If You're Not Moving Forward

 

POINT TO PONDER

“If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward”


STORY LINE by David Hightower

Last week I watched in sheer agony as my beloved Red Devils were unceremoniously eliminated from the Champions League. Not because they were physically outplayed or tactically outmaneuvered, but because of an outrageous mistake from the official - a suspect red card saw Nani sent off and United down to ten men. It was such a blatantly horrible call that even Real Madrid’s manager, Jose Mourinho, admitted after the game that that specific call changed the entire course of the game and the better team lost.

Up until that point Madrid had been totally and completely outclassed by United in every way. The Reds were superior tactically, the manager chose the perfect team selection, and we dominated the flow of play creating chance after chance on Madrid’s goal. Meanwhile, at the other end of the field, the water-tight defense had shackled and handcuffed every one of Los Blancos’ talented superstars. They barely even got a shot on goal.  

Then with one whistle it all came crashing down. The referee’s complete error in judgment would change the entire course of the game and cost the Reds a birth in the semi-finals. He somehow deemed that Nani had used excessive force in a collision with Alvaro Arbeloa when attempting to trap a ball with his foot. While it was absolutely a foul, and possibly even a yellow card for a reckless tackle, there was no malicious intent and therefore could in no way be deemed a send-off-able offense. The sad thing is that Nani was playing the ball and had no idea the defender was even in the area. Subsequently, it only took an opportunistic Madrid 15 minutes to seize the momentum, score two goals, and put the tie away. United’s fate had been sealed.


REFLECTION

Unfortunately bad calls are nothing new in the world of sports. From pitchers being denied a perfect game, to teams being eliminated from the World Cup, to corrupt officials intentionally throwing a match, those responsible for ensuring a fair outcome have oft done anything but. And all too often the result of a contest is not decided by the participants, but by horrific misjudgments on the part of the officials (thereby souring the purity of the game). What’s even more unfortunate is that it’s simply written off as a “part of the game.” 

In my opinion this is both unnecessary and unacceptable. It does a complete disservice not only to those directly involved in the competition, but also to the fans who live and die by their team, gamblers whose livelihood depends on such calls, and most importantly, the spirit of the game.

We are fortunate enough to live in an era in which we have the technological (and financial) ability to overcome human error. Why would we not use every possible advantage we have at our disposal to get it right? It’s not like an extra set of officials using video replay upstairs requires moral sacrifice or would compromise the game’s integrity in any way. If anything, getting the call correct would strengthen the integrity of the sport. And while I completely understand the desire to stay faithful to the tradition of the game and its roots, I don’t understand the refusal to fully embrace every advantage at our disposal in order to ensure the contest has a just outcome. That only takes the game in the wrong direction.

Why is it that we accept what's unfair, unjust, or erroneous when we know getting it right might just be around the corner?

Comments

[Realist]

Does not happen just in sports but in many avenues of life.

And all too often the result of a contest (evaluation) is not decided by the participants (team members), but by horrific misjudgments on the part of the officials(managers) (thereby souring the purity of the game/result). What’s even more unfortunate is that it’s simply written off as a “part of the game.("No one likes our evaluation system but we have to live with it because it is our system and we cannot change it.)”

[Anti tradition]

two thoughts about Tradition from wise and practical

Tradition becomes our security, and when the mind is secure it is in decay. Jiddu Krishnamurti

Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation, it is a corpse. Winston Churchill

Too bad that time changes but some traditions do not and hurt so many souls.

[Mark Dennen]

First, I would point out Professional Sports is just entertainment and players are paid actors trying to get the highest possible salaries. True, there are some bad calls, but there are also many, many calls which were missed which also impacted the game, yet the audience is unaware (I am referring to dirty plays, cheap hits which happened off camera or when officials were distracted). Finally, we often focus on what we believe to be the "turning point" and focus the blame at one individual or event. In American Football, it is often the "field goal kicker" who missed in the final three seconds. But had the team done their job and scored a touchdown, they would not need the field goal kicker to "save them" at the last minute with a 55 yard kick. However, the field is a stage and the players are the actors and drama is always important, especially for TV ratings and selling newspapers.

[Jack]

Let us accept that judgements and mistakes outlined in this publication and by two Gentlemen also happen at work. Just like in sports, we are professionals and need to get up and play again. Ofcourse To Win.

[microCEO]

Is it not odd that in our world of instant replays and electronic RFID tagged sensors, we still have human referees calling the shots? Are we unwilling to admit that computers are far superior to their creators in making accurate, digital, decisions (The line was crossed or not? The ball touched the ground or not? The goal was in time or not?).

But perhaps we also suspect that once the power of decision is relinquished to the computers, there may be no going back. I think, the real purpose of sport is to foster a common understanding of healthy competition under a set of pre-agreed rules. Computers cannot really help us with that.

In the world of men, we have no shortage of fixing and cheating in sports. Witness the latest example (Operation Veto) in pro Soccer... the "beautiful game" corrupted at the highest level (but still fundamentally beautiful at the level where it counts, at the local and personal level: http://vimeo.com/27936983).

Yet the world of computers and algorithms(controlled and programmed by men) would also not be devoid of deviousness. I guess that is why we still don't trust computers for counting our votes in elections.

The nice thing about sports is the pre-agreed rules, and the fact that there are referees (and hopefully a system to keep them in check, too). Furthermore, we can be as objective, innocent spectators, and we can freely meet at the pub to kvetch about the bad calls of the referees, who are above our influence.

In contrast we have many of the problems in modern society. We have wars, energy crises, pollution, global warming, poverty, over-fishing, species extinction, etc. Strangely, we also believe ourselves to be on the sidelines, listening to the play-by-play call of TV announcers ...and they are reporting on what calls are made by the world leaders (our team coaches and managers?). There are no referees of course. Uninterestingly, there also are no meaningful wins without all of our participation and our basic realization that we are all involved both the problems and the solutions, through our daily lifestyles and daily choices.

I can see why we prefer to watch sports.

[Sam]

Agree about the principle that if we dont make changes in ourselves, we are actually going behind as others are open to improve. In order to be ready for change, we have to recognize that the main aim of a professional in any environment is to be better than how they are today. If the desire for improving oneself is gone, its just a matter of time we will be irrelevant or even useless in the eyes of the world.