How sport and poetry make the perfect match

Centre Court, Wimbledon, 2008. The men’s final. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, two titans of tennis at their zenith, are locked in an enthralling battle. But rain disrupts play, forcing a pause that hangs heavy with anticipation for the millions glued to their TV screens at home.

Then, the BBC cuts to a pre-recorded clip – Federer and Nadal, side-by-side, reciting Rudyard Kipling’s classic poem, If (1895). It was a masterstroke, highlighting the profound connection between the language of poetry and the drama unfolding on court.

Poetry and sport on TV may be the unlikeliest of teammates, but they’re often the perfect match. And during a summer of major sporting events this year – Euro 2024, Wimbledon and the Olympic and Paralympic Games – we can expect the two to appear on the same screens again, as poetry, new and old, helps broadcasters build-up to the big events.

Close ups, slo-mo montages, epic music, voice of God narrations, all carefully crafted to tip us over the edge in those nervy moments before the action reaches its climax.

Sport, like spoken-word poetry, is a communal activity. Poetry is read at gatherings like funerals, weddings and political inaugurations. Times when the right words are needed to express emotion or mark significance.

Poetry was a major event in the ancient Greek Olympics where literary contests sat alongside physical feats, and perfection was sought in both body and mind.

In fact, poetry remained a fixture at the Olympics throughout the early part of the 20th century. The French visionary who revived the modern Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin, won a medal for his poems in 1912 and poetry wasn’t dropped from the competition until the Helsinki Games in 1952.

I’ve worked as a producer for the likes of Sky Sports and the BBC, and made countless sequences for their sports coverage. As a producer, you often find yourself trawling through literature and film for quotes, speeches, poems, or even a certain voice which can grab an audience. We are always looking to set the scene and help capture the mood of the nation in that particular moment.

The English poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, explained that poetry was simply “the best words in the best order”. And this captures precisely what producers are always hunting for.

Kipling

Rudyard Kipling’s classic, If, has become a go-to poem for the BBC’s biggest sporting events. When the World Cup finished in 1998, veteran sportscaster Des Lynam read the poem over the BBC’s end credits. When Wales faced England in rugby in 2020, out rolled If once more.

In 2019, a women’s sport campaign #ChangingTheGame moved the dial, inviting poet Deanna Rodger to re-imagine Kipling’s inspirational poem as a powerful message. Three years later and the Rodger version of If returned, this time read by tennis champion Serena Williams to celebrate International Women’s Day.

But that wasn’t the first time Williams’ voice was used to read poetry on television. In 2016, back from injury, written off by many and at her most vulnerable, she provided the BBC with a spine-tingling recital of Maya Angelou’s Still I Rise (1978) as she prepared for yet another Wimbledon championship.

Here was a prime example of the perfect poem, chosen for the perfect athlete at the perfect moment in their career. Williams ended up lifting the trophy once more.

If they want to emphasise the “must” in a must-win match, then a broadcaster may opt for Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night (1951) by Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas. For example, when Ireland had a vital World Cup qualifying match against Denmark in 2017, the Irish broadcaster RTE asked actor Brendan Gleeson to voice what was arguably the Welshman’s finest work.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) also urged fans to “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” in 2014 when advertising their WWE 2K15 video game. This time Dylan Thomas’ words were voiced by the actor and wrestler, John Cena.

New poetry

A new trend though, is for broadcasters to commission a fresh piece of poetry from a contemporary poet. In 2013, Sky Sports brought in the spoken word performer, George the Poet, to illustrate the glamour and glitz of the Monaco Grand Prix. In 2021, the late poet Benjamin Zephaniah found words to bring Sky’s F1 season to a close.

Poets like these will write to order, tasked with finding the right words to suit the product, the platform and the audience.

So, if Britain’s Emma Raducanu wins Wimbledon, England make the final of Euro 2024 and Team GB strike gold in Paris, what poetry will soundtrack this potentially glorious sporting summer? Anything but If, please.

The race to decide the fastest athletes on earth may well be measured in metres, but the build-up from the broadcasters will almost certainly come in meters.

Joe Towns does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.