Joy gone from children’s sport

Jumpers for goalposts.

For men of a certain era, the phrase above can immediately transport them to a different time and a different place.

In our latter years of primary school we played a match every day. The ritual never changed. After the bell rang for lunch, the boys remained behind and our teacher, Frank Mallon, selected two captains who picked the teams. Lunch was hoovered up in seconds. Eating was an inconvenience. Food was merely fuel. The game was everything.