HIRD - WHAT WOULD MR NIETZSCHE HAVE SAID?

HIRD AMONG THE EAGLES

FINALLY, A SUPER HERO

Have we ever seen anything more heroic than James Hird on Saturday night? The name of 19th Century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche isn't general fare down at Docklands, although it might have got a run among the university educated, private school toffs in the Members Stand at the MCG. But never did any of my nuts and bolts coaches in working class Coburg try to excite us by reciting his thoughts on the super hero, that passionate intelligent non-conformist who breaks from the pack of complacent irrational hedonists.

American football coach Vince Lombardi, who saw football as the personification of capitalist greed, and numbskull bloodied boxers, Joe Louis and Sylvester Stallone prostrate on the canvas, were grist for football's motivational mill in the 70s and 80s. In Rugby League the bloke with bulging muscles and wayward fists, the enforcer, is still a super hero, and for too long it was the same in AFL.

Unlike the macho football hero, Nietzsche's super hero was a man of intelligence rather than the irrational fool who uses his power crudely. When Hird made those derogatory comments on Nine's Footy Show about umpire Scott McLaren he did something quite profound. He reminded the AFL that it's time people spoke out against the conformity, a conformity that threatens the personality of the game and as a by-product has allowed the culture of misogyny to fester unchallenged.

It was totally inappropriate that before any hearing AFL Operations Manager Adrian Anderson should flag the possibility of Hird being deregistered. Fancy fronting the media and making such a threat in an environment where sexual assault allegations are rampant in football and many think these are the tip of the iceberg. What message does this give about AFL priorities? When Wayne Carey was accused of assaulting a woman by grabbing her on the breasts on a city street in the mid 90s did the AFL call a press conference and threaten him with suspension? When Carey accepted the truth of the allegation did the AFL act?

When football authorities turn a blind eye to such unsavoury public acts then read the riot act over criticism of umpires it's inevitable they'll be pilloried, as they were, by the public. Unlike many less sophisticated footballers feted by an adoring public, James Hird isn't brazen. Nor does he exude that all too familiar machismo that, starting with a blustering coach's press conference, runs rampant through the AFL.

Hird rarely lays a hand on another player unless it's in the field of play. He's beautiful to watch and, as everyone saw when his face was smashed last year, is a man of supreme courage. However, as Saturday night showed, it's his super hero's will, not just his skill, that makes him unique. How did he will himself to be in a position to level the scores with five minutes remaining, then grab those last two possessions and snatch victory against the odds? It wasn't just natural ability that enabled him to win the ball in the skirmish on the wing that resulted in Matthew Lloyd's last goal. Nor was it merely skill that allowed him to flat punt that last match-winning goal from along the boundary line with seconds remaining.

James Hird knew that only a heroic performance would place his comments about umpire McLaren in perspective. And such was his will that he made it happen. Character, not natural ability, is the real test of a sportsman and a human being. The famed super hero was a person whose flood of passion was capable of overcoming those who chose docile serenity. When the ecstatic Hird reached over the fence and embraced a Bomber supporter after kicking that winning goal it was the epitome of enlightened passion triumphing over conformity. In an instant the Bombers super hero had swept away all the bad stories that have beset elite male football in recent weeks.

Only when men fail to be creators do they seek crude power over others, wrote the philosopher, Nietzsche. That's the difference between football and politics. Football can be the embodiment of beauty and purity whereas too often politics is craven, undignified and opportunistic. That's probably why John Howard would have traded the Prime Minister's desk for the baggy green and the captaincy of the Australian cricket team. If George Bush thinks John Howard is a man of steel what might he have said about James Hird had he been at the Docklands last Saturday night?

Despite that boy next-door exterior James Hird has emerged as football's radical for the times. In the aftermath of Saturday's remarkable win he said he was sorry (for the comments about umpire McLaren), reaffirmed his love of the Essendon FC and offered himself as ambassador for umpires. In his own unpretentious way the AFL's pre-eminent super hero has ripped open the AFL's cloak of orthodoxy and reminded the sporting world that there's more to a real man than machismo.

PHIL CLEARY