It was never intended to be a catchphrase. For one thing, it was a simple statement of fact. The players would take to the field, the television channel would cut for a commercial break, and the commentator, Martin Tyler, would say with old-school excitement, “… and it’s live!”
Tyler, who stepped down from Sky Sports in June 2023 after three decades as the voice of Premier League football, told FourFourTwo magazine:
For me, having recorded so much football commentary which isn’t to be broadcast live in the earlier stages of my career, it’s always a massive thrill when it is going out that very second. It was originally more just to emphasise the live-ness of it.
Tyler, as so often in his career, called it right. ‘Live-ness’ has been critical to the English Premier League’s success, and that of its principal broadcaster, Sky Sports. The theory goes that when something is live, anything can happen. It usually doesn’t, of course. Most football is frankly unwatchable unless you have a theological interest in the result. But you have to tune in, just in case.
Play it again, Thierry
Unpredictability is fetishised in sport. The thing about geniuses, we are told, is that you never know what they will do next. How can you, when it is said that they don’t even know? And there is a certain sense of wonder in the power of surprise. Think a playmaker’s no-look pass or lightning-fast bowler’s slower ball.
But there is a higher power. That is the ability to do exactly what your opponent knows you’re going to do, and yet execute so well that they are powerless to stop you. Three examples spring to mind. The first is Thierry Henry, cutting in from the left-hand side and bending the ball into the far right corner.
The second is Arjen Robben, doing the same with his left foot from the right-hand side.
And finally, Roger Federer, taking two or three steps to his left and hitting an ‘inside out’ forehand.
Perhaps inevitable given the more structured nature of tennis, Federer elevated repetition into an art form. He would do it again and again, never seemingly getting bored. Why change a winning strategy? During his years of utter domination, every player knew exactly where the ball was going, yet that information did not seem to matter. And his legion of supporters seemed not to mind.
Sports fans like to know where they stand. Manchester City can win the title six times in eight seasons or Bayern Munich 12 times in 13 and people still cannot get enough. The last thing we want is a free-for-all! The world outside, with its car crashes and rule-breaking, is messy enough.
Live sport holds the promise of chaos, yet more often serves up the reassuringly banal. I mean, have you looked at the culture recently? Getting our priors confirmed is what we truly crave.