The Way We See Sport, The Way We See Life

Chris Bayes

A podcast hosted by Chris and Nathan that explores historical events through the prism of Sport.

  1. Christmas Special #2 of 2 - 'Festive Football - Upstanding Tradition or Outdated Practice?'

    12/26/2025 · BONUS

    Christmas Special #2 of 2 - 'Festive Football - Upstanding Tradition or Outdated Practice?'

    In the second of our festive double-header, Chris and Nathan investigate the history, traditions and future of Festive Football.   The inspiration for this episode came during a WhatsApp conversation between the two hosts in which Chris highlighted how this Boxing Day sees only one fixture taking place in the Premier League (between Manchester United and Newcastle United), as opposed to the usual full calendar.  As ever, Nathan was keen to remind Chris that football does exist beyond the top-flight with a full league and non-league programme taking place on Boxing Day! Within this second Christmas special, the co-hosts explore how football became as big a part of British football fans' festive calendar as Roast Turkey and all the trimmings.   We touch upon how modern football's synonymity with Christmas could perhaps stem from traditional forms of football such as Orkney's Kirwall Ba game or Ashbourne's Shrove Tuesday game and their association with public holidays. We then touch upon how football's growth coincided with societal changes such as the 1871 Bank Holiday Act, which granted workers time off over Christmas and with many clubs historically being linked with traditional industries or based in working-class communities fans flocked to stadia to watch their local team. Football was not the only sport to embrace the opportunities presented by the festive break.  Prior to the advent of Super League, Rugby League in England was traditionally a winter sport and Boxing Day was a key date in the sport's calendar seeing clashes between local rivals such as St Helens and Wigan, Warrington and Widnes and Halifax and Huddersfield. Nathan recounts some of his Grandfather's recollections of this fixture. The fact that 2025 sees only a single fixture on Boxing Day is perhaps reflective of and in response to criticism of the traditional British festive calendar from the likes of Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, both of whom have expressed criticism of the demands of the festive period from a 'player welfare' viewpoint.  All of this is discussed and more as we ask whether the traditional festive calendar is an upstanding tradition to be treasured and celebrated or whether it is an outdated practice that needs to move with the times. We wish all of our listeners a Merry Christmas and look forward to a prosperous and successful New Year for us all!

    57 min
  2. SPECIAL pt. 2 of 2 - 'Born and bred' - Athletic Bilbao - The club where summer never ends

    11/06/2025 · BONUS

    SPECIAL pt. 2 of 2 - 'Born and bred' - Athletic Bilbao - The club where summer never ends

    In football, much is often made of the Lisbon Lions – a Celtic side that conquered Europe in 1967, with a team in which the majority of the starting eleven were born within a mere 12 miles of their Parkhead ground (the exception being Bobby Lennox, who was from Saltcoats, 30 miles from Glasgow). Yet decades after the Glasgow side had long embraced the contributions of national and international talent, one European side holds true to a strict policy of regional recruitment – Athletic Club of Bilbao. In this, the second episode of a two-part special, Chris and Nathan continue to explore the pros and cons of a Cantera recruitment policy. After expressing a somewhat critical take on Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s attempt to select local talent in the 70s and 80s, the presenters consider why Bilbao tend to be lauded for continuing a similar approach to the one abandoned by Yorkshire decades ago. This is a story of the Basque Country; with a narrative that begins in prehistory, centred around a language different to any other on the same continent. It winds its way through Medieval times, before concluding with such influential twentieth century figures as Franco and Picasso. We hope you enjoy this journey into the unique identity of a very special football club, one that markets itself as 'Unique In The World'.  This episode of TWWSS, TWWSL explores what makes Athletic and their approach so special and to consider what it tells us about globalisation and identity in the modern world.

    52 min
  3. SPECIAL pt. 1 of 2 - 'Born and bred' - The Benefits and Dangers of Regional Recruitment

    10/31/2025 · BONUS

    SPECIAL pt. 1 of 2 - 'Born and bred' - The Benefits and Dangers of Regional Recruitment

    In 1968, Yorkshire County Cricket Club were untouchable. No other team in the country could compete with their ethos, their production line of England greats, or their roll of honour. Seven league titles in the previous decade had confirmed their position as titans of the county game. Yet the next two decades would yield the most barren spell in the team's history. As other counties welcomed an array of global talent, Yorkshire held true to the belief that they shouldn't select any player born outside of the county's borders. In this, the first of a two-part special, Nathan and Chris begin to explore the benefits and drawbacks of a 'Cantera' recruitment policy - an approach to player selection that emphasizes the cultivation of local talent at the expense of welcoming players from further afield. As the world got ever more globalised, Yorkshire CCC (between 1968-92) and Athletic Bilbao stood as anachronisms; teams which turned away from attempts to recruit the best the planet could offer in favour of selecting those from within the region they represent. In doing so, these two proud clubs bring into focus the fine line between local pride and insularity.  Athletic Bilbao will be the focus of the second episode but, for now, we hope you enjoy an edition that includes some of the greatest names to have ever played the sport of cricket; from Rhodes to Vaughan, from Trueman to Root. It charts the highs and lows of a county that still stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of the number of County Championship triumphs, but faced existential crisis during the racism scandal that engulfed the game in recent years. It is a story of Yorkshire Cricket, warts and all.

    1h 5m
  4. 'The Man Who Sold The World' - Maurice Lindsay and his vision for Rugby League

    09/15/2025

    'The Man Who Sold The World' - Maurice Lindsay and his vision for Rugby League

    In the latest episode of 'The Way We See Sport', we return once again to the sport of Rugby League, focusing on the transformative role played by Maurice Lindsay, a divisive, yet visionary figure whose influence developed during the Thatcherite period, initially as the figurehead of 'The Gang of Four' directors who helped to transform the fortunes of Wigan during the 1980s. Embracing the pro-market values that were at the heart of Thatcherism, Lindsay reshaped the Wigan club recruiting big money signings such as Ellery Hanley, Joe Lydon and Andy Gregory, alongside putting in place measures that enabled the club to capture the brightest young talents in the game such as Shaun Edwards and Andy Farrell.  Lindsay's influence was responsible for resurrecting the fortunes of Wigan and resulted in the club winning 8 Championships, 8 consecutive Challenge Cups and 3 World Club Challenge titles between 1987 and 1996.  As part of this success, Wigan (as Lindsay saw it) were "setting a standard of excellence that others should seek to emulate".  Critics and fans of other clubs on the hand, claimed Wigan's fiscal policy was merely proof of an unlevel playing field. Having driven Wigan's regeneration, Lindsay's influence began to increasingly permeate the wider sport.  He became Great Britain's Team Manager and was in part responsible for a shift in the national side's fortunes, before he became the Rugby Football League (RFL) Chief Executive in 1992.  Installed in the hotseat at Chapeltown Road, he sought to revolutionise the sport of Rugby League with his characteristic zeal.  He had little time for smaller clubs and many traditionalists, believing that the sport needed to embrace commerce and replicate football's rebirth through the establishment of the Premier League. Rupert Murdoch's role in the Super League War down under saw Sky make a "once in a lifetime" offer of £77 million to the RFL to establish a Super League, move to a summer season and to uproot a century of tradition.  Ridiculous mergers were proposed and met with a great degree of hostility.  However, the Super League was ultimately established and offered Lindsay the opportunity to implement his vision for Rugby League's 'Brave New World'. In this long-form episode, Chris and Nathan discuss his rise to prominence with Wigan, his role in the establishment of Super League and how despite the fact he was a divisive and at times unpopular figure, much of the discourse he led during the 90s around the future of the game, particularly in relation to expanding the game  remains prominent in Rugby League circles.

    1h 42m

About

A podcast hosted by Chris and Nathan that explores historical events through the prism of Sport.