Opinion: Heroes on and off the field

This goes on: it is clear to me also that the recession is really starting to bite.

Having said this, this week, I would like to highlight something good that is happening despite our teetering governments and crumbling economy.

At the time of writing, England has just beaten Wales, 3-0 and will meet Senegal in a knockout stage match this weekend. I’m sure like most of the rest of the city, I will be hoping and praying they are again victorious.

It is clear that England would not have been nearly so successful against Wales if weren’t for Marcus Rashford. He is an excellent player. His brilliance inspired his teammates. However, I think we should look at the wider picture: he is a role model too.

We live in a fallen age. When we find heroes, the power of social media can often unearth flaws which cancel out their virtues. In the case of Rashford and for much of the England squad, there appears to be an exception.

Mr. Rashford received an MBE in 2021. Why? It wasn’t for his exploits on the pitch; it was because he used his influence to help hungry children. He saw that his fame could be a powerful lever to get the government to change its policies; he did so, as skilfully as he would navigate an opposing team’s defences.

For him, being a celebrity wasn’t a good in and of itself, it provided a means to do good for others. He continues to support charitable causes, including improving literacy.

Let’s not forget the Lionesses either, who brilliantly won the Women’s Euro 2021. Let’s not forget our Olympic athletes, who are often products of our fine universities. Yes, we live in a fallen age, and what was once private is now public property.

Often, as in the case of the Royal Family and the Netflix programme “The Crown”, what is private is fictionalised, dramatised, and in the process of doing so, belief and idealism are dented. Perhaps it’s prudent to remember that prominent people are human too: but is it prudent to ensure that cynicism is hard baked into the national psyche?

If we are all cynics, we lose the ability to believe in better. If we think everyone is corrupt, then we lose our appetite for avoiding corruption, as the attempt would be futile. If we think things can’t be better than what they are, aspiration is dented.

Fortunately, there are reasons not to be cynical: look once again at Marcus Rashford, a working-class young man from Manchester who pulled himself by his football bootlaces and shook hands with royalty and forced an uncaring government to feed the hungry.

Our heroes on and off the pitch are still there. We should recognise them, highlight them, and be inspired by them.