Leading article: Give us sports folk any day

So here we go, the wonderful summer of sport. The Test series opened yesterday, Euro 96 kicks off tomorrow, soon it'll be Wimbledon, then the Olympics. Oh heaven! Oh horror! Should we all stay in with our mates drinking six-packs and watching telly, or be out watching weepies with our girlfriends?

One view says sport sublimates ugly tribalism: look how much time and money we spend rounding up hooligans.

But really, the struggles acted out on turf, track and water are one of the most therapeutically successful ways of behaving competitively without going to war or smashing up your local shopping precinct. Sports folk are, well, just nicer than politicians, movie stars, business leaders, and virtually anyone else you care to mention. Aren't they Eric?