Wednesday, August 18, 2004
I'm With Bigwig On This One
He's right. How many of us really want to win at all costs? I'd rather see my team lose while putting forth 100% than win while giving 99%. What's exciting is seeing a team play as though there's literally tomorrow and give every single ounce of what they've got to win (with, of course, an exemption for providing mercy when trouncing another team). Tech's football team wasn't all that impressive last year because, for whatever reason, they seemed to be sleepwalking through the plays at times. Meanwhile, our basketball team, which had finished dead last in the Big East every year we competed, played with everything to earn a spot in the Big East tournament for the first time and even advanced to the second round. There were two games where a last second shot led to a one-point victory for our team. Meanwhile, back in football, most people with whom I've spoken would rather have had Bryan Randall as our starting QB than Marcus Vick, because Randall seems to be a classy guy (and a believer, too) who is willing to play second-fiddle, while Vick seems like an overhyped guy hanging on the coat-tails of his older brother.
Does anyone even care about Olympic basketball in the United States? We sort-of care about hockey there, but not really. I like soccer, but in the Olympics it's not the same as in the World Cup (in my view, the best sporting event out there). If we put in amateurs for basketball, no one would care if we lost, and there would likely be a huge wave of enthusiasm if they won. On the other hand...let's be honest: many, perhaps most, of the athletes only nominally have jobs, and spend their time training. That strikes me as being an unpaid professional, rather than being an amateur. I'd better go to bed now, because otherwise I'm going to end up writing that I think that about 95-99% of the Olympics is just boring stuff no one really cares about, and we don't want me writing that, now do we?
He's right. How many of us really want to win at all costs? I'd rather see my team lose while putting forth 100% than win while giving 99%. What's exciting is seeing a team play as though there's literally tomorrow and give every single ounce of what they've got to win (with, of course, an exemption for providing mercy when trouncing another team). Tech's football team wasn't all that impressive last year because, for whatever reason, they seemed to be sleepwalking through the plays at times. Meanwhile, our basketball team, which had finished dead last in the Big East every year we competed, played with everything to earn a spot in the Big East tournament for the first time and even advanced to the second round. There were two games where a last second shot led to a one-point victory for our team. Meanwhile, back in football, most people with whom I've spoken would rather have had Bryan Randall as our starting QB than Marcus Vick, because Randall seems to be a classy guy (and a believer, too) who is willing to play second-fiddle, while Vick seems like an overhyped guy hanging on the coat-tails of his older brother.
Does anyone even care about Olympic basketball in the United States? We sort-of care about hockey there, but not really. I like soccer, but in the Olympics it's not the same as in the World Cup (in my view, the best sporting event out there). If we put in amateurs for basketball, no one would care if we lost, and there would likely be a huge wave of enthusiasm if they won. On the other hand...let's be honest: many, perhaps most, of the athletes only nominally have jobs, and spend their time training. That strikes me as being an unpaid professional, rather than being an amateur. I'd better go to bed now, because otherwise I'm going to end up writing that I think that about 95-99% of the Olympics is just boring stuff no one really cares about, and we don't want me writing that, now do we?
