Play to Win the Game(?) - Noah Weber's Blog

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Noah Weber's Blog

Play to Win the Game(?) Stuck

Posted on June 23, 2012 at 12:04 AM.

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(PHOTO CREDIT: simononsports.blogspot.com)

I�ll start this piece off with a little personal anecdote.

I was in a jiu-jitsu tournament recently, and found myself matched up against someone 50 pounds heavier than me. Having worked quite hard to cut my own weight to qualify for a lighter weight-class, I was a bit frustrated that the tournament�s numbers required me to fight a grizzly bear in order to guarantee everyone a match. Fancying myself a gamer, however, I took the fight with a smile, and proceeded to battle him in a best of three series for the gold.

The first match was exactly what you�d expect. After we tiptoed around on our feet, I realized I would not be able to take him down and I pulled guard. After several minutes of very nuanced (read: boring) jiu-jitsu, my opponent finally managed to use his strength and weight advantage to pass my guard and ultimately win the match 3-0.

In our second fight, I managed an early takedown and found myself on top and ahead on points. With over 5 minutes left to go, and absolutely no reason to assume that anything else I could do would work against this enormous man, I did the only thing I could think to do. I got the tightest grips possible, sunk my weight in as deeply as I could, and held on for dear life.

Many in the jiu-jitsu community refer to this tactic as �stalling,� and think it is a shameful way to win a fight. It wasn�t my proudest moment, but I did what I had to do. Is it lame? Absolutely. But it worked. And most importantly, it was legal.

So now the part of this article that applies to everyone else.

We as sports fans are often presented with awkward situations in which teams or athletes use questionable, yet legal, strategies to win games. Think �hack-a-Shaq,� or taking a knee at the end of a football game. In some cases, we grumble about compromising the �spirit of the game� or being a big wuss, but in other cases we accept these techniques as simply how the game is played. So where do we draw the line?

Personally, I feel that if the rules allow it, that�s the end of the conversation. That is not to say, however, that the rules should not be adjusted to fix some of these more common abuses of non-competitive strategy. Award a second base if a batter is clearly walked intentionally. Make off-the-ball fouls automatically be taken out of bounds. Stand up a jiu-jitsu fighter who is stalling for dear life (unless there is a 50 pound weight disadvantage!). Whatever the case, we need to account for these situations as a part of the rules, or stop complaining about them.

Thoughts?

What do you think about questionable strategies (intentional walks, hack-a-Shaq, taking a knee) in sports?

Comments

# 1 PioneerRaptor @ Jun 23

I don't have a problem with the techniques. Sometimes you know you are outmatched and you're doing the best you can to win. At the end of the day, all that matters is who won.

# 2 rudeworld @ Jun 23

Intentional walk.... just put someone to protect that player.... "hack-A-Shack" just teach your players to shoot free throws or take the poor free throw shooter out the game.... and as for taking a knee well just play a better game, when its my team (THE NY JETS) taking a knee at the end of the game I'm happy because it means a WIN is a few seconds down the line.... Their is always ways to combat strategies in sports.

# 3 wicks582 @ Jun 23

I would never blame a coach for these strategies... if they don't use them, they will get blame. But I have often wished they weren't used. I have no problem with taking a knee, but I do hate things like the Hack-a-player. I even hate that when a team is down 3, the other team can foul them to prevent a 3-pointer. As a fan, I would rather have the drama of the 3-point shot to tie.

I think basketball has the biggest problems with this since it seems like the one sport where penalties actually help the team committing them. I think if you foul someone, that team should be able to decide whether they want the ball out of bounds or free-throws. I know the NBA has the clear path rule now, but in college a player can have a breakaway and all the defender has to do is reach out and barely tug their shorts--ball taken out of bounds. I wish it was more like football or hockey where the foul can be called, but the play continues and you can take the basket instead. Same thing on fouls-on-the-floor instead of in the act of shooting. You can get fouled and make the shot a second later but the ref waves it off. You should be able to just play-on if you want.

# 4 wallofhate @ Jun 23

To me it depends on reality or video game. Real sports its all fair game those wins and losses actually count. I cant stand when a person takes a knee in madden it infuriates me beyond belief lol. Its all about the victory and the person crying the loudest about how a person won is usually the victim of defeat.

# 5 DemiGodzillla @ Jun 23

The whole argument is hilarious, people scream for a sim experience and then whine about rules they don't like. Guess what happens in real life? You deal with it. That's the problem with gamers, they want to manipulate everything into what they think it should be because that's what games usually are, fantasy.

Guess what? Sports have rules, deal with them or play a different game, don't try and change the rules of the sports we've all been watching for decades because one of the rules doesn't fit into your video game experience.