The football playoffs are here. All the speculation and wagering, analysis and prognostication. There are those that are fanatics about it all. All are experts and highly opinionated. Sports stirs a passion in people like no other. I'm one of the few exceptions. I enjoy sports of all types but wouldn't say I follow any of it. Baseball is as close as I get to being a real fan of any sport. My mind just never could keep track of players names,teams and stats. That's because it never was that important to me. It's a game after all. A source of entertainment. Not one to live vicariously through any of these so called sports heroes, winners and losers are only of passing interest.
I have paid attention somewhat over the years. I know the big rivalries and the major players. I do watch football,baseball and sometimes even car racing on television. Should I not get to see a certain game it usually would be of little consequence to me. The world series, if the Yankees are playing, is an exception. I have watched over the years as teams were added. Nothing wrong with that. What I have watched over the years is the development of this wild card system. I am just totally opposed to that whole concept. Always have been. In my simple mind, either you win or lose. Finishing third,fourth or fifth doesn't constitute winning in my book. The two teams with the best records play each other for the championship, period,end of story, it's over. The fat lady has sung her song. Wait till next year.
It is my belief this whole concept is about money. A way to continue the sale of tickets. How many more games can we squeeze in ? I'm not an expert on this whole thing and those that make that claim have tried to explain it all to me. What I hear them saying is, my team didn't finish in the top two, but we should get another chance. My response is always, why ? What is the point in playing an entire season if the games don't really count ?
To me all this is just a reflection of the direction we are going in this country. Let's not hurt anyone's feelings or chance damaging egos. There are no losers. There are wildcards. If you can't win strictly on skill, maybe luck will intervene. You get another chance. Face it people, second place means you are the best of the losers ! But it isn't about winning and losing on the playing field anymore. It is about revenue. And don't even get me started about the salaries these players make.
Wild Cards. That about sums it up.
I have paid attention somewhat over the years. I know the big rivalries and the major players. I do watch football,baseball and sometimes even car racing on television. Should I not get to see a certain game it usually would be of little consequence to me. The world series, if the Yankees are playing, is an exception. I have watched over the years as teams were added. Nothing wrong with that. What I have watched over the years is the development of this wild card system. I am just totally opposed to that whole concept. Always have been. In my simple mind, either you win or lose. Finishing third,fourth or fifth doesn't constitute winning in my book. The two teams with the best records play each other for the championship, period,end of story, it's over. The fat lady has sung her song. Wait till next year.
It is my belief this whole concept is about money. A way to continue the sale of tickets. How many more games can we squeeze in ? I'm not an expert on this whole thing and those that make that claim have tried to explain it all to me. What I hear them saying is, my team didn't finish in the top two, but we should get another chance. My response is always, why ? What is the point in playing an entire season if the games don't really count ?
To me all this is just a reflection of the direction we are going in this country. Let's not hurt anyone's feelings or chance damaging egos. There are no losers. There are wildcards. If you can't win strictly on skill, maybe luck will intervene. You get another chance. Face it people, second place means you are the best of the losers ! But it isn't about winning and losing on the playing field anymore. It is about revenue. And don't even get me started about the salaries these players make.
Wild Cards. That about sums it up.
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