Category Archives: Sports

The roots of corruption

June 5, 2015 7:06 AM , Leave a Comment ,

One of the big news stories currently being discussed is the investigation into charges of corruption at the world soccer federation (FIFA).  Several high-ranking members of that organization have been arrested and the head of FIFA has been forced to resign as a consequence of the controversy.  Not just minor little thefts or petty little bribes but mind-boggling huge bribes and corrupt practices that go beyond the pale.

Ordinary people like myself have to wonder at the culture that engendered and possibly even encouraged this type of corrupt practices to flourish.  How could this have happened?  Where were the safeguards and monitors that should have prevented this?  Even the basic tenets of standards and good practices seem to be missing here.

A blog that I recently read sheds some light on this.  Two of the points raised in this blog seem to be pertinent here.

Firstly, there seems to have been a culture within FIFA that not only tolerated but almost encouraged the corrupt practices that took place within the organization.  Bribery seems to have been expected not only by the perpetrators but also by the members of FIFA who seem to have accepted handing out bribes to officials as part of the costs of doing business with FIFA.

Secondly, a slow or even non-existent judicial process that sought to either stifle or shut down any sort of investigation and punishment of corruption with regards to these officials.  Corruption at FIFA has been a sort of open secret for years yet no one around the world and certainly not within FIFA sought to do anything about it due to the fact that no sanctions would ever be taken at all.

A third point that wasn’t in the blog but I feel also contributed to this problem is FIFA’s success.  Being the world’s largest sport federation and creating such a wildly popular sporting event such as the world cup I think gave FIFA officials the sense that they could do no wrong and that they were above the law.  Over time their excesses have grown and grown to the point that they have become inexcusable and impossible to overlook.

One has to wonder about other large institutions like governments, businesses, and non-governmental organizations and ponder which of these may be hiding corrupt practices behind a veneer or infallibility or success.

How can reformers or critics point out these excesses without fear of reprisal and with the hope that change will take place? How can those within an organization spot these corrupt practices as they take place and take steps to curtail them before they bloom?

 

Posted in: business, current events, ideas, life in general, speculation, sports, standards and practices, thought

Love me, love my Aggies

November 9, 2014 6:45 AM , Leave a Comment ,

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An old saying goes that you don’t become an Aggie, that it is something you are from birth.  Your mindset is supposed to be more attuned to accepting the “Aggie way of thinking”, you hold some opinions that are adamantine, and that won’t change for anything.

I don’t know about any of that.  Coming from a foreign country at a young age I had no idea what an Aggie was.  College was in fact a non issue to a then 7-year-old kid recently arrived from Colombia.

It  was December of ’77 and my family and I were spending our first Winter and our first Christmas in Houston.  My mother discovered Foley’s, the local big name in clothes and housewares, in what was then the posh Sharpstown Mall.  She needed warm sweatshirts for her son and she picked an orange one with a cow skull and a maroon one with a block ATM on it.  The choice was left up to me as to which I would prefer and I gravitated towards the maroon sweatshirt.

Now, was this an example of fate making itself manifest through a simple choice in outerwear?  Did this simple choice unconsciously predispose me to one school rather than the other?  Or did the maroon jersey just feel more comfy?

I would like to point out that in between that Christmas and my application to A&M about a decade passed.  I had in fact applied to a variety of schools besides A&M including that other school up in Austin.  I had been accepted to that school as well as a couple of others but in the end A&M represented the best choice as far as engineering schools, which I intended to study at that time.

When I arrived in College Station my plan was to get on with my studies and not pay attention to any of the distractions of college life.  But being in a small town and around such a dedicated community of zealots, the camaraderie and esprit d corps  became contagious.

Some telling incidents occurred that first semester.  On a trip back home at a local grocery store an old gent approached me.  I was wearing school colors and he became visibly animated and shook my hand vigorously.  He had lost his ability to speak but the grin on his face spoke volumes.  He was just glad to meet another Aggie.

Another time I was working on the yearly bonfire.  It was around midnight and I was sitting by a small campfire resting.  An older student came by and sat with me and we started talking and talking for at least a couple of hours.  He shared a flask of something ‘non-regulation’ and a cigar.  Eventually he wandered off into the darkness.  Never did find out his name.

I began to develop a sense of community and belonging.

Now, I am not as fanatically devoted as many of my fellow former students when it comes to school ties.  I’ve known former students that won’t speak to friends and co-workers due to differences on the football field.  I remember during my freshman Spring Semester at school seeing an ad for a lecture for graduating seniors entitled “Can a t-sip (student from that school in Austin) be a friend”.  I rolled my eyes and wondered if they were being serious.  I would learn later on that in some ways they were being serious.  Happily that mindset was and never has been present within me.

But I do have to admit that I was one of those dumb Aggies that people make jokes about.

Just for the record, the first thing that they teach you at A&M IS how to write.  My first course was ENDG 105 engineering drafting and design.  I got one of those big pouches that they issue to architecture students.  A pouch full of rulers, pencils, erasers, and other odds and ends.  They then taught me how to write everything in block letters for blueprints and maps.  A habit that shows up from time to time in my handwriting.

I am one of those Aggies that stands steadfast by his convictions, feelings, and friends.

One of the things I cherish is the way that we don’t sway with the winds of change just for the sake of change.  We stand firm when it might not be the most popular or expedient way of doing things.  We will always greet and feel a familial feeling for any and all Aggies no matter when or where we meet them

I will always be one of those Aggies that wears his oversized  school ring everywhere.

That will wear maroon in a room full of orange, and that despite all the evidence to the contrary still believes that he went to the finest school anywhere.

Posted in: activities, football, school, sports

Rivalries

October 28, 2014 6:45 AM , Leave a Comment ,

It’s not the best of years to be an Aggie football fan.  The season has begun to turn sour.  But age puts these things into perspective.  Seasons come and go just as chapters in our lives begin and end and what was a disappointment this year may turn to joy the next.  I rarely let it affect my mood as I once did.  Certainly I’ve lost the fiery passions of my youth with regards to the game over the last twenty years.

I think part of that has to do with the new league that we find ourselves in.  In 2012 we broke with the schools in the Big-12 conference and moved over into the SEC (southeastern conference).  Partly to forge an identity of our own but mostly we moved for monetary reasons.  the reasoning went that we would step out onto the national stage on our own and we would no longer be subjected to constant comparison with our sibling school down the road.

Gone were the old rivalries with Baylor, Tech, and of course texas.  Saturday afternoons in the Fall.  Traditions shared from generation to generation for a century were now gone with the stroke of a pen.

Now we’ve been assigned rivals.  Yes, assigned. The league office announced in 2013 that the University of South Carolina would henceforth be our rivals.  As if they were assigning dance partners for us at some elementary school cotillion.  I hardly know anything about them, certainly nothing that would lead me to believe that I want them to be our rivals.

I look across at the rest of the conference and I have to admit that I find it hard to work up any sort of antagonistic feelings against any of them.  Alabama is the big bully of the conference but I harbor no animosity towards them.  Perhaps it’s because we beat them in our first meeting against them or just simply that Alabama is a good team and I find it hard to find fault with them.  LSU?  We’ve had some run ins with them in the past but we don’t hold much contempt for them.  The rest we really don’t know.  I don’t mean the team statistics.  Any fool can look those up online.  What I mean is that we don’t have a shared history or experience with these schools.  Perhaps with decades to come some sort of rivalries will unfold and to new generations this will seem perfectly natural.

To me it won’t.  Rivalries, whether you perceive them to be good or bad are essentially relationships. Relationships can’t, or at least shouldn’t, be terminated so abruptly.  Bonds exist, bonds that have lasted decades and ought not to be ripped away for considerations such as money or TV ratings.

I still miss those gaudy burnt orange flags, that garish marching band, that ludicrous popgun cannon, that overgrown walking hamburger, and our yearly “family reunion” just after Thanksgiving.

Posted in: football, life in general, school, sports

the return of college football

August 31, 2014 6:30 AM , Leave a Comment ,

We have once again crossed the stark and trying month of August.  Maybe it’s global warming or El Nino or just old age but August seems to get worse each year.  But we’ve made it once more.  At the cusp of September I can now look forward with anticipation to my favorite time of year.

The rituals have already begun.  Kids and college students are all back in class now, the stores have set out their back to school sales and are slowly bringing out their Halloween decorations.

For me it’s seeing college football return.  I don’t really care for much in the world of sports.  Professional sports are too commercialized and mercenary for me to enjoy.  I know some athletes do practice their sport for the love of the game but for most it’s a paycheck and a job, plain and simple.  I don’t begrudge them the huge salaries they make but neither will I contribute to them.

The college game though.  That still has a tinge of purity about it.  Particularly in the small schools.  Most of these kids will never draw a check or even see a game except as a spectator.  Yet even knowing that they won’t make this into a profession they still pour their hearts and souls into each game.

I’m not much into TV anymore and Lord knows that I don’t have much free time for it either.  But kicking back and catching a couple of games on a lazy Saturday afternoon is something that I still like to do.

The excitement and energy from those games is infectious.  Even if I know nothing about the particular schools playing, I can get into how intensely these players are trying to win for the rest of their school bodies.

So yes, Once more I will be wrapped up in college football until early January.  A bad habit?  Maybe.  But one that I think I can afford to continue with.

Posted in: activities, football, sports

sports empathy

June 30, 2014 6:43 AM , Leave a Comment ,

I suppose I get it now.

The glazed looks, the ho-hum attitude, the feeling that you’d rather hear about anything else.  The way I feel after people on social media or people around me go on about the World Cup.

I have to admit it has created a bit of a buzz this go around.  Not just the guys that are full-time soccer fanatics but even everyday sports nuts have been discussing it.  With basketball season over and baseball going through the long dull summer season there is not much sports news out there so this neatly fills the gap in sports news until football starts in early September.

I have to say right off-hand that I really don’t like soccer.  I find it a bit of a toss-up between golf and soccer as to which is the more boring sport (golf has a slight lead at the moment).  I don’t get at all what the big deal is.  A couple of people will rehash old plays, and referee decisions, or talk about this player or that and I have to poke myself to stay awake.

Then the other day it hits me.  This is what people around me feel like when I go on about college football.  They don’t care about the fine points of the game or the peculiarities of the sport or any of it.  They’re being nice in that they don’t tell me to shut up.

I suppose we all have our own little sport that we love and love to discuss.  We also all have our long-suffering friends and relatives that do their very best to keep from walking off when we start going on and on about it.

What can we do to keep up our own interest and subtly share it with the world while not annoying others around us?  Not a heck of a lot really.  You never know who is going to react positively to your conversation and join in.  I think that’s why we go on and on about these things.

The only thing we can really do is what we’ve been doing on the receiving end.  Grin and bear it.

Posted in: sports

Why I don’t support pressuring the Redskins to change their name and why they should do it

June 26, 2014 6:40 AM , Leave a Comment ,

It’s no secret that I am no fan of censorship in any form.  I do not agree with any forms of restriction on speech in any format.  Whether it’s censorship in some sort of art form or in actual words.  Using the threat of force or law to alter or diminish speech is wrong no matter what the intention.

Many people will say that when the subject becomes objectionable that it becomes difficult to justify my stance on free speech.  People will say that some things need to be curtailed or dissuaded for the greater good of society as a whole.  Another argument is that pragmatism demands that although ideally we should be allowed to say what we want that reality demands that some sacrifices be made for the greater good.

These are the arguments of those that already have made up their minds and are just casting about for an excuse to justify censorship.

Nowhere is there a greater need to allow free expression than in those things that we deem objectionable.  The unpopular opinion, mindset, or idea needs to be present and readily accessible in the public discussion.  It may seem a small, insignificant point to exclude those ideas that we don’t like but any disruption to the stream of ideas that are available to the public creates a rift, a chasm that will ripple outwards towards other ideas that you may agree with.  Maybe not today or tomorrow but eventually.

If for no other reason these ideas have to be expressible and accessible to future generations at the very least as educational examples of the way that humans can be cruel to each other and may be cruel again in the future.  The key to not committing the errors of the past is to study them in the future.

Now as to the Redskins football team in particular, why should they voluntarily change their names?  Well, the very property that they seek to protect (the name, the logo, etc) is now damaged beyond repair.  It’s now well established that a large number of people find the name objectionable and that they consider it to be something hurtful and downright insulting.

The fan base that treasures the brand is going to age and slowly disappear over time.  The younger fan base will not support the brand and as a result they will lose fan support.

The pragmatic argument to change the brand is that it is no longer tenable or desirable to keep.  Changing the brand to something else is the smart course of action to maintain the fan base of support and keep the franchise going for the long-term.  But whatever they do, they should do it on their own.

 

 

 

 

Posted in: culture, football, language, pop culture, prejudice, racism, sports

The killer instinct

February 12, 2014 7:18 AM , 2 Comments ,

I had to choose a physical activity elective in college to meet the school’s physical fitness requirement.  I could have gone with something conventional like weight lifting, tennis, or running but I wanted to stretch my boundaries (that’s part of what college is for, right?) so I decided to try handball.

Handball is a little known sport.  Racquetball is the better known court game and with good reason.  Handball is not for the faint of heart.  The key differences between the two court games center on the ball and the equipment to return the ball.

Unlike the racquetball, the handball is a nearly solid piece of hardened vulcanized rubber.  This increases the amount of energy that it can return when it bounces.  It is also smaller in size making it a harder target to see.

The second difference is the equipment used to return the ball.  In racquetball you get a nice solid racquet to bat at the ball with.  In handball it’s your own fleshy palm that takes the beating.  The only protection you get is a kidskin glove that mitigates scratches but really does nothing to soften the blow.  I’ve seen people unable to remove their gloves after a match because their hands had become so swollen.  They had to soak their hands in ice water to get the gloves off.

Despite of the rigors the class was full to capacity and after learning the basics of the sport the instructors put us in a round robin style tournament.  We would play one match per day and the winner of the match would be the one that got to 21 points.  One particular match stands out in my mind.

I was playing against a slightly younger guy.  He was blond, tall, but not very athletic.  He walked slightly stooped.  He was heavy but not fat.  I recall that he had a very lethargic demeanor.  He just seemed to not want to be in the class and had an attitude of wanting to get this out-of-the-way and move on with his day.

We barely exchanged a word as the match started.  It soon became apparent to me that this guy was just going through the motions.  I quickly began racking up points.  8, 11, 15, finally the score reached 18 to 3 in my favor.  I was feeling cocky and felt some disdain for this guy.  He was barely trying after all.  Yet at the same time I felt pity.  Part of my brain thought “no one should lose like that.  Give him a few points.”  So I deliberately lost the service and let him serve.

I missed some easy returns and soon the score was 18 to 6.  I figured that was good enough.  Time to finish this off.  But then something happened.  His serves started coming with more force, his returns were running me back and forth and making me slam against walls.

18 to 12, 18 to 15.  Had he been gulling me?  If he had it was a masterful performance.  Did I just totally misread this guy and was he in fact a wolf in sheep’s clothing?

Whatever the case may be, I was breathing hard and rivulets of sweat were pouring down my face, stinging my eyes.  I dove and missed another return.  19 to 18 in his favor.

The next point seemed to go on forever.  Finally I caught a return by the very tip of my middle finger flexing it farther back than it should go.  Somehow my finger didn’t break off and sent the ball back.  The ball just barely tapped the front wall and fell flat, taking him by surprise and making him miss.  I had the service back.

My finger throbbed in pain.  I felt sure it was either broken or dislocated.  He sauntered back to receive my service.  The smirk on his face irritated me.  I smacked the ball as hard as I could and lobbed the service right through where he was standing.  It made him scramble to get out-of-the-way. An “ace”.

19 all.

The fingers on my left hand wanted to fall off.  No choice but to serve with my off-hand.  Barely any strength in my service.  We go back and forth.  A lucky return into a corner and the ball ricocheted all over the place.  No chance for him to return.

20 to 19.  Game point.

Another weak slap and we bob and weave all over the court.  He returns a power shot straight back to me on my left side.  I have no choice.  Punching the ball is not illegal though it is rare and for good reason.  It feels like I’ve punched a sledge-hammer coming straight at me.  I can feel a jolt of pain shoot up my arm.  It must have looked as painful as it felt because he just stands there gaping as the ball contacts the front wall and bounces on the floor.

game.

He mumbles the customary “good game” and leaves.  I don’t believe I ever saw him again.  As for me I head over to a nearby bus stop cafe and buy a giant cup full of ice and stick my hand in it for the rest of the morning.

I had nearly lost the match because I had not developed my competitive instinct sufficiently.  Lord knows I don’t approve of carrying competition to extreme levels but I also have to be wary of being totally docile.  That type of passivity can also be a vice.

Posted in: attitude, sports

Paid athletes in college

December 2, 2013 3:16 PM , Leave a Comment ,

The first I heard about paying college players for football was a couple of years ago during a 60 minutes report about likeness rights.

Modern video games are so detailed that the faces of actual players can be digitized and used in the games.  Of course someone’s face is an asset and can be bought and sold.  The NCAA is apparently cognizant of this and negotiated these rights to video game makers for a price, and in order to make things legal, they require all prospective players to sign away their college career rights for life.

This particular report featured a former player suing to recoup any profits made from his likeness.  The inequity of the system is pointed out in that the NCAA makes huge profits from the players but it is argued that they receive little in return.

One solution proposed was paying players as if they were employees of the university.  The argument is that this would be an equitable solution for all the players that participate in college sports (particularly football) and don’t make it to the professional level.

My position is that this is a terrible idea for several reasons.

Firstly on the issue of compensation, this overlooks the fact that the compensation originally offered in the understood contract between the schools and the players is the fact that the players are receiving a full college education for their efforts on the field.

Not only are their classes paid for but they receive room and board as well as free tutoring in some programs.  These last 3 are things that the regular students have to pay for or make do without.  Nowhere in the implied contract or actual contracts with these students is it promised that they will make it to the professional level and be able to make a living in professional sports.

Secondly, injecting money into the equation and expecting teenagers just out of high school to make wise decisions about money when in some cases they or their family members have never had substantial amounts of money to manage is a disaster waiting to happen.

Professional athletes already face some of the highest rates of bankruptcy (about 78% among football players).  They are prey for crooked money managers, agents, and even family members.  I have no reason to suppose things would be different for high school players suddenly exposed to large amounts of money.

Thirdly, putting money into the equation will inevitably favor larger schools with larger booster clubs and deeper pockets.  Most school athletic programs already run at a loss.  The additional burden of bidding wars for talent will exacerbate the inequities between large and small schools.  It will also mean that the NCAA will have to devote more resources to police illegal recruitment techniques.

Lastly, it’s an insult to the normal school body.  The majority of the students will not benefit from this.  Rather this is going to benefit a small percentage of individuals with no loyalty or ties to the institution and who would change sides if a better contract came their way.

I do not for one minute excuse the NCAA for their actions.  Forcing kids to sign away likeness rights is inexcusable and just plain greedy on their parts.  But trying to make things more equitable by adding more money into the equation and turning our schools into glorified farm leagues for the sports monopolies is no solution.

 

 

 

Posted in: business, football, school, sports

Spectator sports or why I love college football

June 25, 2013 9:12 PM , Leave a Comment ,

I find it to be a toss-up as to which is more boring to watch.  Golf or Soccer.

Don’t get me wrong.  I am sure it takes skill to play golf and it must be quite enjoyable to spend a morning with friends out on the links.  I am positive that Soccer is fun to play and makes for good exercise, but why would you want to spend an afternoon watching either one on TV or in person?

The few times I have made an effort I have found myself falling asleep in the case of golf or suffering an acute attack of attention deficit disorder while watching soccer.  To each his own I suppose.

Similarly I can’t get engaged into other sports like baseball or basketball or hockey.  I find these to be either to slow (in the case of baseball) or tedious (in the case of basketball or hockey).  Football (american rules that is) was what I found interesting to watch.

Progress made by each team is easy to gauge thanks to the handy lines on the field and the scoreboard.  Strategies, sometimes quite elaborate, are implemented, refined, and redefined as the game progresses.  You can feel tension in the air as the clock begins to wind down to the last minutes.

Now these other sports do have strategies.  Or at least they claim to.  Baseball has hitting line ups and changes in pitchers.  Soccer has a less well-defined long term tactic of trying to find weaknesses in the other teams defenses.  A very long term process considering the inaccuracy of passing a ball by kicking.

I also don’t like all football.  I tuned out professional football a long time ago.  The focus of the professional games has become much too mercenary for my taste.  Money has ruined it for me.

I much prefer the college version.  I find a real passion for the sport there.  The student customs, the team colors, the mascots.  Just to think that all these people are bound together by these things on a saturday afternoon.

In particular of course I prefer Texas Aggie football.  Not just for simple school pride but it’s more than that and difficult to put into words.  The old saying is true “looking out it’s difficult to explain, looking in its difficult to understand”.  More so than many schools, A&M feels like an extended family.  Hard to imagine for such a large state school but it does.  The camaraderie that exists between alumni is genuine.

I remember as a freshman coming home on winter break.  I was at a supermarket wearing a sweater with the school logo.  An elderly gentleman (90 years old at least) hobbled up and extended his hand to me.  He excitedly pointed to my sweater and then to the Aggie ring on his knuckle.  He could not speak as he most likely had a stroke some time in the past but he mumbled something that sounded like “Howdy” the traditional Aggie greeting.

Two complete strangers bound together by one common experience.  40,000 Aggies bound together on a Saturday afternoon.

Does it matter in the big scheme of things if my school beats your school in some athletic event?  Of course not, it’s a game after all.  What matters is that feeling of unity that we have, even if it’s just for an afternoon.  “Knowing” that we belong to something greater.  Our collective will focused on that field.  Something I just don’t feel in the professional version of the sport.

 

Posted in: sports