--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sport, as I have discovered, fosters…" description: "\"“Sport, as I have discovered, fosters international hostility and leads the audience, no doubt from boredom, to assault and do grievous bodily harm whi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/john-mortimer-7362_sports_sport-as-i-have-discovered-fosters-inter_1340926.jpg" --- # Sport, as I have discovered, fosters international… ![“Sport, as I have discovered, fosters international hostility and leads the audience, no doubt from boredom, to assault and do grievous bodily harm while watching it. The fact that audiences at the National Theatre rarely break bottles over one another's heads, and that Opera fans seldom knee one…” quote by John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/john-mortimer-7362_sports_sport-as-i-have-discovered-fosters-inter_1340926.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/john-mortimer-7362_sports_sport-as-i-have-discovered-fosters-inter_1340926.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/john-mortimer-7362_sports_sport-as-i-have-discovered-fosters-inter_1340926.jpg) > ““Sport, as I have discovered, fosters international hostility and leads the audience, no doubt from boredom, to assault and do grievous bodily harm while watching it. The fact that audiences at the National Theatre rarely break bottles over one another's heads, and that Opera fans seldom knee one another in the groin during the long intervals at Covent Garden, convinces me that theatre is safer than sport.”” [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sport can provoke aggression and boredom, leading to violent reactions, whereas theatre is generally calmer and less likely to incite physical conflict. **In simple terms:** Sport may cause violent outbursts; theatre is safer. Key Takeaway Choose calmer entertainment when possible. Themes sports violence entertainment culture audience behavior Mood critical reflective Type cultural analytical When to use this quote - watching sports - attending theatre - event planning - crowd management Key Concepts aggression boredom social dynamics risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - Does sport always incite aggression? - How can venues reduce boredom? A Different Perspective Not all sports are violent; many enjoy them peacefully. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Covent garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/covent-garden/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [“Jumping to conclusions is a safer sport in the world of our imagination than it is in reality. Statistics”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/jumping-to-conclusions-is-a-safer-sport-in-the-world-of-our-2/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“Jumping to conclusions is a safer sport in the world of our imagination than it is in reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/jumping-to-conclusions-is-a-safer-sport-in-the-world-of-our/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [I came to theatre as a teenager by going to the National Theatre when it was at the Old Vic and sitting on padded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-allam/i-came-to-theatre-as-a-teenager-by-going-to-the-national-theatre-when/) [Roger Allam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-allam/) > [I submit all my plays to the National Theatre for rejection. To assure myself I am seeing clearly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-barker/i-submit-all-my-plays-to-the-national-theatre-for-rejection-to-assure/) [Howard Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-barker/) > [I'm at the National Theatre School, which is like the Juilliard of Canada.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-epstein/i-m-at-the-national-theatre-school-which-is-like-the-juilliard-of/) [Jake Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-epstein/) > [I had done some acting at school, but I wasn't particularly good at it. What inspired me was going to the Old Vic in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-allam/i-had-done-some-acting-at-school-but-i-wasn-t-particularly-good-at-it/) [Roger Allam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-allam/) > [And people are so het up about the fact I'm in the theatre - it's like, 'Ooh these telly names, can they be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-page/and-people-are-so-het-up-about-the-fact-i-m-in-the-theatre-it-s-like/) [Joanna Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-page/) > [I spent most of my teenage years in the National Theatre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finty-williams/i-spent-most-of-my-teenage-years-in-the-national-theatre/) [Finty Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finty-williams/) > [My experience with the National Theatre in Kracow often involved many changes of storyline and character. This was particularly useful when working with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-kulig/my-experience-with-the-national-theatre-in-kracow-often-involved-many/) [Joanna Kulig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-kulig/) > [My mother would strike me off if I didn't say theatre was incredibly important, and when you see something like 'Network' at the National…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finty-williams/my-mother-would-strike-me-off-if-i-didn-t-say-theatre-was-incredibly/) [Finty Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finty-williams/) > [I was very lucky. I left college, and Richard Eyre was in charge of the National Theatre. I was offered the lead in 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-mccrory/i-was-very-lucky-i-left-college-and-richard-eyre-was-in-charge-of-the/) [Helen McCrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-mccrory/) > [I spent two years in the military service, then I trudged around in repertory for quite a while. I somehow wound up at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hopkins/i-spent-two-years-in-the-military-service-then-i-trudged-around-in/) [Anthony Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hopkins/) > [I just wanted to be one of those actors who works at the National Theatre the whole time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-emms/i-just-wanted-to-be-one-of-those-actors-who-works-at-the-national/) Robert Emms > [Working at the National Theatre is just wonderful. There is no place like the South Bank on a summer's afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harewood/working-at-the-national-theatre-is-just-wonderful-there-is-no-place/) [David Harewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harewood/) > [I worked in rep for six years, then I came to London and to the National Theatre. What's better than that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imelda-staunton/i-worked-in-rep-for-six-years-then-i-came-to-london-and-to-the/) [Imelda Staunton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imelda-staunton/) ## More by John Mortimer > [“Take sex, for instance.' 'What do you want me to do with it?' 'Try to be serious for a moment. Take the sex life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/take-sex-for-instance-what-do-you-want-me-to-do-with-it-try-to-be/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [I knew nothing about farce until I read Puce a l'Oreille, and had no idea what a deadly serious business it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/i-knew-nothing-about-farce-until-i-read-puce-a-l-oreille-and-had-no/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Do we want blanks, asterisks and exclamation marks which people can fill in with their own imaginations, or are we prepared and strong enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/do-we-want-blanks-asterisks-and-exclamation-marks-which-people-can/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Voting Liberal is a non-thing. Historically, it might be a good idea to have a Conservative government, because change is a good thing. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/voting-liberal-is-a-non-thing-historically-it-might-be-a-good-idea-to/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [“I sent out words like soldiers to battle and they never returned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/i-sent-out-words-like-soldiers-to-battle-and-they-never-returned/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Dying is a matter of slapstick and pratfalls. The ageing process is not gradual or gentle. It rushes up, pushes you over and runs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/dying-is-a-matter-of-slapstick-and-pratfalls-the-ageing-process-is/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [No brilliance is required in law, just common sense and relatively clean fingernails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/no-brilliance-is-required-in-law-just-common-sense-and-relatively/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [The people look forbidding, solemn, marked by that impossible ideal, Communism, which, like Christianity, seemed to demand too much of humanity and, falling into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/the-people-look-forbidding-solemn-marked-by-that-impossible-ideal/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [There is always time for failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/there-is-always-time-for-failure/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Irritable Judges suffer from a bad case of premature adjudication.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/irritable-judges-suffer-from-a-bad-case-of-premature-adjudication/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [I try and treat my children from the age of ten months as if they were totally grown up, which I think is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/i-try-and-treat-my-children-from-the-age-of-ten-months-as-if-they/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Check-ups are, in my experience, a grave mistake; all they do is allow the quack of your choice to tell you that you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/check-ups-are-in-my-experience-a-grave-mistake-all-they-do-is-allow/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [I don't believe in children's books. I think after you've read Kidnapped, Treasure Island, and Huckleberry Finn, you're ready for anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/i-don-t-believe-in-children-s-books-i-think-after-you-ve-read/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [“The main aim of education should be to send children out into the world with a reasonably sized anthology in their heads so that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/the-main-aim-of-education-should-be-to-send-children-out-into-the/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [On the three pigs he and his wife own: "We acquired the pigs last year. My wife was born on a pig farm and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/on-the-three-pigs-he-and-his-wife-own-we-acquired-the-pigs-last-year/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) [Explore all 92 John Mortimer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) ## More Covent garden quotes > [In almost every musical ever written, there's a place that's usually about the third song of the evening - sometimes it's the second, sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-ashman/in-almost-every-musical-ever-written-there-s-a-place-that-s-usually/) Howard Ashman > [I'm loving being in the West End. There's something marvellous about Covent Garden in the summer. There's such an infusion of people and tourists.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-fitzgerald/i-m-loving-being-in-the-west-end-there-s-something-marvellous-about/) [Tara Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-fitzgerald/) > [“I tell you I have created this thing out of the squashed cabbage leaves of Covent Garden; and now she pretends to play the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-tell-you-i-have-created-this-thing-out-of-the-squashed-cabbage/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“And what did you do during that year before I met you?" "Just figured stuff out. Craig told me what to expect, so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-segrave/and-what-did-you-do-during-that-year-before-i-met-you-just-figured/) Elizabeth Segrave > [When I received the invitation to "check out" Fairport I knew absolutely nothing about them, all I knew was that they were beginning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-matthews/when-i-received-the-invitation-to-check-out-fairport-i-knew/) Iain Matthews > [This is all very fine, but it won't do-Anatomy-botany-Nonsense! Sir, I know an old woman in Covent Garden, who understands botany better, and as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/this-is-all-very-fine-but-it-won-t-do-anatomy-botany-nonsense-sir-i/) [Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/) > [The foyer at Covent Garden looks like Harrods food hall has offered up its dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-miller/the-foyer-at-covent-garden-looks-like-harrods-food-hall-has-offered/) [Jonathan Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-miller/) > [“It is the essence of poetry to spring, like the rainbow daughter of Wonder, from the invisible, to abolish the past, and refuse all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-is-the-essence-of-poetry-to-spring-like-the-rainbow-daughter-of-2/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I love all the shoe shops in Covent Garden. Laura Lee Jewellery on Monmouth Street for delicate gold jewellery. Every time I get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-murino/i-love-all-the-shoe-shops-in-covent-garden-laura-lee-jewellery-on/) [Caterina Murino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-murino/) > [“The Cocoa-Nut Tree at Covent Garden? Why it's the finest confectioner in the capital and sells bonbons, macaroons, candied fruits, and ices,' I said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-bailey/the-cocoa-nut-tree-at-covent-garden-why-it-s-the-finest-confectioner/) [Martine Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-bailey/) > [“Do you have a leather jacket? One for a ten-year-old boy?" I asked the man selling leather jackets and gloves in Covent Garden, London.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/do-you-have-a-leather-jacket-one-for-a-ten-year-old-boy-i-asked-the/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [“Handel's yearning for independence from the traditional chains of patronage and his persistence in monitoring his productions resulted with unique developments concerning Baroque 'opera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/handel-s-yearning-for-independence-from-the-traditional-chains-of/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) > [“I was thrown together with Florence, or 'Florawns' as she was called, a pert girl of nineteen who worked in our kitchen and was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-bailey/i-was-thrown-together-with-florence-or-florawns-as-she-was-called-a/) [Martine Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-bailey/) > [“I'd give me two eyes for a slice of apple pie." She was brain-cracked, but spoke for them all. Then Tabby Jones joined in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-bailey/i-d-give-me-two-eyes-for-a-slice-of-apple-pie-she-was-brain-cracked/) [Martine Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-bailey/) > [Many of my favourite hotels are in London. I like the Covent Garden Hotel and I stayed at Blakes last time I was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-luna/many-of-my-favourite-hotels-are-in-london-i-like-the-covent-garden/) [Diego Luna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-luna/) [Browse all 31 Covent garden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/covent-garden/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sport, as I have discovered, fosters international hostility and leads the audience, no doubt from boredom, to assault and do grievous bodily harm while watching it. The fact that audiences at the National Theatre rarely break bottles over one another's heads, and that Opera fans seldom knee one another in the groin during the long intervals at Covent Garden, convinces me that theatre is safer than sport.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Mortimer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/sport-as-i-have-discovered-fosters-international-hostility-and-leads/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Covent garden" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/sport-as-i-have-discovered-fosters-international-hostility-and-leads/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/john-mortimer-7362_sports_sport-as-i-have-discovered-fosters-inter_1340926.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/john-mortimer-7362_sports_sport-as-i-have-discovered-fosters-inter_1340926.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/john-mortimer-7362_sports_sport-as-i-have-discovered-fosters-inter_1340926.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sport, as I have discovered, fosters international hostility and leads the audience, no doubt from boredom…” — John Mortimer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Mortimer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Sport, as I have discovered, fosters...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/sport-as-i-have-discovered-fosters-international-hostility-and-leads/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/sport-as-i-have-discovered-fosters-international-hostility-and-leads/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```