Friday, August 7, 2009

Fair play

Every sport of note is out there to reward anyone or any team who lives up to the "spirit" of the game whatever indecipherable or undefinable quantity that is. Cheating during a game euphemestically called "gamesmanship" is so popular a tool nowadays that players actually have to be rewarded for not cheating. The Cristiano Ronaldos and the Michael Clarkes of the world thrive on this "gamesmanship" or "Win by hook or by crook" philosophy of modern sport. Second place is not worth a penny these days. The "Fair Play" award is apparently for losers who haven't got enough drive to win.

This in my opinion really sucks! Sports is the only arena where one can be blindly partisan to a club or a player without needing a flimsy basis for being so. It's also the arena where the natural competitiveness of humans as a species can be expended in a positive direction and bears witness to breathtaking David versus Goliath encounters. The whole charm of the face-off would wear thin if David were on steroids or if he launched a sneak attack on the sleeping Goliath in contradiction to the rules of fair combat. Rules are what make the playing and watching of sport such an intense and involving experience. It's human nature to try to sneak past a rule or two when no one is watching but it only means that the authorities need to keep a sharper eye out for misdemeanours and definitely coaching in "gamesmanship" as is common nowadays should be a no-no. There is nothing better on earth to watch than the grit and fierce passions on a playing field but everyone should tip their hats to the rules. I mean, what's next? Roughing up a key player in the opposing team pre-match or even hiring a hitman to take out a rival team's star - if all is fair in chasing victory where do we draw the line?

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Necessary evil

During the course of my current obsession with the "Mafia Wars" game on Facebook, I came to a sad realization. We need evil, no matter whatever wishes we might express of living in an utopian peace loving world. Without organized crime, or bloody wars sparked off by childish opponents how bland and colourless our stories would be. If politicians started turning honest and laws actually started applying equally to us all, where would all our inspirational tales of fighting the system and its odds be? Can you imagine how boring an honest cop movie would be if the only thing he was up against were the bad guys outside the police force? A mystery movie without murder and illicit passion in it is a thing unimaginable. For the sake of worthwhile art, evil has to linger on a little while longer. Once my time on earth is done, folks can get back to this cleansing the earth of all evil business of theirs again.