My Two Cents: Restoration

The newspapers have been littered lately with stories about cheating. In fact, it has become my expectation that, on a regular basis, I will read about somebody on a team somewhere who cheated, somehow.

The word cheat, too often shares the space these days with words that have been more traditionally used to describe and to govern the world of sports, and it is too often attached to people who have been recognized as heroes for the way that they have played.

"Winning no matter what", has diminished the honor that we once expected. Winning as the sole objective, without regard for upholding the integrity of the process, reduces competitive sport to a shady endeavor.

To reduce competitive sport to an exercise in winning at all cost; by any means necessary, is to miss the whole point. Why bother if you're not going to play by the rules?

And --

What is it that we are actually measuring in the matter of winning or losing if, we factor the element of cheating into the reality of the way we allow our games to be played?

The opportunity to participate on the playing field is the opportunity to measure how effectively you can perform, how graciously you can compete. The fundamental nature of an athlete can't help but be expressed when he plays!

I look forward to being able to pick up the sports section or tune into ESPN and take for granted, once again, a certain basic level of integrity that should be more than just "the ideal", when considering the way that we -

PLAY.

That's my two cent's (for whatever it's worth).

Auguste Roc
auguste@danaroc.com