Sideline Sid - Sports blogger Sideline Sid is a local sport fanatic. Not only is he a classic rugby bloke but he has views, opinions and knowledge on all sports played in the Bay of Plenty.

One thing that sports fans (nuts) throughout the world have in common is that they need to get a regular fix of their favourite sporting action.

While we all go to the game from time to time, the only way to keep up with the action from day to day is via the media.

A question that is often asked is, 'What is the media?” My trusty pocket dictionary describes the media as, 'newspapers and broadcasting as conveying information to the public”.

Media communication has been around nearly as long as there has been sport to report on. In the nineteenth century it was newspapers that held centre stage, however, until radio came along, the reporting was very localised.

A typical report of the time was recorded in one of the Eastern Bay of Plenty papers in 1890.
'On Friday afternoon the cricket team from Matata rode into town and created quite a stir at the Opotiki Hotel where they were all put up.”

'HG Walmsley, their captain and Mr Wyatt being old Opotiki residents received a warm welcome. Mr Joe Warbrick, late captain of the Maori football team which visited England was also one of the visitors and was warmly received.”
A match report followed, which is a far cry from the narratives of today's newspapers.

In the early part of the 1900s it was radio that gave live sport to the masses before the advent of television. Each media group has its own way of conveying the moment.

Newspapers are about written text, which tells a story, while radio needs to convey the action as it happens, so as the listener can imagine, being courtside or ringside. While television is about watching the action, there is plenty of debate (especially on talkback radio) about the role of the commentator.

We all get annoyed with a commentator, who continually rabbits on trying to take centre stage, rather than complementing the action on the screen. What brought these thoughts on was the recent passing of the doyen of rugby commentators Bill McLaren.

The Scotsman ruled television when it came to describing rugby for over 40 years. He was at the coal face of taking the game from radio to the small screen. His quick responses, turn of phrase, and encyclopaedic knowledge of the game always enhanced the viewer's pleasure when Bill was in the chair.

In my early days of following the great game there was no one better than radio's Winston McCarthy. Who can forget his listen, listen – it's a goal. In the 1950s a much sought after Christmas present for Dad, was an EP (extended play) record of the Springboks versus the All Blacks, or other tour matches in New Zealand as recorded by McCarthy.

In my humble opinion, the best of today's commentators is Ian Smith. Whether describing cricket or prowling the rugby sideline with microphone in hand, Smith is knowledgeable, well researched and straight to the point.

On the local sports scene, Blake Park takes centre stage on Sunday. The long running Mount Rugby Sevens has attracted a high quality field from throughout the North Island – with the final of the Williams Cup, which is the symbol of Baywide club cricket supremacy, being fought out at the BOP Cricket Oval.

Seeya at the Game.