The BBC Saturday afternoon sports programme ran for nearly 50 years and showed England winning the World Cup, Red Rum’s Grand National triumphs and the 1981 Ashes but fell victim to shorter attention spans and the modern world
The past is a foreign country, and boy do we all need some escapism right now. From T2 Trainspotting to Twin Peaks, the 20th century is the place to be. This time it feels like more than just the usual nostalgia – more of a safe house, with a subtle infusion of melancholy, from the outright misery of contemporary society.
Sports fans of a certain age and disposition have never needed much excuse to do some mental time travel. The phrase “in my day”, never more powerful than when gruffly forced through a cloud of pipe smoke by Fred Trueman, is transferable to all sports. It feels particularly acute this weekend: it is the 10th anniversary of the final episode of Grandstand, the multi-sport extravaganza that was one of the BBC’s flagship shows for almost 50 years. It was as essential a part of the weekend as lie-ins, hangovers and a clock that seemed to be on fast-forward as Sunday progressed.
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