Not a Role Model

25 November 2005



Soccer Anti-Hero George Best Dies

George Best died at the age of 59 in the wee hours of this morning. Without a doubt, he was one of the greatest soccer talents of his generation. Without a doubt, he threw away the chance to prove it. If there are any memorials to him, let them be for his feet and not his head. George Best, may he rest in peace, was a fine example of why athletes should not be made into heroes. They aren’t made of the right stuff.

Actually, Mr. Best was the first rock star soccer player; born in 1946, he was slightly younger than the Beatles. At 18, he played his first international game for Northern Ireland (had he been a Brazilian or a German, he might not only have made it to the World Cup but won the thing). In 1965 and 1967, he helped Manchester United in the League Championship. The European Cup came in 1968. “Golden future” springs to mind, but it was not to be.

Mr. Best took his eye off the ball and opened a couple of boutiques – Carnaby Street in those days was actually worth a visit, so why not? Moreover, he had a TV commercial career, endorsing a brand of breakfast sausages on ITV, back when it was black and white and the stove Mum cooked on was one step from cast iron.

He quit Man U in 1974 at the age of 28. He is often quoted as having said, “I spent 90% of my money on women, drink and fast cars. The rest I wasted.” More somberly if not soberly, he put it, “I was born with a great gift, and sometimes with that comes a destructive streak. Just as I wanted to outdo everyone when I played, I had to outdo everyone when we were out on the town.”

He kicked around Scottish (Hibernian) and American soccer (LA Aztecs, Fort Lauderdale and San Jose), but his downward spiral continued despite a bit of a rise in Florida. He had a conviction in 1984 for drunk driving and assaulting a policeman, so he spent Christmas that year in Pentonville Prison. He wound up bankrupt, and he had a liver transplant. His drunken appearance on TV with Terry Wogan in 1990 was the low point for him; one couldn’t even work up any sympathy.

Tomorrow and Sunday, the English League will hold a moment of silence for Mr. Best. In Scotland, the league will have a minute’s applause, a far better thing. Johnny Giles, the Irish midfielder, once said, “Pele wasn’t as gifted as George Best and I would put George above Johann Cruyff [the Dutch superstar of the 1974 World Cup] because he had more heart.” Mr. Best could have been “The Best” rather than “A Best.” As Michael Parkinson said, “the only tragedy George Best has to confront is that he will never know how good he could have been.” And that maybe be the saddest thing a man can say about another.


© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
Produced using Fedora Linux.

Home

Google
WWW Kensington Review







Amazon Honor System Click Here to Pay Learn More