The English are noted for their love of sport and manly games, and this certainly has an important influence on the national character.
An Englishman’s pluck and sense of honour, his love of fair play and contempt for tricky and under-hand means, come to a large extent from his experience in athletic games.
The Duke of Wellington used to say that “the battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton”; by which he meant that English officers, who were then drawn from the upper classes and had received their schooling at such great public schools as Eton and Harrow, had learnt courage, manliness, the fighting spirit, honour and fair-play in their school games. It was these qualities that made them such good leaders of men and such fine soldiers.
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To play the game” is a sporting expression which sums up certain manly qualities. A real sportsman plays any game, whether cricket, football or hockey, in a sporting spirit that is, he plays to win; he plays more for his side than for himself, in perfect cooperation with his team; he plays fair, strictly obeying the rules of the game and scorning to take any unfair advantage of his opponents.
If his side wins, he is glad, but modest about his share in the victory, and generous and courteous to his opponents; if his side loses, he is of course sorry, but he shows no temper, and can sincerely and heartily congratulate the enemy on their victory.
School games properly played teach boys “to play the game”, in the higher sense of the term. For example, in the real work of school life, a true sportsman will play fair in his lesson and studies.
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He will scorn to shirk his duties, scamp his preparation, use “cribs” and cram-books, cheat in examinations, put the blame on others in a school row, tell lies to shield himself, or sneak on his fellow-scholars to the masters. Playing the game means playing fair, and stands for honour, loyalty and duty.
And when school-days are over, and the boy goes out into the world to do a man’s work, he must still play the game on the larger playground of life. He will carry the spirit of a hotly contested football match into business, and will compete keenly with his rivals and play to win putting all his brains and energy into making his business a success.
But he will play fair not trying to surpass his competitor by mean, tricky, and underhand means, but by harder work, smarter brains and better goods. He will be honest and above-board, fair and straight, and chivalrous to defeated rivals.