nin137

Nick's Journal
2006-02-26 14:07:00 (UTC)

My Take on Sports

i love to watch three sports football, golf, and basketball
(in that order).
i love football the most because it involves the most
strategy. it is the only game in which you can really plan
out how you will play a game to a T, and i admire the
patriots for their exemplification of this.
golf i love mainly because i play it so much and i can
appreciate the intensity of a sport that looks anything but
intense.
i love basketball for the grace. i mean when some of these
guys move up to the three point line and just nail a three,
or drive to the basket and artistically wrap aroudn the
defender to the basket, it's just so great.
i like watching baseball in person but i don't like it on
t.v., i don't like hockey but unlike baseball i really
respect the players. i never watch soccer, but i respect
those players just as much.
anyhow, i'm watching finland, vs. sweden right now on the
olympics (hockey) and this is why i respect hockey players.
i may not have any interest in the sport (mainly because i
can not follow the puck) it is because they are so crazy
into this and regardless of this, it takes a hell of a lot
of athleticism to skate around like that. adn the hits
these guys take.......damn! the one dude lost three teeth!
and you hear their interviews and these teams want to win,
and more over they are a TEAM.
to me that is the essence of sports. i mean this is coming
from a person who's only sport ever, was Karate. but i
still appreciate the poignant brilliance of individual
performances. michael jordan leaps to mind right away.
that man was insane. i don't think i have EVER had more fun
watching any other athlete (and basketball is the perfect
opportunity for an individual to shine, a la kobe bryant).
but jordan goes beyond all others. i mean when i watched
him, i just EXPECTED him to win.
another person who comes to my mind equally as dominant is
tiger woods. i know in prior journal entries i have wavered
on whether i liked him (mainly because i felt he ruined the
competitive aspect of one of my favorite games). but now.
he is just so incredibly dominant. and even in golf he is
capable of amazing moments (his chip in last year comes to
mind).
anyhow, i guess the antethema of sports can be summed up in
two words. Vince Carter. if you follow sports you know
what this guy did. he played for the toronto raptors (a
basketball team that sucks) and deliberately tanked. i mean
he did everything wrong to show that he would no longer be
neutral, he woudl take them down with him. he was promptly
traded to the new jersey nets, and he SHINED!!! how shitty
is that?
now of course you can make the argument that it's all
business, but sports is not a business in the microcosmos of
the player's world. sports is of course ultimately a
business on the macroscopic level (managers, to towns, to
even countries), but each player is assessed on one basis:
how well does he contribute to his team? essentially what
is his value added?
now if a player deliberately undermines this fundamental
basis, i believe it is along the lines of betraying the very
essence of his work. it shows he has no respect for what he
does. the overlying need for furthering one's own ego
should never be a justification for such disseretion.
i know that a lot of people disagree with me and take people
like say, johnny damon (he went from the redsox to the rival
yankees for the money), he did what was right for johnny
damon. he wanted more money, he felt he was worth it, and
the oppposing team felt he was worth it. so what?
well my problem with this is that it destroys the essence of
team-building. it is unrealistic that all people at all
times will always be justly compensanted...i mean that's life.
but i believe that none of these athletes are starving and i
truly believe that a tom brady will go down in greater lore
(and more lucrative post-career deals) than a johnny damon,
solely for his unselfishness and dedication.
so that's my take on sports.




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