This is the world in which we live. Such a world puts meaning in the meaningless and worships the absurd. Let me be specific. Money, sex, power... winning. In the long run, they lack meaning. In the short run, they seem to offer value. We chase them knowing they won't fulfill, and when they don't fulfill, we ride it off with some clever statement such as, "You can't always get what you want."
That statement is true, precisely because we spend all of our time wanting the wrong things. Picture it this way. Imagine you play on a sports team. What is the goal of playing on a sports team? To win. Don't argue with me here, we both know it's not supposed to be to win. And yet all the same we know it is. We as a people want winning. We want to put someone else down so that we can move up. Our fans want us to win, our parents want us to win, and eventually, not knowing what to make of this absurd world, we decide we might as well want to win too, because maybe someday we will and then we'll be fulfilled.
Of course, winning doesn't bring fulfillment. Anyone who's ever experienced it knows that the next day, or at most the next week, you're back out on the field, in the classroom, at your job, and life goes on just the way it did before. Only this time you've won once, so you must win again. Otherwise everyone will know that you're not really a winner. Winners keep on winning ad absurdum. Such absurdity, such abuse, such trash. This is the world in which we live.
Did anyone ever stop to reconsider the underlying thought and ideas that govern our world? What if, God forbid, you walked into class the next day to brag about what a great loss you had? I imagine such a conversation would go something like this:
Steve: Hey Brian, did you hear about our awesome game last night?"
Brian: No man, what happened, did you guys cream 'em?
Steve: Boy did we ever! We lost 5-2, man what an awesome game.
Brian: Wait... you mean they lost?
Steve: No, we lost! Man, it was awesome. We started the game out playing tough, because we warmed up well, and everyone was playing together. They had a few players more talented than us, including the guy who scored their first two points. He was really fun to play against, he really made us step up to our best game. I figure we should have lost by about 8 points, but we kept our heads in the game, and eventually we came back and scored not 1, but 2 points against that team! It was incredible.
Brian: But... you guys only scored 2 points. I don't get it. Why are you so pumped?
Steve: You don't get it? What's not to get? We had a great time, we played well, we improved as a team, and I'd say everyone played to the best of their abilities. It was such a great time!
Brian: That's.... great. I guess?
Steve: So you want to come watch our next game and see what we're all about?
Brian: I uh... I don't know, maybe.
Sound ridiculous? Perhaps it is. Or perhaps it's precisely what doing something for "sport" should be about. A challenge to yourself. A chance to run and exercise. A fellowship time with teammates and friends and fans, uniting in pursuit of a common "goal". Exuberant in victory and ecstatic in defeat. Happy to be given the chance to play. In a way, it almost sounds... fun.
This is not the world in which we live. But I wish it were.
I think I know some of the people in this photo. In fact I think I know some of the screaming fans!
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