Mission Statement of sorts

Life in and of itself is a competition. whether you’re an athlete or not, our existence as human beings is a constant struggle for superiority. Survival of the fittest is as real today as it was thousands of years ago, but perhaps the goal has changed. As human beings we compete at every level, whether it’s for the attention of a parent, getting into your school of choice, landing that coveted job, or getting the girl (or guy). The promotion, the house, the life… we are all in constant competition. The most obvious manifestation of this inherent need to compete is athletics. From the beginning of time we have held in esteem those with the genetic edge to succeed, and the origins of it all revolve around war and violence. I think that the first organized sport was wrestling, and that was used to train soldiers prior to battle, as it is the basis for hand to hand combat. Through the years, as sport evolved and progressed, it became less of a means to train for battle and more of a form of entertainment, and with this progression, rules were imposed on those who participated. You can’t expect that every athletic endeavor should end in death, or devolve into senseless violence. And rules in sport are much like laws and other restrictions, and are typically met with a certain amount of push back. It’s human nature to want to push and test boundaries, and to sometimes totally disregard the idea that someone is telling you that you can’t do something. We, as a species, have decided that there are certain things that you are not allowed to do, and if you do them, you will be punished. But, who’s really to say what’s acceptable and what’s not? Most of it, of course, is common sense… That is, it’s common sense for most of us… but then there are the grey areas. I like to lurk around the grey areas, and examine why certain things are ok for one group of people and not so much for others. I want to examine the rules of sports, and that is all sports, from hockey and football, to horse racing and golf. From conduct and code of ethics, to infractions that cost people their careers. I’m not going to focus solely on penalties, and rules of games. I am going to discuss sports in the broader sense, and culture too for that matter. But, as I always do, I’m going to be looking for those who live one step outside the rules. Those who push the boundaries. Those are the people who are interesting. Even if they come across as vile and disgusting.