Platform Rage.... What the hell?

The purpose of sports is not the same as the meaning of victory in sports. Of course its a sublimation of war, but that doesn't mean winning means something more.

 

I am not sure I understand what you are trying to say

 

The ancient Greeks and Romans solved many disputes of all natures by the winning of sporting meetings. These contests saved thousands if not millions of lives.

 

Does that mean that PEDs are proxies for arms races?

 

I don't know why somebody would cheer Bill Gate's bank balance being higher or lower than Steve Jobs' successor's... but if my team beats your team - WOOHOOOO!

 

Sport by its very nature is competitive though. When you watch a match you want someone to win. Even when I've watched a match from a neutral point of view, whilst I'm watching the match I'll find myself routing for one of the teams eventually as the match goes on. But I can't see why it matters to someone which console is better.

But I know what you mean. Ultimately, whether my team wins or not should not have an effect on my life the same way that whether my console is outselling the rival console. But when your team go from winning the league to coming second within the matter of two minutes (last years English Premier League) believe me it does feel like its affected your life!

 

For instance, the purpose of bread is to battle hunger. When you bake bread and eat it, does that victory have any further meaning?

Going back to the quote I responded to, "You want them to beat their rivals because it means something," you can see that I was saying that winning a sporting event means only that your team is better. All that baking bread means is that you can bake bread.

To be a little clearer, regardless of the outcome of a sporting event, the purpose of sports in general will be maintained. A fan doesn't ascribe meaning to the outcome because they want to avoid war.

Another example might help. The purpose of a door is to open and close. That doesn't mean succesfully opening a door has meaning in direct relation to its purpose. I

 

Probably one of the best pieces of literature on the topic is Theodor Geisel's "The Sneetches"

 

Obviously a red Myers... many men that day would have swapped a child for a couple of goals

 

Haha, it was horrific... me and my friends just sat in silence after it all ended. Believe me, I really wished that day I didn't care who won or lost!

 

[MENTION=51749]Mithrandir[/MENTION]: I don't think you understand a psychological mechanism of sublimation. It's an unconscious displacement of an emotion or activity into something more socially acceptable. The meaning and purpose is a more ordered, less violent society.

 

I was sat in a pub full of Liverpool fans cheering for city in Spain