Re: Sportsmanship or Legal Strategy?

theaug37 <*no_reply_at_yahoogroups.com*> · Fri, 11 Apr 2003 17:52:15 -0000

I semi-disagree with others who have put in their two cents on this
issue.  I think of sportsmanship as behaving as a good sport in
pursuit of competitive events.  Analogize to societal interactions
where someone can be considered a bastard even if their behavior is
within the rules (i.e. not commit crimes).  There are many things in
competition that are definitely within the rules, but people choose
not to do for the sake of gentlemanly conduct.  Some of these things
include not bunting in the 9th inning of a perfect game, bringing in
subs in the fourth quarter of a blowout game, etc.  

A part of me thinks that if this is a friendly sort of competition,
where there wasn't anything substantial at stake, it might have been
unsportsmanlike conduct to buzz preemptively.  But note that this is a
personal preference as well.  Have you ever played games against
people whose ever-burning desire to win for winning's sake overshadows
any normalcy of human conduct?  I have general aversion to these "win
at all costs in every little thing" type of people.  It's quite ugly
to watch; these are the people who throw "accidental" elbows during a
pickup basketball game at a local Y.  

I am in no way accusing you of bad conduct; in fact, what you did is
very close to call, and I would personally say that this is something
I wouldn't personally be against.  But the fact that I have experience
in quiz-bowl competition and having seen and expecting this type of
strategy colors my perception on this issue.  I get the feeling that
people who you were playing against may have never played quizbowl. 
It is likely that someone in such circumstance to be turned off by a
strategy that they feel overturns the whole point of the competition,
which was to see "who knew more stuff faster than the other guy." 

Lastly, I think it's also about personal satisfaction as well: the
game might have been won, but do you really "win" in the context of
the competition?  Aside from others' thinking you were a bad sport,
you may not derive the satisfaction of knowing that you won fairly 
within the spirit of the competition.  Is it really important to win
just for the sake of saying that you won?  Some say that winning for
the sake of winning is good enough; others say that's not really the
point.  You have to figure out what you think is the virtue of
participating in competitions.  

-Augustine-

--- In quizbowl_at_yahoogroups.com, Patrick King <pakman044_at_y...> wrote:

> My question is, was this a legitimate strategy or was
> this unsportsmanlike?  I've been pummeling my brain
> for the answer to this question, and I still sort've
> feel bad about it.
> 
> Comments welcomed.