Success isn’t enough if you’re going to be boring

The relationship between success and style is one which has consumed sports fans down the ages

Chelsea players celebrate winning the Premier League title (Getty Images)

It’s about the worst insult you can level at someone in the modern, multi-media world. You’re boring. Tiresome. Tedious. In an age when we must be stimulated at all times, when opportunities for diversion are hurled at us from every direction, and when people have the attention span of a gnat, it’s a properly wounding accusation. It almost doesn’t matter how successful you are: just don’t be judged boring in the court of public opinion.

I doubt that Jose Mourinho has lost much sleep over the criticism his Chelsea team attracted for the manner in which they won the Premier League trophy, given that he’s never really sought love and affection outside his emotionally constructed dugout. Another 1-0 victory last weekend took his side over the line, and ignited more reproval from pundits and opposition supporters that their risk-averse approach did little to raise anyone’s spirits save those of their own fans.

Should he care? Of course not. Football is an entertainment, but primarily it’s a business, and there’s no one better to have as CEO than Mourinho. He delivers results, and the style with which he achieves them is a long way subordinate to that.

In any case, I don’t think this Chelsea side are particularly boring. They may have scored many fewer goals than Manchester City did in winning the Premier League last season, but the application with which they went about their job, the skill of their defensive players, the frequent touches of attacking genius, plus their indomitable attitude has made them a compelling prospect for all football aficionados.

The relationship between success and style is one which has consumed sports fans down the ages. We admire the champions, but we love the entertainers. We salute the unbeatable, but we identify more with those who reveal human frailties. Take the case of boxer Floyd Mayweather. He has yet to be defeated in 48 fights, and is unquestionably the finest fighter of his generation. He is unstoppable, but that’s not quite enough. Those of us who got up in the middle of the night on Saturday felt short-changed because he went about his work in a calm, efficient way, his mastery of the art of boxing not easily apparent to the naked eye.

Then there’s Tiger Woods. He was the closest golf – or indeed sport – has seen to a machine, winning major championships with a ruthlessness of approach and an unprecedented regularity. It was, if you like, rather boring. But then came his marital difficulty, and a man who prized his privacy was forced to lay his life and his emotional trauma before the public. From that point, he couldn’t sink another putt, and he is now ranked at No. 125 in the world.

Yesterday, he told the world that he has just split from his girlfriend of three years, and that he hasn’t slept since. He looked thin and pale, and our hearts went out to him. Tiger, you’re a loser, but we now love you. And you’ll never be boring again.