The Big Two rivalries: What football and tennis have in common

Pat Cash unwittingly raised an interesting parallel between the sport he dissed (football) and the other he ignored (tennis)

Football fans have eviscerated Pat Cash, the Australian tennis player with one Grand Slam title to his name, for suggesting that “real men” don’t play football. To be fair, he wasn’t suggesting that “real men” play tennis. He’s talking about some sport called Aussie Rules Football, a tough-guy game that only Aussies are crazy about and in which he would have us believe players don’t cheat. 

Let’s set aside the foolishness and innate sexism of Cash’s remark – ladies, forgive him, for he knows not what he says – and focus instead on an interesting parallel he has raised between the