clot wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Eeyore wrote:

The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Why even UK football is slightly better
since the bull****ting swede vanished.

It'll be better still when they get paid 10% or less of the insane
salaries they get now.

Graham

I dunno. Life as a pro footballer is short, and pretty hard.

At best you probably have less than ten years at top salary, and are
useless for much else thereafter.

True. But what use are they to society?

Immense use.
I think this is where you take too narrow a view society.

Like royalty for the middle clases, they provide aspirational targets
for he less well heeled: What Posh and Becks do, is live the lifestyle
that a large section of Britain would, if they too 'won the pools'. In
so dong they provide immense entertainment and object lessons for those
who cannot afford to live like that.

I am slightly socialist by leaning, but a pragmatist when it comes to
society. I do not believe that a society without differences in
lifestyles and incomes is a healthy one.

If 20 men want to get over a 20ft high wall, the sensible approach is
not to all stand at the bottom and whine that 'its too high' and the
'government should do something' You get yur thickest and burliest to
stand at the bottom, your less thick and less burly to stand on their
shoulders, and your lightest and most albe person to climb up and jump
over trailing a rope..

The MISTAKE is to think that any of these could have done it without ALL
of the others.

And that the one guy who didn't partake because he was a nerdy weak
geek, was in fact the one who suggested the method in the first place.

Society needs aspirations, and targets, and if it takes a little
inequality to get it, I am all for it.

MOST of 19th century science, literature, an indeed waht we would class
as advances to civilisation was done by people who had private incomes.

You might try to replacee that with state funded research, but that then
begs the question of what research to fund.

OTOH you might approach the Beckahms for a cheque, and if it strikes
their fancy, get one.

A lot less bureaucratic and more efficient approach.



All those that have aspirations
for "professional football" should be sent out in Douglas Adams' first
spaceship!


Why? its a skill. Possibly a more relevant one than telephone sanitising.

What good is it to them to have ridiculous wages which heightens their
expectation in life?

It is to answer that question, that largely I feel they should be
allowed to have them.


"Professional" football, rugby and cricket should be banned! Discuss?

Why? they harm almost no ne, and provide something of interest to
discuss ad wtch:In a life dominated by bland fiction, at least what
happens on the pitch is (mostly) real.