Never has there been a time when the lifestyle habits of our society’s movers and shakers been so much under the microscope.
And at no time have so many of our leading sports people and celebrities’ lives been shown to involve behaviour which is so thoroughly condemned by the populace at large.
Why is the expectation and the reality so much at odds?
Is it unreasonable to expect our much admired idols and role models to live ‘perfect’ lives both on and off our TV screens?
Many commentators claim that the massive rewards these elite performers receive bring with them an unwritten commitment to lead blameless lives, i.e. they surrender their rights to an unexamined private life as part of the package to lead the privileged lives they do.
Andrew John’s Channel 9-led mea culpa has dominated all media in Australia this past week and has single-handedly brought into many homes an unwelcome and troubling paradox of modern day living.
Thousands of young sports fans idolise Johns, and his on-field exploits border on the freakish, but I sometimes wonder if NRL followers really do expect him to lead an entirely blameless life.
I guess what I’m saying is that I believe many young fans are merely reflecting their parents’ concerns rather than expressing their own personal disappointment since many would not be aware or even understand the sordid details involved.
The ‘flawed genius’ has become such a common phenomena in all areas of society it is almost a cliché these days and consequently many people will no doubt quickly slot Andrew Johns into the “fantastic player … pity about the off field antics” basket along with Shane Warne and many, many more.
If we are to learn anything from this particular tragedy it is that notwithstanding the freakish ball skills and ability to read the play many parts of this elite athlete’s life and personality were far less developed which, in a way, should perhaps not be unexpected in a person (with few life skills or any education outside league) and who has devoted so much attention on a single area of interest to succeed at the professional level.
In John’s case, if his brother Matthew is to be believed (and why not), Andrew did not in fact have to devote as much if any attention to mundane issues, such as training, as other mere mortals do to succeed spectacularly and it is this aspect that troubles me most.
If he was a so-called natural why was the rest of his private life in such disarray?
While I obviously cannot claim any special knowledge here I have observed enough of life to recognise that at the level of sport AJ operated the major factor involved in continuously performing well was more of a ‘head’ thing rather than a physical one.
So perhaps the use of mind-altering substances is not an entirely unexpected consequence of having to handle the major psychological challenges he faced virtually every week on the playing field.
And certainly, if he has a bipolar disorder as has been suggested, this would also influence his actions.
Understand that this does not condone his behaviour but it may help some fans to appreciate that he is not a ‘bad or overly reckless’ person just a human trying to cope with his ‘super’ human abilities in a time of great complexity and challenge.
Andrew Johns is a larger than life television character but even with a one-on-one format interviewer Phil Gould, who did an otherwise excellent job, could not really reveal the deeper themes involved.
Of course, as a medium TV has always endeavoured to convey its stories with images rather than trying to explore the details and nuances of personalities and issues, so it was left to the newspapers to flesh out the whole story.
So anyone in NSW who was awake (and reading) last week will now know the background and extent of Andrew John’s decade long dalliance with cocaine and ecstasy.
How disappointed rugby league fans can re-adjust their, and their children’s, image of this quintessential working class hero only time will tell.
What is now obvious is that illicit drug use is far more prevalent in our community (at all levels) than anyone has ever cared to admit, and the question of how we as individuals allow this to impact our family lives in the 21st century remains largely unanswered.
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