Sports
Sports draw us in for many reasons, the elegance, the competition, the history, our identification with great athleticism (we may not be able to do it, but they sure can!), a coming together of community in a shared story etc. In a world that is losing its legitimacy; professional sports are essentially sane and fair.Without the rules, there's no meaningful game. That's why football, for instance, is filled with procedure - and while a coach is permitted to occasionally "challenge" a call, the referees have an organized way to review those challenges. And once a decision is made - it's over. This past season, San Francisco was unhappy about an "early whistle," but that's old news. There's no more appeal. The referees did the best that they could - the call stands and the game goes on. In baseball, there are three outs per innning, three strikes per at bat, twenty seven outs in a regulation game and four balls generates a walk. Baseball is the "game of inches" with fair and foul defining the ballpark. But it is the umpire who makes the final call. A manger can argue, but if he is too aggressive, he's tossed out. And, no one can eject the umpire. Rules upon rules defines baseball.And in the game of football, there are fifteen minutes to each quarter, no more and no less. There's no more than four downs permitted to continue your teams' possession and get another four downs allotted to you. Ten yards are required for a first down and no movement is allowed on the line of scrimmage by the offensive line prior to the snap. A receiver must have two feet inbounds after controlling the catch - and these regulations go on and on. The referee is the final arbiter in all of these matters.
Yet, within these rules there's magic - the magic of men competing at the highest level.
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