Football and War commentary from Surrey Comet dated 2nd September 1914

The War and Sport. The public conscience is gravely troubled about engagement in sport during the war. When the subject was raised almost immediately after the declaration of war, in the London Press, the opinion was expressed by some people in authority that sport should be continued so that men could keep themselves physically fit. The M.C.C. having fully considered the question, came to the conclusion that county cricket should go on until the end of the season. Yet, little by little, as the seriousness of the struggle in which the Nation is engaged has come to be understood by large masses of people - and as it must eventually come to be understood by the masses of the population from John o' Groats to Land's End - the incongruity of engaging in sport, and still more of being spectators of sport, at a time when our gallant soldiers and sailors are shedding their blood and offering up their lives in the defence of the Country's honour and liberties, has made itself felt in the minds of an increasing number; and it has been learned without surprise that, after all, one at least of the county cricket clubs, Surrey to wit, is cutting short its programme and closing its season. The problem has also had to be faced by the followers of other sports; and the attitude to be adopted by footballers was awaited with interest and concern. Football clubs' decisions have doubtless been influenced by various considerations. The patriotic sentiment cannot have been absent from the minds of any of the executives, and the decision of not a few of them has been settled by the enlistment of many of their leading members in the service of the King. The famous Blackheath Club was the first to decide to scratch its season's fixtures, and other Rugby clubs, including the University of Oxford, have followed suit. The decision of players of the Association game was arrived at on Monday. There will be some notable outstanding exceptions, no doubt, but generally it may be taken that the game is to be proceeded with; it has in fact already been begun in some. The Association footballer has thus declined to follow the lead of the players of the Rugby code. Personally the executives of the Leagues think they know their public; and they can certainly point to the fact that in Scotland, where the game has an earlier commencement than in the south, the usual large crowds of spectators have been attending. It has to be considered, however, that the gravity of the straggle upon which the Nation has entered, a struggle of life and death as a free nation, a struggle of democracy against militarism, has not yet been so fully realised in the north as it has been in the south, yet it may happen - and should happen - that, as "the fiery cross" to be raised by Mr. Asquith in the City of London on Friday is passed from city to city and from shire to shire, men of all ranks and conditions will rapidly appreciate the momentous character of the crisis through which our Empire is passing, and public sentiment everywhere agree that, not in the football field or on the golf links should our young men be seeking to "keep themselves fit,' but on the drilling ground and the rifle range. Moreover, the football public, the spectators on whom in times of peace much contumely is heaped, and the subscribers to club funds; the extent to which they can be relied upon during the coming winter to provide club treasurers with full exchequers must be a very uncertain factor. There will be enthusiasts, doubtless, who will make their lean larders leaner still in order to " pay the gate" for their favourite sport, but their numbers will of necessity be thinned in any event, even if public opinion does not become so strong as to make "the crowd" which will gaze at football matches while the Nation's Navy and Army are engaged in death-grips with the German tyrant practically non-existent. Thus it will happen that the clubs, especially those in the south, which decide to proceed with their fixtures will find the financial problem difficult from the commencement, and increasingly so as the war goes on; and it may even become, before many weeks are past, a deciding factor. It will not fail to be observed that the decision arrived at on Monday by the Football Association, the controlling body of the sport, is stated in the Press, to have the approval of the War Office, whatever that may mean. Even the War Office cannot make public opinion in this matter, greatly as it might influence it if its trusted head had personally expressed an opinion that football should go on. But it is Lord Kitchener, who is demanding the services of half-a-million men, so that the Nation can be worthily represented in the field, and have the weight which only numbers can give it in the Chancelleries of the nations when at length the sword has been replaced in the scabbard. And where, if not among the young gladiators who compose the football teams of the country, can Lord Kitchener expect to find recruits? See report in original format.