Nationalism

Available for over a year

In the final episode of his series challenging conventional thinking about sport, Simon Barnes argues that it is not about nationalism, or indeed tribalism of any kind. Instead, Simon welcomes you to join him as a member, or at least a visitor, to the nation of excellence. Simon talks to Martina Navratilova about the modern shift towards supporting a national champion, and why this matters in sport; he laments the loss of second rate British teams at the Olympics; and maintains that excellence on the level of Usain Bolt's sprinting, Fu Mingxia's diving or Federer's otherworldly tennis can touch us profoundly. Producer: Giles Edwards.