100-0 : Your thoughts?

[John Casey]

In 40 games of high school football I was a part of 4 victories. Many of those losses were by 40+ points; and I have no problem with that. This reminds me of the Patriots last year (even though they didn't win the Super Bowl). I remember hearing sports commentators say that the Patriots weren't professional in some of their wins by going for it on 4th down or playing Tom Brady in the 4th quarter. Too bad. You play your best and play to win.

What happened to the kill instinct where you put away an opponent as cleanly and efficiently as possible? If you're that good, anything less than your best is disrespectful to the losing team.

[Jason Neal]

I heard the administrators from Covenant got embarrassed about the affair. That special needs school should have been in a lower classification. Also, it doesn't help their own coach never has faith in them. If your own coach doesn't have faith in you, then how can you succeed?

[Kevin Daigle]

Originally Posted by Murph DeVane

That seems logical. Its funny how parents, coaches, and the like are always trying to protect their children from 'painful experiences' when really all that does is hinder personal growth. When that kid gets out of high school he/she will have a tough time coping with the occasional ruthlessness of life.

Maybe that is why we have CrossFit?! Ha. By the way, George, what position(s) do you play most often?

occasional? haha

[Kevin Daigle]

Originally Posted by John Casey

In 40 games of high school football I was a part of 4 victories. Many of those losses were by 40+ points; and I have no problem with that. This reminds me of the Patriots last year (even though they didn't win the Super Bowl). I remember hearing sports commentators say that the Patriots weren't professional in some of their wins by going for it on 4th down or playing Tom Brady in the 4th quarter. Too bad. You play your best and play to win.

What happened to the kill instinct where you put away an opponent as cleanly and efficiently as possible? If you're that good, anything less than your best is disrespectful to the losing team.

This is great on 2 accounts, and totally speaks to the topic at hand....first off, about the patriots (i bleed red,silver, and blue btw haha) 100% correct. You're a professional, if you get beat that badly its your own fault. It's not up to anyone to let up. Thats not sportsmanship its sourgrapesmanship.

Now, as far as being a part of 4 wins out of 40 games.....

My highschool team was miserable.....same kind of experience for the 1st 3 years. We went 0-10 my frosh year, then 1-8-1 soph, and 2-8 jr. year. We got beat by 40+ pt margins on the regular, and it was a always a big joke in the paper and what not about how Dracut sucked etc etc etc.

THEN....my senior year all of us had enough (and to be fair, our class was much more athletically gifted, but we didnt know that as 17yr old kids) we were even asked to drop to a lower division and play smaller schools. Our school is about 1,000 kids compared to Lowell, chelmsford, Billerica etc who are all 3,000+. The athletic director asked our class at the end of Jr year what we wanted to do, and we said unanimously we wanted to stay in the MVC. Which is one of the toughest leagues in Massachusetts.

So that year, after having taken all those beatings and not crying about it one time.....we went out and the paper predicted us to be awful obviously. We won the 1st game....then the 2nd. Then the paper said it was a fluke, and the real MVC teams would take us apart. So the next week we played billerica....I think the paper picked us to lose by 42pts. We beat the S*** out of that team 28-6. And all of a sudden everyone was behind us.....it was a really exhilirating feeling to go from those depths, to the heights we reached that season. We finished 7-1-2 and almost went to the superbowl.

Thats the lesson people need to learn. Not go easy and let up and be a whiny cry-baby chicken-s*** poon. the continued pussification of the american male is terrifying (thanks george carlin).

So to sum this up......last week I ran into a kid (another CFer actually) at the gym, he coaches for one of the teams thats in that league now (coincidentally, my school is now awesome and won the whole thing this year) and he was talking about how Dracut's coach didnt get voted coach of the year by the other coaches because they thought he ran it up on some teams. So I said "good....I doubt thats true, but what if they did? you SOB's did it to us when we were the push-over team....if they ran it up on anyone more power to 'em....they got what they deserved"

[William Hunter]

Update: Winning coach just got canned.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/28845363/ WFS

Winning school embarassed.

[Kevin Daigle]

Originally Posted by William Hunter

Update: Winning coach just got canned.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/28845363/ WFS

Winning school embarassed.

the whole world should be embarassed, that we are now teaching our kids that winning is wrong and competing to the best of your ability is a mortal sin.

Society should be ashamed of its antiseptic self.

the problem is very clear in all of these situations, as they've been becoming more numerous of late.

ITS THE PARENTS not the kids that are the issue. Kids deal with these situations naturally, with a little intelligent guidance. These are CRUCIAL steps in learning how to be a well-adjusted adult. It's the vicariously living parents who are "embarrassed" that the team lost by such a margin. One of the biggest problems is that now in sports, which was once free of the legislated forcing of the strong to suffer the weak (which is necessary for society at large to exist as it does currently) this influence is creeping in.

Gone (or soon to be) are the days when sport was pure, and unadulterated in its competitive spirit and practice. Now, just like in academia we have to make sure that NO child ever feels bad.....so we must punish those who excel in order to artificially spare from grief those who do not.

I could do a doctoral dissertation on this topic.....i've actually been contemplating writing a book on it for some time now.....it just keeps getting worse.

[Frank Dennis]

I agree with the trend in this thread; it's ridiculous to artificially impose a sense of competitiveness where there is none, and to spare those who would lose a competition from the experience of losing. If their coaches and parents are doing their jobs, the kids (a) shouldn't feel like this is the end of the world when they lose, because however much work you're willing to put in, it's a game, and (b) if they are suited to competitive endeavor by temperment, they will work that much harder.

This particular case is a bit different, of course, because of the special needs factor.

However, having said the above, I have to say I don't understand, from the point of view of the winners, the appeal of running up the score against an opponent who isn't competitive.

Again, not saying anyone should be penalized when doing so but personally, in anything I've competed in when facing an opponent who I outclassed, I got no joy or satisfaction from rubbing his face in it. I'd rather, if possible, help him get better, so that we are competitive and I'm challenged when we face off.

I realize that that's not really applicable in the context of a game, and I've always been more for individual competition than team competitions, but I would think that the feeling would be pretty much the same. Winning is only meaningful when you can lose, and who takes pleasure in kicking puppies?

[Jamie J. Skibicki]

The winning coach is getting fired and the losers are going to a mavericks game.

I have just one thing to say

Squat and Milk, *****es

I don;t see how them being special needs makes any difference. THey chose to compete, they new the rules. Either they are handicapped and should play other people that are handicapped to make it fair, or they decide they aren't and they play people who aren't. You can't have it both ways.

THats why there are Special Olympics. If a person that competed in the Special Olympics decide they want london 2012, should the competitiors there go easy on him? How insulting would that be. If you go easy on some in competition, that shows how little respect you have for them and the game.

[Kevin Daigle]

Originally Posted by Frank Dennis

I agree with the trend in this thread; it's ridiculous to artificially impose a sense of competitiveness where there is none, and to spare those who would lose a competition from the experience of losing. If their coaches and parents are doing their jobs, the kids (a) shouldn't feel like this is the end of the world when they lose, because however much work you're willing to put in, it's a game, and (b) if they are suited to competitive endeavor by temperment, they will work that much harder.

This particular case is a bit different, of course, because of the special needs factor.

However, having said the above, I have to say I don't understand, from the point of view of the winners, the appeal of running up the score against an opponent who isn't competitive.

Again, not saying anyone should be penalized when doing so but personally, in anything I've competed in when facing an opponent who I outclassed, I got no joy or satisfaction from rubbing his face in it. I'd rather, if possible, help him get better, so that we are competitive and I'm challenged when we face off.

I realize that that's not really applicable in the context of a game, and I've always been more for individual competition than team competitions, but I would think that the feeling would be pretty much the same. Winning is only meaningful when you can lose, and who takes pleasure in kicking puppies?

as someone has already said in this thread i believe, its actually insulting to have an opponent "go easy on you" regardless of the situation. Playing against a team/opponent that is better than you only makes you better.....if they play DOWN to your level, they're doing you a disservice.

If it wasn't for all the games I lost, I wouldn't have had the drive, the anger, the intensity etc necessary to elevate myself to the level that I did (along with my team) in order to accomplish what we eventually did. And now, people are trying to rob kids of these lessons.

[Jamie J. Skibicki]

From what I read about the school, the kids at the losing school have dyslexia and ADD and stuff like that. Hardly a major handicap.

If you have an exhibition, then not going all out is acceptable, since it is understood before the game starts. But if you show up ready to compete, then you should be ready to lose as well as win.