Australia have continuously punched well above their weight in a great variety of sports, and it's become almost taken for granted that they will achieve at least a spot in the semi-final in a Rugby World Cup and take all 10 of their opponents wickets in an Ashes Test Match.
When I mention dominance, I speak not literally, but more so state the obvious fact that the country has been a gigantic force in the sporting world for years upon years, with big names and impressive performances across all major sports.My point is that these stars and the superior teams which they have formed in the past, seem to be disappearing from the sporting spectrum, and that Australia is not so much a name to be feared any more.
Cricket is a sport in which Australia have enjoyed particular superiority over their counterparts over the years. Spin-legend Shane Warne and seemingly-flawless captain Ricky Ponting are examples of the strong sporting personalities which the country has produced, with consistent performances to match. But since retirement claimed the caeers of Warne and Glenn McGrath who played such a pinnacle role in their team's success, Australian cricket has never been quite the same. Two Ashes series losses in the last three years are clear evidence of this. Granted, Strauss' England exceeded all expectations, but the Aussie performances were distinctly average when compared to the 5-0 demolition of Flintoff's men back in 2006-07. Having lost their No.1 spot in the Test rankings, now placed at fifth, and judging by their apparent inability to grasp the concept of Twenty20 cricket, Australia are slowly losing, if it is not already lost, their reputation as a top cricketing nation. Instead of once having dreaded the idea of facing the pin-point accuracy of a certain Glenn McGrath, an opening batsman can now almost guarantee that Mitchell Johnson's first over will include at least three extras. I bet Steve Harmison would love the opportunity to come back and swing his bat at Xavier Doherty's left-arm "spin"; a nice change from being consistently embarrassed by the 90 degree turn of Warney back in the day. With Michael Clarke struggling to find stability in his side, it will take a while for Australian cricket to return to the level expected of it.
With a Rugby World Cup absent from the trophy cabinet since 1999, it could be said that Australian rugby is a further example of the country's gradual decline in sporting prowess. Despite having always been second-best to their rivals The All-Blacks, the Aussies, just like their cricketers, were until recently feared globally by players and fans alike. Just the other day I watched Samoa defeat the Aussies in a physical game in Sydney. Falling 9 points short in their first outing of 2011, the Wallabies were simply bullied by the physically-dominant Samoans. Witnessing Henry Tuilagi running like a train into a clearly fearful Matt Giteau, for me, was a fitting metaphor for the notorious aggressive mentality having declined dramatically across all forms of Australian sport.
Australia has always been home to the most renowned Rugby League competition in the world, the NRL. For this reason, the country has often been seen as the home of the sport. Granted, the recent State of Origin battle between New South Wales and Queensland was a fantastic spectacle of the sport being played at it's highest level, yet on an international scale, the Kangaroos have failed to achieve any great success. Missing out on a World Cup in 2008 and the 2010 Four Nations tournament, which were both won by New Zealand, was for most, unexpected. As hard as it may be to accept, Australian fans can not confidently claim that their side is number one in the world, which is a further blow to their country's global sporting reputation.
Australia's great success in world was at its peak in the period before, during and just after the Olympic Games held in Sydney in 2000. Described as the "best Olympic games ever", Sydney hosted a truly memorable occasion, with the added bonus of a cheeky 4th place in the medals table. This impressive feat came at a time when the country was a leading power in world sport, a period that saw the country as holder of World Cups in rugby union, rugby league, and cricket. This further proves my point however; that these achievements of the past are yet to be replicated fully in recent years.
Tennis very often sees an individual representing his entire country on the court. Novak Djokovic's Wimbledon success led Boris Becker to label him a "national hero", and it was no surprise that he was welcomed home to this title by 100,000 Serbian tennis fans when he arrived in central Belgrade. I am sure the Australian's would throw just as big a party for their own Wimbledon champion, if they were to see any success in tennis at all, that is. Having just one player, Lleyton Hewitt, ranked inside the top 100, the Australians rarely taste any success on the tennis court. The country evidently has a passion for tennis, annually playing host to the superb Australian Open, but in recent times the country has been more famous for the frying of an egg on Centre Court than a successful tennis player. Hewitt simply does not have the winning ability or charming charisma of the much-loved and clearly-missed Pat Rafter. Australia must hope that their Junior Wimbledon champions Luke Saville and Ashleigh Barty can begin to repair this void in Australia's sporting history.
Here I have focused on the sports which I believe to be the most prominent in Australian society, the ones which attract the most media coverage, largest crowds, and general interest. Obviously there are many more out there which I have not addressed, but I believe that the points I have made suggest that Australian sport is in a mini-crisis across the spectrum. If crisis is too strong a word for the country to digest, then they must prove the rest of the world wrong on the pitch.
It is important to suggest reasons for this recent fall from grace in sport, and I believe that this could be answered with the simple explanation that what goes up must come down. It is quite possible that, just like a sportsman goes through a bad patch, Australian sport is suffering from a poor run of form. Could it be this simple? Or is the reason something much more political? Some Australians claim that Government funding is not as good as it used to be, others blame other countries for stealing their best coaches. All we know as sports fans is that Australia is no longer the feared sporting power that it used to be. If the country wants to regain and retain its superior image in world sport, then its States should focus less on the title of the country's 'Sporting Capital', and instead work together and aim for the greater heights of the past: Ashes, World Cup trophies, and gold medals.
