[in a well equipped sports room, a character rants] Someone has to say it… Some athletes have an advantage over others and it’s ruining sports!
[in a soccer field, a smug character points and replies] Damn right buddy, that’s why we should ban privileged kids from competitive sports: their wealth gives them access to better equipment, coaching, sparring partners, free time. it’s just unfair to the rest!
I remember having to do projects in school, working hard with the limited materials my family could afford, and using my creativity to make up for it to get a B.
Meanwhile, kids with rich parents went all-out, using materials I didn’t have access to, coming back with displays that their parents clearly helped them assemble, complete with polished, laminated reports. Naturally, their fancy projects got them As.
I also remember thinking what bullshit it was that the poorer kids got worse grades despite trying their best.
Then I grew up and realized it’s all part of the same crooked system. Of course the wealthier kids got better grades - it’s simply the start of a life-long advantage they had over the rest of us. There was no winning for the rest of us then, just as there’s no winning for the rest of us now.
They have themselves convinced that they did it on their own. Dad was a lawyer, paid for his son to be a lawyer, hired his son as his law firm. And it happens all the time in every industry. I’m fine with families setting up their children in the family business, it has always been done. The issue I have is that when everyone else comes up with ways to reduce the discrepancy, those same people cry and call it unfair and do everything they can to hold others back. It’s really sickening and that type of culture is worse than ever now that a ghoul has been installed to the White House that espouses rhetoric that denigrates the poor.
When it comes to sports a the highest levels, you either win or lose at birth. If you lose that lottery, too bad so sad. If you win that lottery, Congrats! Here’s your gold medal.
For that vast majority of us, playing a sport is a hobby and nothing more. And that’s just fine.
The funniest shit is that when comparing professional athletes with the average human, they are all “freakshows”. Pro athletes are far taller, or shorter, heavier or lighter. The hormone levels aren’t comparable either. Nothing about pro athletes is “normal”.
But… that’s just how sorting by quality works.
Pro e-sports players have insanely good time awareness. There’s a video of Faker (a famous League of Legends player) stopping a stopwatch at exactly 5 seconds. Because he’s the kind of guy who keeps track of his oponent’s skill cooldowns in his brain.
I have no chances against a guy like that. You have no chances against a guy like that. Doesn’t mean we need to ban people for having amazing qualities or skills, does it?
Athletes having advantages over others is what makes Sports great.
You’re right. If you didn’t realize though, I’m 99% sure this is a comic about trans people in sports. The anti-Trans people say we need to protect women (or whatever useful group) from unfair competitors. I don’t see them trying to protect other people who aren’t genetically or environmentally disadvantaged though. Sports aren’t fair, and any female professional athlete can kick my ass any day, even though I’m a man. To be competitive at all, you need to win several lotteries first.
