The Oympics
I've always enjoyed the Olympic games and today I saw that the New York Times had a nice animated map of the medal count for countries since 1896. You can view it here.
The Panthers and Steve Smith
It's guaranteed that at some point during a season all-star wide receiver Steve Smith is going to physically attack one of his teammates. A couple of days ago he attacked Ken Lucas on the sidelines. Supposedly these two have been going at it pretty hard in practice over the years and, with Smith's temper, it was bound to happen. The Panthers announced that they were suspending Smith for the first two games of the regular season. I say why suspend a guy for being a violent football player? Aren't these guys routinely referred to as "modern gladiators?" I say fights among teammates should be encouraged. What could better bring a team together than a few fights. How often did you get into a fight in high school and end up finding a new friend? Conflict and manly resolution bring respect. Not only should intrasquad fighting being encouraged but football teams should have an annual boxing tournament among players that have accumulated grudges. You could even broadcast the fights on the tube. At least it would give the football fan something interesting to watch during the preseason.
2 comments:
Fighting among the Roman centurions certainly worked for Rome.... to fall.
For me, this is a tough one. I see how students can be destroyed by fighting, and, in some cases, how their current outburst is a manifestation of a behavior that is either learned at home (mom & dad going at it at home, or a dad/mom taking it out on them or a sib).
I also remember how the wrestling team policed its own and really grew as a band of brothers. What is going on in the situation that you are writing about? We're not there, so we don't really know.
As far as "encouraging" fighting....? Sounds a bit like encouraging a conflict to happen that may be best negotiated with words. Encouraging conflict sounds like you are advocating the very policies in professional sports that you decry in your politics.
:) Consider yourself "officially baited" my friend!
As far as the situation I don't know all that much more than I mentioned on the blog. Our NFL team has a hotheaded receiver and his temper gets him into trouble during practice and sometimes during games.
Maybe "encouraged" is not a good word to use. How about "allowed."
I think merely being a football fan is at odds with my anti-war politics. That is just how complex I am. May I refer you to George Carlin's analysis of the nature of baseball vs. football?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WallEDRs0M
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