Nice opus you wrote there.
Who or what is determining the point of when a winning side won too big. Would 50 pts be OK? Does the point spread need to be smaller? how small? does this change with each game?
So was the win itself OK?
A strategy in fencing is cat and mouse. Some call it physical chess.
You call it “humiliating”. I call it strategy and winning. Winning quick is good. Jumping out ahead in points early on in the game is good. It is called strategy.
Here is something my son brought up to me last night about this topic.
What if some of these players have higher ambitions and playing basketball is what will help them achieve it.
What if getting higher, better individual stats would help on a college application?
What if getting higher, better stats would help get on a college team they hope to be on.?
What if getting higher, better stats would help get a scholarship so they could afford to go to school?
Please stop looking at what this might have done to the losing side for a moment, and see what winning this game might have meant for the winners.
Records might have been broken.
Dreams might now have a better chance of being fulfilled.
Maybe one of the winners went to sleep with a smile on their face, feeling good that their hard work is paying off.
Olympians try to win medals. They also try to break records. These are goals for athletes. I applaud the achievement.
Summary of my opinion:
Winning is good. Losing sometimes hurts. If after losing, it is worth it to you, you practice more, try harder, and maybe next time you will win. Which would be good.
Good is good. Losing helps you learn how to win. Then the win feels even better.
Sweet tastes sweeter if you have also tasted the bitter.
I will now stop rewriting my opinion of sports and winning. I respectfully disagree with you.
The margin would depend on the game being played and how it is scored, wouldn't it?
In tennis, a 40-love score is nothing, isn't it?
In girl's basket ball, a 50 point margin is almost unheard of isn't it?
Are you purposely trying to be obtuse?
Can you really say that you are totally clueless about what constitutes OBVIOUS DELIBERATE HUMILIATION?
A strategy in fencing is cat and mouse. Some call it physical chess.
Again, purposely being obtuse?
In my hypothetical, your son had a point scored on him every 3 seconds of action and he was purposely defeated in 45 seconds of action in the ENTIRE match because the other player purposely wanted to demonstrate to everybody what a loser your son was in fencing.
WTF does that have to do with "physical chess".
You call it “humiliating”. I call it strategy and winning. Winning quick is good.
That "quick"? Really? When the entire point is to win 15 times as quickly as humanly possible just to show the crowd what a pathetic piece of crap your son is in fencing?
What if some of these players have higher ambitions and playing basketball is what will help them achieve it. What if getting higher, better individual stats would help on a college application? What if getting higher, better stats would help get on a college team they hope to be on.? What if getting higher, better stats would help get a scholarship so they could afford to go to school? No.
What has been taught to these girls is that humiliating others is "good"?
You know what that gets you in the Real World?
In the military, it gets the officer "fragged".
In a college application, the newspaper article about this game gets your application rejected for lack of character.
In business, it gets your competitors in your office to get the long knives out for you and to sabotage you at every turn.
In life, it loses your friends and it soils your reputation.
Honor and Sportsmanship are concepts that a man either "gets" or doesn't "get".
You don't "get" it.
Please stop looking at what this might have done to the losing side for a moment, and see what winning this game might have meant for the winners.
"Look at us! We humiliated handicapped kids by 100 points!!! Aren't we cool!!!"
It is the same as the 150 pound school yard bully that prides himself in beating up his 80 pound classmate.
What this game meant to the winners is that it earned them scorn and contempt across the country and even the shame of their own parents.
“Olympians try to win medals. They also try to break records. These are goals for athletes. I applaud the achievement.
Summary of my opinion:
Winning is good. Losing sometimes hurts. If after losing, it is worth it to you, you practice more, try harder, and maybe next time you will win. Which would be good.
Good is good. Losing helps you learn how to win. Then the win feels even better.
Sweet tastes sweeter if you have also tasted the bitter.”
Thanks for your posts on this topic.
It’s been an interesting read especially when more information was provided in various threads with links.