February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
A former officer in the Grenadier Guards, he was born in Galway to one of the oldest families in England, a dynasty that had representatives fighting the French at Crecy back in 1346. During his standard 15 minutes of fame — who doesn’t love a story about an eccentric English toff representing Ireland at the Winter Olympics? — the British claimed Wrottesley had tried out for their team and wasn’t good enough.
He argued that he’d done no such thing and had always dreamed of hearing Amhran na Bhfiann played as he took the podium on some icy mountaintop. Of course, we laughed off suggestions he was a millionaire just desperately searching for any convenient country to represent by pointing out he’d been born in Connacht, and even spent a couple of years there as a baby.
Never mind that he had more British history coursing through his bloodlines than the great Edmund Blackadder.
I’ve been thinking a lot about Wrottesley over the last few weeks. Since learning the story of how Greece are aiming to conquer the forthcoming summer Olympics. Although the wider world is probably more concerned about whether the Greeks will be capable of getting the stadiums finished in time while simultaneously staving off the threat of terrorism — we wouldn’t bet on either — the country itself is more interested in ensuring a decent medal count.
To this end, they’ve happened upon a simple wheeze to ensure they should be up there with the best. Basically, anybody, with any connection at all to Greece, is eligible to declare for the country. It doesn’t really matter when your relatives departed Athens or Salonika. Just so long as you can prove they once did, everything else will be looked after to smooth your declaration for the country of your ancestors.
“Ever munched on a gyro?” wrote Rick Reilly in Sports Illustrated magazine last week. “Sipped ouzo? Smashed a plate on the floor while dancing? If so, you, too, might be able to compete in the Athens Olympics. The Greek government says that if you, your parents, your grandparents or even your great-grandparents were born in Greece, you can compete for the Greek Olympic team even if all you know about the Odyssey is that it has 11 cup holders.”
Admittedly, this approach has caused a few problems. Apart from attracting criticism from several countries for the mercenary attitude, overeager genealogists have also unearthed a few skeletons. One American baseball player discovered his Greek grandparents hadn’t actually been officially married when they started a family. Which reminded us of the time a prospective Irish international striker had to give up on his dream of wearing the green jersey when his English mother told him the only thing she knew about his father was that he had a Dublin accent.
For obvious box office reasons, the International Olympic Committee likes for the host country to field competitors in every possible event and Greece is determined not to let them down. Although the only two baseball diamonds in the country are on former United States’ military bases, they will field a formidable team in that sport, backboned by 18 Americans, some of whom are former major leaguers. Ironically, they will be the only American baseballers at the tournament since the nation that invented the game didn’t actually come through the qualifying round.
It’s a similar story with women’s softball and soccer, where Americans of Greek ancestry will be trying to visit glory on the land of their ancestors.
Given how the Olympic Council of Ireland are making impolite noises lately about not wanting to send Irish athletes to the Olympics unless they are genuine contenders, this appears the next step for them to take. If it is all about the winning rather than the taking part, the OCI might as well go the whole way and adopt the Greek strategy. The possibilities for improving our performances in the different sports are endless.
In baseball, the hottest batter in the major leagues just now is the Cincinnati Reds’ Sean Casey. The Most Valuable Player in last year’s World Series was Florida Marlins pitcher Josh Beckett. Surely, with surnames like those, they are two of ours. It doesn’t take a genius either to figure there must be serious players at all levels of the American game who’d be eligible and eager to switch allegiances if the chance arose. Not to mention we have the perfect candidate to manage the team.
A former player and third base coach with the San Diego Padres is Tim Flannery, whose grandparents came from Cork. Through his second career, as a well-regarded traditional musician, he has had regular contact with Ireland the last few years. One of his songs, “Immigrant Eyes,” is actually a recording of an aunt of his telling the story of her mother’s trip from Queenstown to Ellis Island. Surely this qualifies him for the task of running the side.
Two years from now, we could make hay in the ice hockey at the Winter Olympics too. Belfast-born Owen Nolan won gold with Canada in Salt Lake two years ago, the Detroit Red Wings’ Brendan Shanahan’s father is from Durrus, West Cork, and among those currently starring in the NHL finals are Sean Donovan, Dan Boyle, Craig Conroy, and Dave Lowry.
With a team bulwarked by those boys, Wrottesley might be usurped as our best medal prospect. And speaking of the baron, his wife, Sascha, gave birth to their first son a few months back. No word yet on whether the Honorable Victor Wrottesley, to give him his full title, aspires to competing for Britain or Ireland.