Friday, February 09, 2007
FITBA AND OTHER SPORTS
I'm taking a break here - I watched the England Spain match the other night - Spain were streets ahead, they won easily and had the added bonus of getting away without serious injuries. Chauvinism and Nationalism were there in all their ugly moods, the English lads ran about in ever decreasing circles trying to kick the Spanish players before a baying crowd, they managed to look hapless and furious by turns. I don't like international sport, it's meant to foster friendship but it now seems to stand in for war between some teams, the Spanish are no better when they are at home, their reputation for racism is dreadful. Sport should be played between opponents on a level playing field, that means I'm afraid that games between Scotland and Brazil or England etc are meaningless, same as the Olympics, they are now national competitions which means that the USA will always be first since the break up of the USSR - I do like boxing, opponents of equal weight and height etc seems much fairer. I had a go at it many years ago and I quickly found out that boxing should not be included in any argument about what is the toughest sport. I remember going in against a guy from school, we were wearing boxing gloves like pillow cases, this guy was as quite as a mouse and didn't associate with me or the rest of the football crowd, we thought we were ' the boys', anyway I managed to be still standing at the end, some achievement, believe me, he hit me so many times I thought I was surrounded, I asked my trainer to check that he wasn't hitting me with his corner stool, happy days eh ? or was it daze ? it gave me an insight though into phsycology - I bashed him and he bashed me and I thought 'what's that all about'.
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21 comments:
Don't you like the English? Your match report has a degree of Anglophobia about it IMO.
anonymous, mystery person - I.M.O. you are entitled to Y.O. no matter how fatuous. Do you have a view on the English ?
Didn't answer the question Terry.
RFS - I told you, as a result of your comments I don't trust you, and I wouldn't want you having anything to do with the good people of Ferguslie Park.
I find this post illuminating - it reveals just how little you think of the Scottish people. Why shouldn't Scotland compete on an even playing-field in sports? Why do you want to relegate the Scottish to some second division of human achievement?
Plenty of other small countries and successful in Football and other sports - actually I'd venture that the football arena is one where Scotland would have the upper-hand against the USA.
Just because you're happy to relegate your nation to the economic second division, doesn't mean that you should force your people to hide from competition on every front.
As an aside - your comments about the Olympics show how little you know about sport or those deeply involved with it. There are plenty of sports in which the UK leads the field at Olympic level and in those, and others, the Olympics, and those who make it there, are an inspiration to the rest of us.
You may be content with your existence of sloth and bitterness, but many of us actually enjoy the challenge of sport and the levels of excellence encouraged by the Olympic movement.
max - it's a tortuous business trying to make sense of your thought processes but, since you're a special case and I'm a sympathetic type, here goes.
1/ You've decided that you know what I think of the Scottish people ? what a guy.
2/ Why should'nt Scotland compete etc. look again for god's sake max that's what I said they should do !
3/ Why do I want to relegate Scotland etc. answer I don't, I want fair competition.
4/ Scotland could beat the USA at football ? possibly, but, that's because the USA are nearer our level, sad but true I'm afraid.
5/ I'm relegating Scotland to the economic second div. etc show me where economics is mentioned, are you sure you're coping with all this ?
6/ So, I know nothing about sports ? plenty of sports where the UK leads the world, THE UK ? what happened to Scotland? O.K. rowing, horse jumping, archery, pistol shooting, curling, 3 day event, fencing, great stuff max. The weans in my ward of Ferguslie Park are mad for all that.
7/ This para is not worthy of comment. I love sport and the olympics, I hate what it has become. max I don't suppose you would consider giving me a break, I might not always treat you as a special case.
No, Terry, you misunderstand me. Calm down, let the fog lift and understand that I am pointing out that the Anonymous person asked a question. Instead of answering it you resorted to a personal attack again. Not everything is about you and me mate!!!
So let me type this slowly for you and rephrase it:
You did not answer the question Anonymous asked you, are you stifling debate again?
On another note I have to agree with you on the Boxing but disagree on something else.
I enjoy watching boxing, something primeval about it. I would have thought that boxing would be against your socialist principles?
Anyway, while I enjoy boxing I would never suggest to people to only participate in a one-on-one sport such as tennis or boxing.
My adventures on and off the paddock are a mystery to my wife and I think that this is because she has never "had" a team sport. I fully believe that school children should have at least one full season of a team sport (football, hockey, rugby, netball) under their belts before they leave high school. They will be better rounded people for it.
I have never felt closer to other people than when the blood is streaming down our faces and we have fought together for a common cause and we can look each other in they eye knowing that we let no-one down.
"I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious."
RFS - " boxing against my socialist principles" the greatest boxing nation in the history of organised sport is of course socialist CUBA. I actually agree with most of what you say about sport here. What about those last two gung ho para's though, were you on the neat gin when you wrote them ?
RFS - If you are referring to the question "don't you like the English" ? the answer is no I don't, don't like the English, Bobby Charlton is English for god's sake.
Second last paragraph is easy. That is how I feel. Yes I have played while drunk (mainly on tour) but on the whole I am sober and always feel lucky to play the game.
Last paragraph is my favourite Vince Lombardi quote that I thought I would throw in there for you. When we win I spend a couple of minutes lying on the centre spot with my own thoughts. The guys think it a bit odd but it makes me happy.
RFS - What game ? what tour ? Vince who ?
RFS - OK got him, Vince win at any cost Lombardi, kill your grannie to win Lombardie - no surprise there then.
So are you for competition or not? Your last post was not clear.
BTW, what is an oap's going rate in the NFL?
I enjoy boxing too. I'll always respect someone who's looked over the gloves at an opponent. You did better than me. My record: 3 fights, 3 losses. 2 by Knockout!
RFS am I for competition ? now there's a loaded word eh ? in sports the answer is yes but only if it's fair competition.
Your last comment passed me by.
jackart - I too respect anyone of any age creed etc who enters the place where 'you can run, but you can't hide' maybe that's what happened to us both !
So you are all for competition but denigrate Vince for "kill your grannie to win"[ning]. See his quote on that link about cheating and I think you will agree that this statement is a gross misrepresentation at best.
What is the point of taking part in a sport if, when you take to the field you do not want to win? If your every thought on the pitch is not consumed with winning then what is the point of being on the pitch.
I suspect you are not as "for" competition as you make out. Either that or you don't understand the concept.
RFS - nothing wrong with sporting competition if it's fair ' hit the line hard, never cheat and never flinch' (Theo Roosevelt). Sonny Liston smeared his gloves to blind Clay - Dynamo Kiev trained on the Ibrox pitch prior to playing Rangers and Graeme Souness ordered the pitch to be narrowed bofore the match. I must be fair to Rangers and say that it was Souness the self confessed right wing Tory and not Rangers who was guilty, he saw nothing wrong in this and he is still on TV as an expert. I love sport but hate this kind of thing - I don't know that much about Lombardi but I do know about the American attitude to winning. The young Robert Kennedy proudly announced to his dad that he had come second in an essay writing competition out of thousands of entries, his lovely old dad the rum runner said "you mean you got beat" that's one kind of competition.
I am sure that we can both agree that Old Joe Kennedy was the worst kind of cowardly human being imaginable for his actions as Ambassador to the Court of St James in the run up the WWII.
However I find it odd that you claim to not know much about Lombardi but denigrate him on the basis that he is an American. Sweeping generalisations about someone based simply on a broad geographical caricature. I wonder if we have a word for that...
RFS - Old Joe was a crook and, an all American winner, dishonest, brutal and rotten to the core. You're right of course about his time as Ambassador when he tried his best to align Britain with Hitler, aided and abetted of course by the right wing cream of British society including the Royal Family.
Lombardi ? Don't know much about him and don't much care, I feel your eagerness to take what I say about him literally weakens your argument, I think you know that I was generalising about the famous American win at all costs thing. Show me a good loser & I'll show you a loser - don't get mad at an opponent, get even - baseball games thrown - boxing matches fixed - drug taking of epidemic proportions - first commandment ' don't get caught' what's the name for that again ?
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