Muhammad Ali: three time heavyweight champion of the world, the 1960 Olympic gold medallist, the 1999 “BBC Sports Personality of the Century” and one of the youngest and oldest men to hold the heavyweight championship of the world. The list is endless. The man’s face was at one point the most recognized on the planet and truly no sportsman has proved as integral to popular culture since.

But has this global adulation for Ali got far too out of hand? There is absolutely nothing wrong in awarding Muhammad Ali a place in popular culture as his achievements in and out of the ring are most deserving of it. But when I see article after article of lightweight documentary and biography cultivating the “Ali Myth”, the idea that Muhammad Ali was some sort of larger than life, social enigma and learned intellectual, it is too much to accept.

Are we really to accept the notion that Ali was some sort of hero in the Civil Rights movements in the 1960s, standing side by side with Dr King as a symbol for non violence and peace? The legions of hagiographers tend to understate the enormous contradictions and imperfections which made up the man, and it is important that we do not forget them.

Look at Ali’s boxing rival “Smokin’” Joe Frazier, with whom he shared three memorable and celebrated bouts in the 1970’s. The two first met in the late 1960s when Frazier was giving Ali a lift. While Ali’s famous “I ain’t got no quarrel with no Viet Cong” statement, and his subsequent refusal to participate in the Vietnam War, was dividing American public opinion, Frazier actually supported Ali financially when he was temporarily banned from boxing.

In return, Ali was less forthcoming. Ali bullied, teased and dissected Frazier on the world stage once it came to boxing. He called Frazier a gorilla, an Uncle Tom and an uneducated fool. Of course, insult and trash talking is nothing new to boxing; in fact Ali was a famous exponent of it, but he went too far. Using his articulacy and personality, he cast Joe Frazier as the “White Man’s Champion”: a figure to be scorned and rejected by the black community.

Frazier, without the eloquence and stage presence of Ali was continuously humiliated and ridiculed. He could not even walk the streets of his own hometown of Philadelphia without being called an Uncle Tom. Ali’s treatment of Frazier was brutal and seemingly inconsistent with the image of Ali as a deeply affectionate and kind human being. But it is a reflection on the bullying and nasty side of Ali’s personality often played down by his barrage of 21^st century supporters.

Moreover, Ali was no intellectual. Somehow his entertaining but rather lightweight poetry (“I’m so mean I make medicine sick!”) and his conversion to the Nation of Islam in 1964 have put him on some absurdly elevated pedestal of social importance. But when interviewed Ali could discuss the doctrines of Islam only on a simplistic and artificial level and in the 1960’s he advocated segregation between black and white communities, arguing it was the only way that violence could be avoided.

Yet paradoxically, Ali had no qualms in surrounding himself with white promoters, trainers, doctors and celebrities over the course of his career. Biographers particularly highlight Ali’s devotion to Islam; yet Ali has had four wives, with his unfaithfulness being well documented and publicized.

A BBC article calls Ali “a powerful activist for black rights, both in America and around the world”. This is surely overstated. Yes, Ali was brave in resisting the US government who stripped him of his livelihood in the years of his prime, but a powerful activist for black rights? Really? Even the change of name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali, the allegedly iconic moment when the man removed the shackles of slavery and ended his subjugation from the white slave masters, was not his decision. It was the decision of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam, because Cassius Clay was not an appropriate name for his star promoter for the Nation.

I am not trying to “expose” Muhammad Ali. He is only human and is not a particularly awful one either. I simply think we should re-assess the man and appreciate him for what he really was. His abilities as a sportsman were astounding. He boxed long into the early 1980s and despite being years detached from his prime, Ali was the crown of the heavyweight division going through its golden age with such greats as Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Earnie Shavers and Ken Norton. Ali was, and still is today, the centrepiece and it is not difficult to see why. Ali was witty, extravagant and lively. He was “a photographer’s dream” for Neil Leifer; a man who could floor you with his humour just as much as with his left jab.

His greatest achievement in my mind was his smashing of the race barrier which opposed many black sportsmen of the 20^th Century. While men like Joe Louis were slavishly and diligently trained to conform to the acceptable image of what a black sportsman should be in white America, Ali carved out his own image: one of dynamism and charisma. He was, in many ways, the first real personality in American sport. Some of boxing’s most famous stars including “Sugar” Ray Leonard and Mike Tyson have publicly voiced their praise of Ali for making it possible for boxers and indeed sportsmen to achieve fame, recognition and wealth.

It is precisely for these reasons that Ali should be acclaimed. Not for the political, the social, the personal or whatever the cultivators of the “Ali Myth” would have us believe.

It is a little known fact that I was once star centre for the highly unsuccessful New College assault on the mixed Netball cuppers trophy back in the heady days of Trinity ‘09. We lost every match. This was clearly not due to a total lack of talent on my part (or from the rest of the boys who gave it a go), but due to the massive pressure to perform in front of a group of girls who actually knew what they were doing.

Thus, I approached Korfball with great hope of achieving redemption, via a ball and hoop (or at least hoop-shaped object – more on that later). To put the previous comment into context, Korfball was invented in 1902 by a teacher from Amsterdam who wanted to create a game where both boys and girls were able to compete on an equal footing, thus avoiding the problem of boys being generally bigger, stronger and faster, while also more prone to silly macho behaviour and having a tendency to play like idiots.

Each team is composed of four boys and four girls, with the twist that boys can only mark boys and girls can only mark girls. The other rule that differentiates it from the slightly heightist games of basketball and netball is that you can only shoot when unmarked, giving those not blessed with about eight feet of height an even playing field.

The ‘Korf’ itself comes from the Dutch for the wicker basket that was originally used as the hoop, although my slightly bizarre Christopher-Lee-and-pagan-rituals-on-remote-Scottish-island train of thought was derailed when it turned out that the thing, perched on top of a 3.5m pole, had met the 21st century head on and was now made of plastic anyway.

The general game itself is very similar to netball: no moving with the ball, no contact, and players restricted to a section of the pitch. Each team is split into two sets of boy and girl pairs and can move anywhere in one half of the pitch, the attacking four trying to score goals while the defending four unsurprisingly defend, and to avoid anyone getting too bored teams switch roles after every two goals (so attackers become defenders and vice versa).

Everything is reasonably simple and easy to pick up, so after a bit of time practising shooting and getting used to the feel of the ball (football size and weight with basketball grip) it was straight into a proper, bona fide game.

And it was here that I got caught out slightly. I come from a rugby background, where you have an opposite man but spend most of your time only vaguely aware of where he is, and hit him occasionally (at least, that’s how I passively play full-back). In Korfball, there are only two opponents in your area of the pitch you can really have anything to do with, you have to know where they are at all times, as a single second unmarked can lead to a goal, and you know that when you have possession they’ll be all over you like a rash.

It makes for a frantic game, although the nature of the two halves of the pitch does at least give you a bit of time for a breather. I also enjoyed the end switching aspect giving everyone a go in both attack and defence as opposed to the rigid roles in netball (I always thought Wing Defence seemed quite dull and a bit pointless).

Although, as the International Korfball Federation website informs me, it is a global sport with 60 member countries from all corners of the globe, the World Championship final has, since its inception in 1978, been contested exclusively between the Netherlands and Belgium. This is the mark of a niche sport, and I think it will remain as such as it struggles to break out of the shadow of basketball and netball, existing as a slightly bizarre mix of the two. This is a pity, as I feel it genuinely has something to offer as the only full team sport I can think of in which men and women can compete as equals.

If you are interested in playing Korfball please email [email protected].

After 3 years out undergoing an intense scouting and training program aimed to create the perfect balance between Barcelona’s passing prowess and Leeds’ version of ‘hoofball’, the St. Anne’s 3rds marked their return to the Oxford reserve league with a surprise 3-0 victory in a fourth reserve division clash with now local rivals Keble.

After spending all summer meticulously preparing for the game, the 3rds were left broken and distraught when they discovered that the match had been cancelled at the last possible moment.
“One minute I was walking out of the shower bellowing ‘Big Bang’s on the shirt’ at the top of my voice,” explained captain Ollie Waring “and the next my sense of decency was violated by the news that ‘we’re going to have to call the game off as we haven’t got enough players.’ I haven’t been this disgusted and angered by humanity since the last time my homepage was changed to a video of Iniesta’s Champions League semi-final winner over Chelsea.”

After hours spent persuading the opposing captain to muster enough men for the game, the 3rds were left with no choice but to take the 3-0 victory by default. Yet despite starting the season with a comfortable win, the victory proved hollow for some members of the St. Anne’s faithful.
“A victory in this manner disgusts me,” alleged an anonymous member of the side. “We even offered to go to their college and recruit players for them but they still couldn’t muster even enough for 5-a-side. It goes against everything this team was formed for. I probably put more effort into getting out of bed this morning than their captain did into producing a team.

“We set up this team to provide your average, uncoordinated, two-left footed college member with an opportunity to enjoy a stress free kick about in the park every week,” he continued. “This kind of behaviour is absolutely despicable: we want to see players play with passion for their side. It’s the same reason we refused to offer Carlos Tevez a deal earlier this month. The lads just wanted to play. We’re taking the three points, but still, it’s nauseating stuff.”

Captain and founder Ollie Waring claimed a brace for his time, effort and passion invested in arranging the match; the pick of the bunch being an absolute thunderbolt curled in from 40 yards.
“It was virtually unstoppable. No goalkeeper in the world who was lazing about in his room watching the latest episode of Glee instead of turning up to the match could have saved that. I couldn’t even dream of a better goal.”

“It’s always nice to score on your debut,” added Waring. “The scoreline flattered them really. We had a couple of great penalty shouts which the ref didn’t see, and were caught offside quite a few times when we were through on goal. To be fair to them, they did use the offside trap well.”
The best goal of the game was accredited to temporary goalkeeper Mark Hannay. “No-one wanted to play in goal for our first match, yet Mark unselfishly stepped up to the plate,” explained Waring. “He fully deserved his goal. The way he picked up the ball in his own box before mazing through their entire team as if they weren’t even there was truly a sight to behold.  It’s a shame Keble weren’t around to see it really; Mark certainly won’t forget that one anytime soon.”

Anne’s host Lincoln 2nds next week and hope to continue their unbeaten record, despite still not possessing a player who has played a full 90 minutes yet.

On the back of a strong attacking performance away to Richmond a week ago, the Blues were looking to notch up their first home win of the season as they entertained a combined Wasps/Henley Hawks XV at Iffley Road on Monday. With club captain John Carter reinstated at Number 8 having dropped himself for the Richmond match, the coaching team were hoping for another morale-boosting win as the countdown to the 131st Varsity Match at Twickenham reached 50 days this week.

It was nigh-on perfect autumn rugby conditions as Oxford kicked off, but for the first half-hour the match itself was a very scrappy affair. The Blues showed flashes of danger in attack, with Carter consistently gaining ground from the base of the scrum and fellow back-rower Derek Asbun keeping himself busy with good support play around the park, but there were far too many handling errors from both sides for any continuity to appear, and neither the scrums nor line-outs from either side were consistently clean. As it was, Oxford slightly had the upper hand, their stronger pack forcing a number of breakdown penalties and allowing left wing Cassian Bramham-Law to kick three penalties and give them a 9-0 lead as the half-hour mark passed.

With five minutes to go in the half, Oxford finally strung some phases together and gave the near-capacity crowd something to cheer about. First, good work from ex-England Sevens player Tom Mitchell at 10 gave Bramham-Law the chance to sneak over in the corner, but he knocked on under pressure. Then, after Carter had cleared up the back of yet another messy scrum, a menacing dummy run from returning blue Sean Morris gave outside-centre (and Hong Kong international) Sebastian Perkins the chance to break through the Wasps midfield and he then neatly offloaded on his inside for Morris to stroll over under the posts and give Oxford a 16-0 lead at half-time, following Bramham-Law’s easy conversion.

Disappointingly, the second-half started in much the same way as the first, with a rash of knock-ons and forced miracle-passes scuppering Oxford’s chances of putting more points on the board. An unfortunate injury to scrum-half Sam Egerton gave Ruairi O’Donovan a chance to impress, while the management also made four changes in the pack, presumably to give everyone enough game time to stake their claim. By this point fifty-odd minutes in, Oxford’s strong ball carriers were starting to make replacement lock Tom Evans and double-blue Karl Outen putting in the hard yards.

The big men also went to work on the Wasps line-out, which was shaky throughout the evening, and this resulted in Oxford’s second try, substitute hooker A.J. Connor pouncing on a loose ball from a poor throw to barrel over, the ever reliable Bramham-Law adding the extras.
Oxford were clearly in the ascendant, even without captain Carter who had come off just before the second try having been Oxford’s best player up until that point. His aggressive ball-carrying and obvious affinity with the ‘Caveman’ look make comparisons with cult-hero Sebastien Chabal easy to draw, and he will be a key player if Oxford are to secure a second successive Varsity match victory in December.

 Fresher fly-half Matt Janney, on for Mitchell, showed some excellent distribution to get Oxford deep in the Wasps half soon after the restart, and when they turned down a kickable penalty to go for the corner it was clear the Blues were going in for the kill. The subsequent line-out was scrappy, again, but wing Sean Morris hoovered up a poor clearance kick to allow all-action seven Derek Asbun, who showed tremendous work-rate all night, to pop up on his shoulder and charge over under the posts. It was now 30-0 with fifteen minutes to go, and the writing was on the wall for a tired-looking Wasps side who were appeared dead set on keeping the ball alive at all times, often to their detriment.

Oxford seemed determined not to rest on their laurels, and after their opposition were reduced to 14 men for the last nine minutes after one breakdown infringement too many, Oxford used their numerical advantage in the scrum to gain a useful attacking platform. Bramham-Law, solid in all aspects of his game throughout the match, came off his wing into the midfield and drove hard before neatly offloading to centre Scott Fernquest  to touch down in the corner. Bramham-Law was unable to add the extras from a tight angle, and with no more points scored that was how the match ended: a 35-0 victory to the Blues. Centre Perkins was awarded man of the match for his good link-play and defence, but that award could easily have gone to Asbun or Carter, while replacement prop Andrew Grounds made a strong impression in the loose when he came on.
After the match, Captain John Carter told Cherwell Sport, ‘We’re working towards being 100%. There were a few errors in the set piece, but keeping them scoreless showed the defence was excellent and I was pleased with the way we wore them down as the match went on’.

And that sums it up neatly. This was a fairly limited Wasps side, and there are definite improvements to be sought in the scrum, line-out and general handling, but this was a job well done for Oxford. Tougher tests lie in their path, starting next Tuesday with a tricky away fixture to National League 1 side Ealing, in the lead up to the 8th of December, where a date with the oldest enemy of all awaits.