Written after Perth debacle..
The Life Cycle of a Cult
1. The Big Idea: A charismatic leader or leaders propose a new and transcendent idea that promises a panacea for alienated and vulnerable people.
So here we are then. They’re getting ready to storm the compound down in Brisbane. The gunships are circling. Smoke is rising from the out-houses. A lone figure, naked, shivering, the words HIGH RELEASE POINT smeared across his chest in chicken blood, has come staggering through the lines and is being led away under a blanket towards an inconclusive loan stint at Derbyshire.
Do you ever miss the early days, when the world was still young? The days of Bazball 1.0, of Bazball without brains.
2. Love-Bombing: Cult leaders promise a new start, hope for a future, love, salvation within a community who all believe in the big idea.
Are England actually honest with themselves? If they are, they’ll know they have to change
What was this thing back then? Just men on a balcony feeling good. Tattoos. Forearms. Jawlines. Elite male wellness energy…