At 14:58 08/08/2007, you wrote:
Yes, spirit may be very easy to define but it is very difficult to uphold. If you land out, you're out. It's black and white. I do not think spirit is black and white at all. I don't think the opposition calling more often or sticking to their guns actually works as a counter measure in the face of bad spirit. If you're abusive towards a member of the opposite team why not have some means of something like a 'sin bin'. It has its problems but it would certainly reinforce that spirit is a rule. When rules are broken, there needs to be repercussions. At the moment, there aren't any other than someone might be a bit sh*ttier to me.
I can't agree with sin-bins or any other penalty. The only thing that can enforce spirit is spirit. What I wrote about how bad spirit can hurt your team was just to make people think. The reason we play spiritedly is because it's right, not because it helps us win.
There can be no penalties within the rules of the game for infringements of spirit - that defeats the purpose. If I behave well to avoid a punishment, that's not spirited. All we can do when somebody behaves in a manner detrimental to the game is rise above it; I admit that this is increasingly difficult as games get miore important, but it's what we have to do. We might ask the opposition captain to rest a player, have a word with a player, whatever, but if we can't reach an agreement between the teams then we can't play. Penalties don't come into it.
If anyone thinks this is Utopian nonsense, you're playing the wrong sport. The sport was designed with these ideals in mind, and the people involved in it will work to maintain them. All that is needed is for the majority of spirited players to accept responsibility for the future of the game. If a player on your team is unspirited, whether it's your best player or your worst, do something about it. As long as we all act as guardians of spirit, there's no way that enough cheating could enter the game and destroy it. If we all let it slide, we'll have referees before you know it.
Personally, I'm optimistic. Keep fighting the good fight, and keep this the best sport in the world.
B
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