As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.
–Henry David Thoreau
I have a new scoring system that I believe could be applied across sports leagues to improve the “watchability” (I must have seen too many bud light commercials recently). I am calling it the “plus one” system. Essentially, it rewards teams that score first for scoring first. My idea is that by rewarding teams that score first over teams that score second, a more aggressive attitude (which I believe fans in all sports like to see) is rewarded over a more defensive attitude. This is accomplished through the “plus one” mechanic.
To illustrate the mechanic, take your favorite sport, and imagine a situation where the two competing teams are tied, but the score is non-zero. In all sports I can think of, this tie is treated equally. My idea is to add an invisible “plus one” to the score of the team which was the first to reach that number. This rewards them for achieving the score first, and forces the other (losing) team to respond in a more aggressive manner than if the two teams were literally drawn. And the “plus one” system works without altering the scoring, tactics, or play making of any game to which it is applied.
The system would affect the philosophy and attitude of the games, but in my opinion only to the benefit of the spectators, which are really the consumer of and fuel behind the sport anyway. And such a change in philosophies would most certainly affect the tactics and structure in the long run, but professional sports are dynamic anyways, and this would be no different in my opinion. This is dynamism which the sport’s fans can really get behind.
I watch NBC’s The Office. It’s the only show on TV that has captured my interest since I stopped watching Frasier, Friends, and Seinfeld. The writers and actors often strike soft emotional spots that I really resonate to, and the style of humor has grown on me throughout the five seasons. I was struck with an epiphany after the latest episode, and it is (I am happy to say) the second time the series has given one to me.
I realized that the importance of entertainment, in all its forms, is in giving us as viewer participants the emotional experience. It isn’t in the situations, or the players, or the dramatic obstacle that the true meaning of entertainment hits home. Sure, a piece of fiction can be written to advocate an idea (such as Atlas Shrugged, et al.) and be a valuable addition to life’s experience. But, the emotion attached to watching Jim and Pam reaffirm their love, or Micheal’s true worth as a boss, or Andy’s pent up feelings of loss and hopelessness finally being released, are true gifts, because I can share and experience the feelings so deeply. I may choose to take away lessons like, “The small guy will triumph over the big guy” or “Stay in [art] school”, or the hundreds of themes that permeate creative works, and that is a conscious choice I make. But whether something is entertaining to me is based on the emotional outlet, not the logical choice. That brings me to the answer of the question, “What’s it all worth, Joe?”
Its worth remembering that you can feel all of those emotions every moment of your life, and that is what makes life worth living. Its not about the entertainment at all. Not the book, the movie, the TV series, not the cast or crew, or the time of day or the outcome of the big game. And regardless of your emotional, physical, mental, or financial state, I can always encourage you to look to the Steelers and Cardinals, John and Jenna, Steve Carell, the Phantom, or any of your favorite entertainers or entertainment. And that entertainment will cause you to reaffirm that you get up every day and embrace, experience, and deal with those same feelings and emotions, good, bad, and strange. And that is valuable and wonderful because emotions tie us all together in ways philisophy, government, symbols, and knowledge cannot.
