07-03-2010, 01:10 AM
I think every sport or game has its penalties, poor sportsmanship and cheating and some gray areas in between.
I think most games, if they have an established consequence for a certain penalty, it's part of the game if one side wants to accept the consequence in order to win.
But it depends. In ice hockey, sometimes a player will "run" the opposing goalie in order to upset the goalie, and be willing to take the risk of getting a penalty for it. This is poor sportsmanship IMO. That is why members of the goalie's team will start smacking the culprit and soon it's penalties all around. The game's penalty is not enough disincentive to running the goalie, so the players have to answer poor sportsmanship with a higher price to pay.
Is running a goalie cheating? Hmm. I say no, but it's poor sportsmanship.
And the goalie, if his pads are too big, and he knows it, and no one checks, is that cheating? If he gets caught, theres a penalty and the pads are removed from the game, so it's not really cheating is it? I think it is, but not as egregious as something like using drugs or wrapping your fists in foil.*
I was surprised as a kid that some kids viewed cheating at cards as part of the game if they didn't get caught. (Good thing I had my trusty six-shooter.)
One of the reasons I dislike basketball is the intentional foul. If there's 3 minutes left in the game, you still have 30 or 40 minutes to go and it's just a big free-throw contest. Bah.
-V
*movie reference
I think most games, if they have an established consequence for a certain penalty, it's part of the game if one side wants to accept the consequence in order to win.
But it depends. In ice hockey, sometimes a player will "run" the opposing goalie in order to upset the goalie, and be willing to take the risk of getting a penalty for it. This is poor sportsmanship IMO. That is why members of the goalie's team will start smacking the culprit and soon it's penalties all around. The game's penalty is not enough disincentive to running the goalie, so the players have to answer poor sportsmanship with a higher price to pay.
Is running a goalie cheating? Hmm. I say no, but it's poor sportsmanship.
And the goalie, if his pads are too big, and he knows it, and no one checks, is that cheating? If he gets caught, theres a penalty and the pads are removed from the game, so it's not really cheating is it? I think it is, but not as egregious as something like using drugs or wrapping your fists in foil.*
I was surprised as a kid that some kids viewed cheating at cards as part of the game if they didn't get caught. (Good thing I had my trusty six-shooter.)
One of the reasons I dislike basketball is the intentional foul. If there's 3 minutes left in the game, you still have 30 or 40 minutes to go and it's just a big free-throw contest. Bah.
-V
*movie reference