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gatorpower
(74.178.58.92) on 9/20/2009 - 2:11 a.m. says: ( 274 views
, 1 likes
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"'moral' victories are so ridiculously stupid" |
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CONTEXT ADDED BY ADMIN: END OF CONTEXT First of all, I hate the whole terminology used. 'Moral' implies ethics. In children's books, the 'moral of the story' hinges in the participation of a moral choice. Right or wrong are exemplified in examples, where the right path leads to success. Outside of sportsmanship, there are no morals in football. Just what is the ethical value of almost beating a good team? Florida did not cheat to win. So how can you lose and be morally superior? Secondly, a fact that is lost on many fans claiming moral victories is that LOSES DO NOT IMPLY FUTURE WINS. You recruit to win games. You coach to win games. You spend hours lifting weights in the off-season to win games. They are the measure of a team. No one does any of that to almost win, as though the 'almost' part some how guarantees victories later on. I think you should always apply the 50-year rule to football games. i.e. How will people view this game in 50 years. I'll give you an example, in 1948, Florida was 6 points away from beating Alabama. The Alabama. They went onto lose 10 of their next 12 games with Alabama. History says Florida lost the game. It doesn't say Florida lost the game and all their players went on to celebrate almost winning. The purpose of playing the games is winning the games. An actual 'W' is better than a hypothetical 'W' you may or may not get. Recruiting, as I already pointed out, is pointless. What happened to Notre Dame for almost upsetting Southern Cal in 2005? What happened to South Carolina for almost upsetting Florida in 2006? What happened to Florida almost upsetting Miami in 2003? What happens to all these teams who almost upset better teams? They're pretty much in status quo for the next few years. You can't prove that the loss did anything more than the obvious, that is, lose. I mean, you get recruits to help you win games. Tennessee lost an actual game. An actual statistical and historical game was lost. Now, they may do better in recruiting, though I can't imagine how. They can't do any worse than what they have been. In any case, they would spin any loss to whatever way would help them, like all teams do: A blowout and "you can start immediately". A close loss and "We just need one more piece of the puzzle". But recruiting is about getting players in to win. It's not just about getting the players in. Florida got players in and won the game. Tennessee hopes to get players in and hopes to win a game in the future. But a loss is an actual loss and a win is an actual win. Only car salesmen spin it otherwise. |
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'moral' victories are so ridiculously stupid gatorpower 9/20/2009 - 2:11 a.m. |
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