Christmas Special #1 of 2 - The Christmas Truce

What is the most famous football match of all time? Geoff Hurst's hat-trick in 1966? Pele's demolition of Italy in 1970? Huddersfield Town's 3-0 triumph over Nottingham Forest to secure their first league title back in 1924? All worthy contenders, but it is probable that they all play second fiddle to a game that took place in front of no fans, with makeshift goalposts and on pockmarked, uneven terrain. We speak, of course, about the Christmas Day football match of 1914, played between German and British soldiers who were at war with one another, on a battlefield full of shell craters.

In this Christmas special of The Way We See Sport, The Way We See Life, Nathan and Chris look back on an event that was, first, underplayed and, thereafter, mythologised. The two presenters cover Blackadder, the Farm, and a range of primary source accounts as they seek to explore the true story of a football match played within a war zone. 

Was it quite the triumph of peace over war that is usually framed as? How did it happen? And why did it never happen again? If you're interested in the story of the most famous football match of all time, we urge you to give this episode a listen. Regardless of whether or not you do so, Nathan and Chris wish all their listeners a vey Merry Christmas.