When it comes to video games I'm about as competitive as a glass of milk, but I have recently noticed that, though I lack competiveness in games and sports I have a level of it in less obvious places;
example 1:
Whilst watching "Jamie Oliver's School Dinners" I discover that the U.K has the highest obesity rate amongst children in Europe, and is slowly gaining on the U.S.A rates of over time.
My reaction, to get frustrated at being number 2 behind the United States.
example 2:
I have recently begun 'ebuying' on eBay, and have fallen victim to eBay's marketing ploy of calling any purchase made 'Winning'.
I have interprited this as, If i don't win the auction I lose, & we don't want that now do we. but £50 for a tupperware set? Ahh well, atleast im not the sucker that lost am I!?
example 3:
I have an addiction to boring sports, Not just any boring sport, Specifically a boring sport that the U.K has the ability to dominate (only during a major tournament & must be televised live), I've pretty much given up on the prospect of us winning a football tournament, So lets all cheer on our ladies Curling Team at the next winter olympics, & hopefully Marvin King can give our nation (and my town) a world darts championship too.
Example 3 brings me to the conclusion, that there is a strong link between Patriotism & Competitivity (Am I a Sherlock Holmes or what?!), which would explain why the U.K sucks at most sports (we are about as patriotic as a toasted sandwich maker).
It wasn't always so, You see, allot of the big world sports now, we invented;
Football, Rugby, Cricket!! Its all us baby, your playing our games!
The first 2 we soon began losing in (yes I know we are the reigning world Rugby champions, but that doesn't help my point! we just lost the 6 nations so im half right!), but with Cricket we hit the nail on the head for a good hundred years, - We invented a game, So rediculously complex (when compared to other ball sports), That nobody else played (let alone wanted to play), That we dominated, that is until a few crazy ex-cons from down under, grasped the basics and took our game from us & our title as worlds best along with it.
My initial idea, was to take this formula (create new exclusive game, keep to my nation, consider us worlds best, satisfy competitive side), and try to recreate our glory days of world domination (in a sporting sense).
I then looked across the pond, at to my horror, I realised it had infact been done already, by another nation - The USA!!
Not 1 game, but 4, Basketball, Baseball, AMERICAN Football, and ICE Hockey. To give them credit, they did their homework, 4 sports greatly increases their chances of world domination on atleast 1 sporting front, but they really hit the jackpot on Baseball, I mean an exclusive competition amongst the American teams called "The World Series". I will honestly admit, this idea is greater than any we had, not only do they have their own game, but they are limiting the world tournament to their own teams, Cementing their status as worlds best, by excluding any other possible applicants to the tournament - Pure genious.
My only issue is the greed of the worlds only Super Power, domination on so many fronts - Are they not content having the highest obesity rates amongst children, must they take this too?!?
Ahh well, I still have eBay..
example 1:
Whilst watching "Jamie Oliver's School Dinners" I discover that the U.K has the highest obesity rate amongst children in Europe, and is slowly gaining on the U.S.A rates of over time.
My reaction, to get frustrated at being number 2 behind the United States.
example 2:
I have recently begun 'ebuying' on eBay, and have fallen victim to eBay's marketing ploy of calling any purchase made 'Winning'.
I have interprited this as, If i don't win the auction I lose, & we don't want that now do we. but £50 for a tupperware set? Ahh well, atleast im not the sucker that lost am I!?
example 3:
I have an addiction to boring sports, Not just any boring sport, Specifically a boring sport that the U.K has the ability to dominate (only during a major tournament & must be televised live), I've pretty much given up on the prospect of us winning a football tournament, So lets all cheer on our ladies Curling Team at the next winter olympics, & hopefully Marvin King can give our nation (and my town) a world darts championship too.
Example 3 brings me to the conclusion, that there is a strong link between Patriotism & Competitivity (Am I a Sherlock Holmes or what?!), which would explain why the U.K sucks at most sports (we are about as patriotic as a toasted sandwich maker).
It wasn't always so, You see, allot of the big world sports now, we invented;
Football, Rugby, Cricket!! Its all us baby, your playing our games!
The first 2 we soon began losing in (yes I know we are the reigning world Rugby champions, but that doesn't help my point! we just lost the 6 nations so im half right!), but with Cricket we hit the nail on the head for a good hundred years, - We invented a game, So rediculously complex (when compared to other ball sports), That nobody else played (let alone wanted to play), That we dominated, that is until a few crazy ex-cons from down under, grasped the basics and took our game from us & our title as worlds best along with it.
My initial idea, was to take this formula (create new exclusive game, keep to my nation, consider us worlds best, satisfy competitive side), and try to recreate our glory days of world domination (in a sporting sense).
I then looked across the pond, at to my horror, I realised it had infact been done already, by another nation - The USA!!
Not 1 game, but 4, Basketball, Baseball, AMERICAN Football, and ICE Hockey. To give them credit, they did their homework, 4 sports greatly increases their chances of world domination on atleast 1 sporting front, but they really hit the jackpot on Baseball, I mean an exclusive competition amongst the American teams called "The World Series". I will honestly admit, this idea is greater than any we had, not only do they have their own game, but they are limiting the world tournament to their own teams, Cementing their status as worlds best, by excluding any other possible applicants to the tournament - Pure genious.
My only issue is the greed of the worlds only Super Power, domination on so many fronts - Are they not content having the highest obesity rates amongst children, must they take this too?!?
Ahh well, I still have eBay..
Edited by asraaM at 21:59 GMT, 29th Mar 2005 - 8296 Hits
As for ice hockey and basketball - hell, the ice hockey Olympic gold hasn't been won by the US for like 30 years; and the US didn't even win the Olympics this year in basketball. This despite them having the only truly professional leagues for both sports - it's kind of pathetic really.