LIFE`S LITTLE ABSURDITIES..
You know what it`s like. You hear things, read about them and instantly think it can`t be true. It`s just too fanciful for words, someone`s having a laugh. And then you discover it`s true after all and in a lingering moment of disbelief, you cry, "Unbelievable!"
In just the last couple of days, reports have come in of events that are so bizarre that it comes as a real shock to find out that they are for real. For example, I see that Manchester United manager, `Sir` Alex Ferguson, has been lecturing at Harvard Business School about his management philosophy. Yes, Harvard Business School. A bit like the Marquis de Sade addressing the Hans Christian Andersen Society.
My immediate reaction was to wonder what the motive was behind Harvard`s invitation, for Ferguson`s management `style` has included such essential business aids as hairdressers, rant, bullying, intimidation, a complete aversion to constructive criticism and a dismissive attitude to any form of authority. And then it came to me - perhaps Harvard are more interested to establish what management `techniques` not to encourage, so maybe not so absurd after all.
And then there is Mario Balotelli. Ah, Super Mario. 22 years old and in receipt of (I nearly said earning) £170,000 each and every week of his contract with Manchester City. So, Mario gets more in a week than the Prime Minister does in a year and what does he do for it? Well, he kicks a football around, sometimes into the opposing net and on those occasions when either he can be bothered or is not suspended from playing due to some on-field misdemeanour or other. Last season, he received 9 yellow cards and 3 red ones, which severely curtailed his usefulness to his employers who fined him two weeks` wages (£340,000) which he has graciously agreed to accept in an `out of court settlement.`
What is absurd here is the fact that, after 4.3million years of human existence, we finally arrive at Mario Balotelli and a situation whereby a 22-year old footballer receives huge amounts of money for what he does or, on numerous occasions, what he doesn`t do. But then Mario is a `character,` providing good press for a rapacious media, as much for his off-field antics as for when he is playing. And so he is indulged. And it is wholly absurd.
The examples go on and on, of course, but I cannot leave without mentioning the phenomenon that is David Beckham. My goodness, he works so hard to reach the goal of knighthood so cherished by Lady Posh that I almost feel for him. Football hero, Olympics ambassador, fashion icon, style guru, friend of the great and the good. Surely it`s only a matter of time. But then if I too lived my life with as many role and image changes as I change my underwear, people might think me absurd as well.
My immediate reaction was to wonder what the motive was behind Harvard`s invitation, for Ferguson`s management `style` has included such essential business aids as hairdressers, rant, bullying, intimidation, a complete aversion to constructive criticism and a dismissive attitude to any form of authority. And then it came to me - perhaps Harvard are more interested to establish what management `techniques` not to encourage, so maybe not so absurd after all.
And then there is Mario Balotelli. Ah, Super Mario. 22 years old and in receipt of (I nearly said earning) £170,000 each and every week of his contract with Manchester City. So, Mario gets more in a week than the Prime Minister does in a year and what does he do for it? Well, he kicks a football around, sometimes into the opposing net and on those occasions when either he can be bothered or is not suspended from playing due to some on-field misdemeanour or other. Last season, he received 9 yellow cards and 3 red ones, which severely curtailed his usefulness to his employers who fined him two weeks` wages (£340,000) which he has graciously agreed to accept in an `out of court settlement.`
What is absurd here is the fact that, after 4.3million years of human existence, we finally arrive at Mario Balotelli and a situation whereby a 22-year old footballer receives huge amounts of money for what he does or, on numerous occasions, what he doesn`t do. But then Mario is a `character,` providing good press for a rapacious media, as much for his off-field antics as for when he is playing. And so he is indulged. And it is wholly absurd.
The examples go on and on, of course, but I cannot leave without mentioning the phenomenon that is David Beckham. My goodness, he works so hard to reach the goal of knighthood so cherished by Lady Posh that I almost feel for him. Football hero, Olympics ambassador, fashion icon, style guru, friend of the great and the good. Surely it`s only a matter of time. But then if I too lived my life with as many role and image changes as I change my underwear, people might think me absurd as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment