@Cycloptichorn,
Auberon Waugh liked to say that the more a house guest talked about his honesty the faster he counted the spoons.
Which is a general principle in psychology.
The more a man talks about his toughness the more of a softie baby he must be.
I mean to say Cyclo-- what's all the padding for? It's like swaddling clothes. Bungee jumping in safety harnesses. Faking being tough.
32 teams each carrying squads of, say, 60 players is almost 2,000. And the size they have to be disqualifies at least 95% of the male population. With facts like that there is no chance of going anywhere near world-class athleticism. There are only about 10 million men in the suitable age range. Of those the size requirements knock out all but about 100,000. And other factors will reduce that figure even further. At best to 50,000. The idea that 2,000 of those are "world-class" in athleticism is preposterous. Your great swimmer has feet like flippers. Does that make him "athletic"? Your female tennis stars can hardly be classed as typical girls.
Take jockeys as an example. How many guys can do 8 stone? Not many. But jockeys are needed. So train all the small guys. Or the ones who can take the training. Is training cheating. In war all is fair and thus training is justified. But sport is not war.
Whenever I made a 50 break at snooker in the club I was always accused of having a secret snooker table at home on which it was claimed I had been practising and thus giving myself an advantage over the guys who didn't practice. I didn't have a table at home of course and I don't believe in practicing. Is practicing a lot athleticism. I think not.
And another thing--the time actually performing in a game. And bringing on different players for different plays. The time playing is derisory. Time outs, two minute warnings, referee protection, huddles, words from the sponsor, turnovers etc-- it just looks a bit fishy. And all the tough talk gives it away. Gladiators with rubber swords it looks like.
Wayne Rooney ran like a demon for 95 minutes last night and was still going strong at the end.
The marines in Afghanistan are tough. Bob Dylan is tough. I'm not having play-acting stealing their limelight. NFL is a social event. Come Dancing. Tough Guys Don't Dance--Norman Mailer.
It's good fun though I'll admit.
