Australia and England, and between Australia and New Zealand.

That’s not to take away from the mildly-entertaining, yet somewhat equally irritating rivalry that is taking place between Jana Pittman and Tamsyn Lewis on the Australian women’s track team of course ... (Speaking of which, would anyone be upset if Jana Pittman never spoke to the media ever again?)

The ever-fading significance of Great Britain’s Commonwealth to today’s Australians is not doing the Games any favours either.

With Britain’s colonial days of influence in the past, the premise of the Commonwealth Games is now nothing more than symbolic, and when half the countries involved aren’t any good at sport – you have to ask “what’s the point?”

Perhaps we should blame England for not colonising greater sporting nations, and for losing the Revolutionary War against the Americans. Maybe then I’d be looking forward to the Games.

Unfortunately neither of those things happened, so when the first events get underway on March 16, chances are I’ll be tuned to a different station.

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