I came across a piece from former USA President Theodore Roosevelt today. (Thanks to Matt Walsh). It’s called The Man In the Arena. (Roosevelt was US President between 1901 and 1909 - I don’t think one can blame him for not including women in this piece.)

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

As one who writes about sport, I’m fully aware of my role, however small, in preserving the legacy of those who have tasted victory and defeat. I could never do what Daly Cherry-Evans does. Or what Steffi Graf did. I certainly could never do what Tyson Fury does.

Over more than forty years I’ve lost count of the times I’ve watched by beloved Manly Sea Eagles, thinking “as long as they do their best”.

So thank you all - the men and women who choose to participate in this great thing we call sport - at all levels - who give their all week in and week out, season after season, year after year. The credit belongs to you all.