Fairness Defined

I can remember vividly a lecture given by the president of my college in my senior year. The subject was “Fairness.”  Life is not fair and if you don’t wrap your head around that thought, you’re going to be frustrated, depressed, angry and disappointed.

Fairness is not a statistical term. It has no objectivity as it exists in the space between your ears. It’s largely based upon perception. It is a condition that is free from bias, favoritism or discrimination.

This weekend, the Saints had their Super Bowl hopes dashed with a blown call. It’s hard to get over something so egregious; millions of dollars at stake. Fans at the stadium took up the chant: “Tomorrow we March.”

"Level playing field" personifies the ethos of sport. In combative sports, weight classes are created to prevent larger guys pommeling little guys. "Punching above your weight" infers that a smaller guy can compete against the next higher class. And so on, and so forth.

Here's what we're presently working on by way of changes for the upcoming season.

We've subscribed to the notion that foreign nationals had to wear gear compliant with their country's standards. Problem is, a lot of these guys don't go inside. So, in all fairness, here's what's coming:

Gear: foreign nationals much have compliant gloves and boots. If your department doesn't have a vapor barrier requirement, we'll loan you a pair.

Similarly, turnouts must have liners.

An inspection of all of the penalties from the season, including the finals reveals that "Short Keiser" far and away leads the list of violations. So, we're going to remove the sensors and the audible signals since it appears that scores of competitors pay no attention to them. I could get into the headspace on this, but I think that I know what's going on here. Rather than sticking around to see that the task is done, just wack it hard and hope it slides to the end. Risky. But, hey, someone thinks that it's worth the shot. In fact, a whole lot of guys.

Those white triangles are foolproof. Let 'er rip.

We strive mightily to give every Challenge athlete a "level playing field." But, there are certain immutable forces and facts that can not be adjusted. Like water weighs 8.3 pounds per gallon. For everyone.

Presently, I'm working on a tutorial that involves the Trusty-Cook shot mallet and Sir Isaac Newton's First Law of Gravity.

Stay tuned.