Last night at the 24 hour fitness center where I was going pathetically slow on an elliptical machine, the flat screen television in front of me was relaying the closing images of SportsCenter (I choose my machine based on which one is closest to a TV with ESPN). I was assuming there would be a professional baseball game or NFL show on next, but neither appeared. Instead, I was fed the beginning of one of the semifinal games in the Little League World Series. It looked exactly like the coverage of a pro game except that all the players were pint-sized.
This set my mind adrift considering a question I have considered numerous times before: is competition a good thing? In a world of participation awards and not keeping score (though the parents always do even if the kids don't), we still have things like the Little League World Series. It's not just competition--it's competition on steroids. So is it a good or bad thing?
I have to admit I come to this question with a bias. I have played all kinds of sports from the time I was a little kid--and we didn't have participation ribbons. I have always enjoyed competition, though it has led to outbursts of anger or frustration at times. A favorite hobby of my brother and I is making up games (which are always comptetive with us) using anything we have handy. In seminary I even spent five minutes debating someone who said competition was sinful.
So over the next few weeks I'm going to throw in a blog from time to time exploring the nature of competition. Is it beneficial, or is it negative--even sinful? I can't claim that I will be objective, but I will do my best given my biased nature.
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2 comments:
I look forward to your thoughts, especially since you turned down the Nuggets to work in the office next to me!
so, Trev, I'll just ask you, who can hit the softest? Not to be competitive or anything... Over here just contemplating fate and failing out of a PhD programme -- you got a job at your church for me?
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