Monday, October 17, 2005
I think I will continue my Canadian series today and discuss what is becoming true not just in Canada but Westwide. Following the hockey game on Saturday night (in which, to my delight, Ottawa creamed Boston 5-1), my fiancee commented on the fact that the Canadian audience actually stood to sing the American national anthem as well as their own, in fact they sang the American one first even though Ottawa was the home team. I had been impressed as well and Gillian wondered how hockey fans got to be so conservative.
It's not just hockey. It's sports. Athletics are under real attack from the "It's-not-whether-you-win-or-lose-it's-how-you-play-the-game" mommy's boys crowd on the Left. The problem is, they don't like competition at all. It's already not fair for some people to have more money than others. The chapel speaker at my college this morning actually worried that these are scary days, not because of terrorism or uncertainty, but because America controls "more than our share" of the world's wealth and so people are driven to "resort to terrorism." I was appalled. Where does it say that there's only so much wealth in the world and everyone is entitled to an equal share? In my observation, wealth is more man-made than natural and if people work hard, they can get in on some of the planet's wealth. Not that this will always be equal. Most times it won't be. The person hoeing coffee beans in Latin America is probably never going to be as rich as Bill Gates but if they are ever broken into the idea of competition they might be able to better themselves substantially. But back to sports: athletic competition is a living reminder to all those walking in a liberal wonderland that life is not fair. People don't inherently deserve to succeed; they have to work at it. The Boston Bruins played horribly Saturday night and they got creamed. They don't need to have people cry over them; they need to play better next time. Nor should the Ottawa Senators be made to feel guilty for winning. They have a great team and they played amazingly well. To lay to rest any complaints that I only feel this way because I like Ottawa and hate anything to do with Boston, let me rephrase. The New York Giants don't need me to cry over them and make them feel better; they need to buck up and play better ball. And the Cowboys shouldn't be ashamed of winning, much as I hate them; they played well and they deserve credit. You see, sports actually teaches us a lot about real life, which is something liberals are anxious to avoid at all costs.
Why are sports fans conservative? Because they understand the underlying principle of life: you play better than the other guy, you win. You don't, you lose. They like to see that. They come to cheer their team on to victory, not a feel-good state of self-esteem. And let's face it: what's more ridiculous than grown men screaming and jumping around every time someone scores a goal (hockey) or a touchdown (football) or heck, a run (baseball)? Yet what it really signifies is a celebration of achievement, a distinctly male thing, and so another aspect liberals are rather interested in squelching. So I say, play sports proudly and often. I wish I was more athletic so I could join you.
It's not just hockey. It's sports. Athletics are under real attack from the "It's-not-whether-you-win-or-lose-it's-how-you-play-the-game" mommy's boys crowd on the Left. The problem is, they don't like competition at all. It's already not fair for some people to have more money than others. The chapel speaker at my college this morning actually worried that these are scary days, not because of terrorism or uncertainty, but because America controls "more than our share" of the world's wealth and so people are driven to "resort to terrorism." I was appalled. Where does it say that there's only so much wealth in the world and everyone is entitled to an equal share? In my observation, wealth is more man-made than natural and if people work hard, they can get in on some of the planet's wealth. Not that this will always be equal. Most times it won't be. The person hoeing coffee beans in Latin America is probably never going to be as rich as Bill Gates but if they are ever broken into the idea of competition they might be able to better themselves substantially. But back to sports: athletic competition is a living reminder to all those walking in a liberal wonderland that life is not fair. People don't inherently deserve to succeed; they have to work at it. The Boston Bruins played horribly Saturday night and they got creamed. They don't need to have people cry over them; they need to play better next time. Nor should the Ottawa Senators be made to feel guilty for winning. They have a great team and they played amazingly well. To lay to rest any complaints that I only feel this way because I like Ottawa and hate anything to do with Boston, let me rephrase. The New York Giants don't need me to cry over them and make them feel better; they need to buck up and play better ball. And the Cowboys shouldn't be ashamed of winning, much as I hate them; they played well and they deserve credit. You see, sports actually teaches us a lot about real life, which is something liberals are anxious to avoid at all costs.
Why are sports fans conservative? Because they understand the underlying principle of life: you play better than the other guy, you win. You don't, you lose. They like to see that. They come to cheer their team on to victory, not a feel-good state of self-esteem. And let's face it: what's more ridiculous than grown men screaming and jumping around every time someone scores a goal (hockey) or a touchdown (football) or heck, a run (baseball)? Yet what it really signifies is a celebration of achievement, a distinctly male thing, and so another aspect liberals are rather interested in squelching. So I say, play sports proudly and often. I wish I was more athletic so I could join you.
// posted by The Pendragon @ 11:55 PM 
