ABSTRACT
The second quotation contrasts the irresponsibility of boys with the calmness of men. Being a man here means having 'character', being able to exert leadership whilst also, paradoxically, respecting and obeying higher authority. It is the ideology of the subaltern class
within a social hierarchy, exerting a moral and intellectual leadership on the troops, but always within the framework of and, under the authority of, a senior officer class. It is the condensation of these two discursive elements onto each other - the idea that a responsible and dutiful masculinity is situated in the past - that is a key feature of the discursive presentation of the crises of morality and masculinity in the context of representations of contemporary sport.
