Isn’t it all just a game…? With rugby a frequent topic, Ben Dobson reflects on the highs and lows of sports-following and how they paralleled his life.
(via troubador.co.uk publishers)
“ A very funny book…I laughed out loud. And very relatable too. As this book captures perfectly, sport can be a strange and frustrating mistress.” Stuart Broad MBE
Have you ever wondered if you have your sport / life balance out of kilter? Are you concerned that for something which is supposed to be life-enhancing entertainment, following sport seems to deliver a lot of frustration and disappointment? Or did its disappearance in the maelstrom of a global pandemic have you reassessing and yearning for its to return? Chasing Rainbows is a reflection by Ben Dobson on a life dominated by sport, with a narrative that includes personal stories involving some of the most recognisable names in sport.
Revisiting some of the most exciting and, more frequently, soul-destroying moments in English sport in the last half century, this book seeks to make sense of the dichotomy that although being an English sports fan can occasionally enhance a life’s enjoyment, it primarily delivers pain, frustration and disappointment, leaving the unaffected baffled as to why we let something we can’t control dominate our life’s experience. It is a personal story of pathological obsession, but it is also for all those who recognise this condition and have had their mood ruined for a day, a week, a month or a year, to a totally inappropriate extent, by their addiction to their teams or their heroes and by some perceived sporting ‘disaster’. With a foreword by England cricket legend, Stuart Broad, Chasing Rainbows is a sideways attempt to assess what role sport should and does play in our lives.
Author Ben says: “I have spent a life in the world of sport and always wondered whether that made me extremely lucky or a complete waster. The book is something of a personal quest to answer that question and gain some sort of perspective in later life. It is the personal story of my relationship with sport, but perhaps will strike a chord with many other like-minded souls.”
About the Author:
Ben Dobson’s life has been dominated by sport. He spent 32 years in the business of sport (25 years with the world’s leading sports brand, adidas), interacting with sports federations and individual athletes from David Gower and Paul Gascoigne to Kevin Pietersen and Maro Itoje, and being personally involved in some iconic sporting moments. His writing includes published articles in The Cricketer and All Out Cricket.
