Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
THETRUTHOFSPORT
criminaterealfactsthere,asopposedtofalseinformationproducedbyinven-
tivejournalists?Butitisnotevenaninventionofthemodernmedia.Nobody
denieshowimportantforthehistoryofBritishsporttheannalsofuTeSport-
ingMagazine”anduTeNewSportingMagazine”are.Teyarearealgoldmine
ofimportanthistoricalinformation.Wecanbelievethis,ofcourse,iflocalclubs
ofarchersandhorseridersdescribeintheirreportshowtheyorganizedtheir
bodiesandwhowoninparticularevents.Buttherearealsonumerousfalsifica-
tionsresulting,forinstance,fromthepsychologicalneedtoshowone)sclubor
associationasmoreactivethanitreallyis.Moreover,therearematerialswhich
wecanstronglysuspectasbeinginventedjusttoattractsubscribersorentertain
thecurrentreadership.Tequestionis:entirelyorpartly?Whatistruthfulin
themandwhataretheinventedfacts?Take,forinstance,oneextremeexample
providingsimilardoubts.In1832uTeNewSportingMagazine”publishedalet-
terwrittenbyacertainJeremiahTrett,inwhichheinformedtheeditorabout
anunusualadventureofthedaughterofaGreekmerchantandlateruwifeof
myever-to-be-reveredgreat,great,greatgrandfather,Mr.TimothyTrett,for-
merlytheBritishconsulatAthens.”13Inthisletterheannouncedthathisgreat-
grandmotherwitnessedtherealOlympicGamesstagedatAncientOlympiaand
thathefoundhercorrespondencedescribingtheevent.JeremiahTrettalsopro-
videdtheEditorwithadetaileddescriptionofwhathisgreat-grandmothersaw
whentravellingaroundGreecewithherfriend,acertainMissHelen.Atfirst
glance,allofitseemsfantasy,writtentoentertainthereadersoftheuNewSport-
ingMagazine.”Teentertainmentgoalisemphasizedbythehumoroustone
andatthesamequizzicalandteasingstyle.Itwascertainlywrittentoentertain
thereaders,andtocheatthemlike,forinstance,inthefamouscaseoftheso-
calleduMoonHoax”whentheuNewYorkSun”describedthediscoveryoflife
ontheMoonmadeubymeansofatelescopeofvastdimensionsandanentirely
newprincipletotheveryrealandfamousBritishastronomerSirJohnHerschel
(withouteveninforminghimaboutit).”14JeremiahTrettcertainlyhadnosuch
goal.Butinthecorrespondenceofhisfemalepredecessor,purefantasyismixed
withquiteprobablefacts.Tereisalotofunbelievablereportingwhenthetrav-
ellinglady,namedMissAdrianna,writestohercorrespondentthatshesaw
chariotracing:uthereweretobesevenraces,and(ł)sixchariotsstartedeach
13JeremiahTrett,TotheEditoroftheNewSportingMagazine,nTeNewSportingMagazine,”1832,vol.II,
no.10,pp.256-257.
14nTe[NewYork]Sun,”August25,1835,titlepageofthemorningedition.
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