The Glade 4.0

Not really a sports fan here, but there has been a question running through my head ever since the recent local Marshall vs WVU game, and the discussions it raised.

If you had to choose only one of the two options below, which would you choose?

At game's end, which is more important to you for your favored team: Winning or Playing Well (i.e. Showing of skills/proficiency in the sport, good sportsmanship, etc.)?

Putting up a W.

That's all that matters.

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Holy shitsnacks!

Get the W.

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"It is true that democracy undermines freedom when voters believe they can live off of others' productivity, when they modify the commandment: 'Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.' The politics of plunder is no doubt destructive of both morality and the division of labor."

Winning ugly is always better than losing.

There could be a point as a fan where I'd rather a loss and good sportsmanship etc over getting a win... can't root for someone like Terrell Owens.

..as a professional player (and though they don't get paid directly, students at many universities may as well be professional players for these purposes) the win is all that matters.

edit: mm, though now that I think about it, there are cases in actual sports where a major sportsmanship factor takes precedence over improving your chances to win. I know Penn State, though not the football giant it was in years past, suspends players regularly for doing stupid stuff off the field (i.e. getting in fights and whatnot). I believe there was some serious talk in the Steelers nation about Roethlisberger maybe being ...asked to leave because of the reputation he's sort of getting.

Without getting too touchy-feely about sportsmanship and whatnot, you can simply look at it more from a marketing point of view first. Wins bring money, but money is probably the ultimate final goal of any professional organization (and I can still include many college programs here too, for the same reason). Tarnishing your brand with a hated player might not be something an organization wants to do, even if they think it would mean a slight edge over their other options.

But anyway, if you're only talking about winning despite playing sloppy or something like that, then yeah winning cures all ills. :p

Winning is the main reason you play the game. Unless of course it's that ridiculous t-ball game where the don't keep score.

That said, there are many other secondary benefits to participating in sports. Camaraderie, Being a good sportsman, losing well, etc.. are examples.

As spectator I'd just rather see the win. You should not have a team just cause they are winning right now, but winning is what I want to see our there.

As an individual and war-gamer success is more than a number on a scoreboard.

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

It depends on where your team. The Browns are rebuilding (forever) and after watching them roll-over and die for years I enjoy seeing them perform well so that I can see the progress of building towards a good football team.

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I'd just like to quote Herm Edwards on this one,"This is what's great about sports. This is what the greatest thing about sports is. You play to win the game. Hello? You play to win the game. You don't play it to just play it. That's the great thing about sports: you play to win, and I don't care if you don't have any wins. You go play to win. When you start tellin' me it doesn't matter, then retire. Get out!"

I wanted to come back to my answer.

When I posted my answer, I meant in comparison between having my team put up 500 yards of offense, good QB rating, solid defense, but still lose.

I'd rather win 6-3 with 125 yards offense and 5 INT's, than lose but have the team have awesome stats.

I wouldn't want them to win by cheating or dirty play. The Jeter thing just last night or the other night, is an example of something I'd think is beneath my team of choice having to do. But that might just be me.

That quote hurt my brain . . . a lot.

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Holy shitsnacks!

How bout this?

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"It is true that democracy undermines freedom when voters believe they can live off of others' productivity, when they modify the commandment: 'Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.' The politics of plunder is no doubt destructive of both morality and the division of labor."

or these:


Or this:

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Holy shitsnacks!