Sporting Innuendo

Sport provides many opportunities for sexual innuendo and double entendres. The very word itself can be used in this way with the help of a nudge and a wink as in, 'your wife, does she like a bit of sport?'

The potential for innuendo in sport was first noticed during a Test match between England and West Indies when batsman Peter Willey was facing the great West Indian bowler Michael Holding and the commentator announced that, 'The bowler's Holding the batsman's Willey.' Commentators were soon taking every opportunity to make a quip about Ian Botham 'Not quite getting his leg over' and the field of sporting innuendo has never looked back

Other sports were quick to follow Cricket's example. Rugby provided several obvious examples with its funny shaped balls, big ugly hookers, aggressive rucking and sweaty scrummaging. American sports have, however, been slow to catch on as Americans have no sense of irony.