It is a simple question but, as a historian, I know it does not have a simple answer. Traditions are important, because they keep the past alive somewhat, but the issue I have is when they do not move and adapt to the present. Yes, we should remember the past, but that shouldn’t compromise how we are living now, because after all, WE have to live in the present. Any tradition that has a negative effect upon that, should be gotten rid of in my opinion.

Within sport they have to be traditions that are good for the sport. They should celebrate the good aspects of sport, and not the negative aspects which were introduced during a different time period. To those of you saying that traditions should remain because they were bought in during a different time, well I say to you is this. That was then, this is now. If your tradition is to exclude black people from playing for example, then why should that remain?

I recently read a tradition at Laurel Valley Golf Club where women were not allowed in the clubhouse. And this was during the 1975 Ryder Cup, during which Jack Nicklaus nearly quit the team because of this stupid tradition! These kinds of traditions may have been prevalent then, but they have no place in 21st century society. I think it is also important to acknowledge how many traditions start off as rules, and they become so entrenched in a particular sport that people want to preserve them, good or bad, which therefore means they become traditions within that sport. Golf is particularly guilty of this, but I will provide some examples later on how times are changing. In essence, I believe traditions should be adapted to the time we are living in, unless they are literally harmless, like the Gatorade Bath or Shower after a big win, or a pie in the face after a walk-off in baseball.

Now let me provide some more examples to show how traditions can be adapted, gotten rid of, or maintained.

Golf –

Golf has countless traditions because it is a sport that has been around for a very, very long time. Time allows traditions to appear but in the case of golf, this has been good and bad. At the US PGA Championship for example, the tournament used to have 40 club professions join the field because the PGA (Professional Golf Association) wanted to “maintain its tradition of providing both regional and national playing opportunities for all members.” The issue, which became apparent during the 1970’s was that these club pros were taking the places of tour professionals who stood a much better chance at winning. No club pro has ever really come close to winning the Major because they simply are not good enough, whereas tour pros are. On the face of it, this is a great tradition and should be maintained in some form, which is exactly what has happened. As golf has grown, the tradition has been adapted because now the number is down to 20 club pros, which means more tour pros join the field. Perfect, more of the best golfers are on show in one of the four Majors of the year, and yet the tradition remains.

Another example would be at the Masters Tournament. History and tradition is one of the most important factors to this club, golf course and tournament, but they are not above adapting to the present, despite some complaints. For example, the club for a very long time did not allow female members, but this has since been removed with former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and powerful businesswoman Darla Moore becoming the first female members. They have since been joined by chairman, president and CEO of IBM, Virginia ‘Ginni’ Rometty. Sure, it did take until 2012, and it still is nowhere near parity by all means, but the bad tradition has been removed which is a good thing. (Quick side note – I do think we need to go further here, I mean why isn’t there a women’s tournament at Augusta?)

Additionally, the Masters has countless other traditions that are harmless and enhance the experience for both spectators and players. There are no phones allowed, the par-3 tournament takes place the day before the 4-day tournament begins. You also have the champions dinner where past champions get together, and eat a meal chosen by the most recent winner. And finally you have the ceremonial opening tee shot which starts the 4-day tournament off early on the Thursday morning. Traditions like these add to the experience for everyone, whereas limiting female members takes something away from people for no good reason. As I have indicated above, traditions like these have no place in modern day society.

Related: Why Do Kids Not Play Golf?

Rugby – The Haka

I still remember when players were calling for this to be removed, especially from the All Blacks as people like Gavin Hastings said it gave them an unfair psychological and physical adrenaline rush before the game. But this tradition has remained and is fantastic to watch because it is pure sporting theatre which celebrates who these people are and who their ancestors were. If it was as effective as Hastings said it was then Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and other haka performing countries would be brilliant and unbeatable too. No, the haka is a challenge, and the vast majority of players nowadays see it as such, if you can’t get pumped before a game, when you’re facing a haka, then you’re playing the wrong game. It is a celebration of where these people come from and is an integral part of their culture. Ask anyone around the world what pops into their head when you say Maori, the answer would probably be the haka. And that is fantastic because performing the haka on the world stage has meant it can be celebrated and respected on a global level. I love this tradition because it is harmless, celebrates their culture, proliferates it, and enhances the atmosphere and our viewing pleasure immensely.

Related: Lions Roar in All Black Territory

A couple more harmless traditions I thought of were during Wimbledon where every player has to wear white, and during the Tour de France where riders never attack on the final day of racing. This tradition has been part of cycling and the Tour forever, everyone knows about it, everyone agrees upon it, and it harms no one. Traditions like these should remain untouched.

Concluding Point

I think we do need to think hard about what traditions remain and what should be removed because it is always a difficult discussion to have. America is a prime example this. Bad things are memorialised and become a tradition, to the point where many don’t want to get rid of them. Andrew Jackson has been on the twenty-dollar bill for a long time now, and is widely seen as a good President of the US. But he shouldn’t be celebrated one bit, he helped annihilate literally hundreds of thousands of native Americans just to get the land. But calls for his removal from the note have lead to many people saying, “no we can’t do that, Jackson has always traditionally been on the note!” Or just look at all the Civil War statues and things celebrating the life of Confederates. In my opinion statues like these should be removed because they are celebrating people who either had slaves or wanted slavery to remain. Again, complaints against these statues and traditions are met with angry responses because they see them as part of their history. They complain liberalism and political correctness have gone too far and things like that which is total crap. It is not too far, and not too liberal, to ask for traditions celebrating slave owners to be removed. I must bring it back to my earlier point; that was then, this is now. Anything that damages how we live now, needs to go.

But then how far do you go? George Washington had slaves and if you try and argue he should be removed from the one-dollar bill then most Americans will mock you. My point is that it is difficult to know when to stop. We should remember mistakes in our history yes, but not celebrate them. I must admit this is difficult to do especially in the political spectrum, but I do think that is a lot easier in sport because I don’t think it is as visceral a subject. Negative traditions in sport can and should be removed whereas positive ones which celebrate good aspects of sporting history, should remain.

Do you agree or disagree with my thinking here? Or do you have your own examples of traditions in sport? Please comment them your opinion below.

Thanks for reading.