[lbryce]

The initial reference to the article was expressed as "Is Britain in danger of losing its competitive edge"? And immediately I thought no. That occurred ages ago. When everything, everyone is forced to conform, where schools have eschewed the old world tradition of actually grading children in various levels of proficiency because the overachiever 'A' students were making children of lesser intellectual capability feel inferior which instead of spurring them on to do better, the liberals whined that it only perpetuated their stupidity and worse, made them cry, which only turned them gay. And so, winning at sports evolved into making the winners feel guilty, bad as if it were a stigma of sorts because it made the the losers feel, well, like losers, and that's frowned upon now, being a winner. Socialized medicine certainly had an effect as well, and I don't why or how this has anything to do with a society evolving into a country of losers, eating bangers, cow brains in a can and the rest of Britain's celebrated gastronomic jackpot, eating canned organ meat and other assorted offal will turn you into a country of losers because not only do you not feel well, you smell badly as well.

The final nail in the coffin for Britain's culture of sheeple losers is the recent circumstance whereby the British Judicial system began enforcing Sharia Law. Once you cross this telltale, raise the white flag line in the sand of that signals the end of Western Civilization, in the multiple choice list of responses of how do you feel, are you in the fast lane of life, there's only one selection you can make;LOSER.

[Gaffer]

“Mommy, what’s the score?” “Why precious, the score is FUN to FUN!!!! Yayyyyyy!

[BuffaloJack]

Another name for second place is First Loser.

[SunTzuWu]

As they become adults, that same attitude will apply to world politics and war. Then again, that was the liberals plan all along.

[rawcatslyentist]

Sports are the opiate of the inebriate.

[Toadman]

That explains the lack of violence at football matches.

[Alberta's Child]

There are a lot of things to read into your comments about the decline of Britain, but I don't think the loss of interest in competitive school sports is one of them.

In fact, I'd go so far as to suggest that school sports programs are actually part of the problem, and the changes in attitudes among children may reflect something else entirely. I've long said that kids should be left alone to play sports, and that adult involvement in children's sports can probably do more harm than good in the long run. I've long said that kids probably shouldn't play organized sports at all until high school at the earliest, and even then there is still a danger that the development of the young adults will be harmed by the misplaced priorities of the adults who are involved.

[CrazyIvan]

A long time ago I took tennis very seriously. I liked to win, but I liked to lose also. Why? I always tried to play with someone better than I. I lost plenty but always came away having gone to school on them and slightly improved myself. I never considered myself a loser, just in training.

[wastedyears]

There is such a thing as pick-up games. I’m sure those have been around for a long time, where the score doesn’t matter as much as having fun. But when the competitive element is removed from organization, such as a local little league or high school-level sport, that’s when there’s a huge problem.

For example, I bet a bunch of the kids I grew up with would go to our local park for softball, and we’d have fun with it instead of being competitive.

But like I said, when it’s take out of local and school sports, there’s a huge problem.

[onedoug]

Coached HS baseball for three seasons and will be getting back into it this summer.

The kids I coached wanted to win every time they took the field.

[lonestar]

Anybody think Johnny Manziel doesn’t care about winning? LOL!

[CAluvdubya]

Baloney! Maybe in Britain but not in the U.S.! I work at a school and these kids make a competition out of just going into the classroom!

One can claim anything they wish but it doesn't make it true.....

[kevkrom]

That may be true in the UK, but I don’t see it here in the US. I’ve been assistant coaching baseball in the 6-8 age range and soccer in the 8-10 age range, and while in rec leagues at these ages we explicitly don’t keep scores or stats, trust me, the kids either know or constantly ask what the score is.

[dfwgator]

Obviously this doesn’t apply to the bosses at Manchester United.

[Jack of all Trades]

If there’s no competitive element, then it’s not a sport. Also, IMHO, if there’s a subjective element to deciding the winner or loser, it’s not really a sport either, but that’s another topic entirely.

[Blue Collar Christian]

John Lennon’s “Imagine”

[longtermmemmory]

competition is punished.

being a candy a**ed dumb a** scared of winning is rewarded.

this is why Oprafication is evil incarnate.

[nothingnew]

The disclosure, in a study by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and cricketing charity Chance to Shine, will fuel concerns that a "prizes for all" culture in schools over the last few decades has eroded children's competitive spirit.

Well...DUH!

FMCDH(BITS)

[discostu]

I think it’s all about context. We played lots of different sports and semi-sports in PE and recess when I was a kid and 10 minutes later nobody could remember who won because it didn’t matter. In PE who cares about the score, it’s just PE, you’re out there for 45 minutes win lose or draw. Same with pickup games at recess or whatever, they’re about finding a fun way to kill some time. If it’s some sort of organized league type thing that’s totally different, that’s kids choosing to get into a competition.

[Resolute Conservative]

Brave Sierra. To quote a college baseball coach, “the person who says, it is not whether you win or lose it is how you play the game bulls__t, lost the game.”