Re: Get a life!

• From: Byko2000
• Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2002 15:48:41 -0800
• Message-ID: <000U70GAP.0004B162B.12170551-quizbowl_at_...>

Okay, it takes a bit to bring me out to respond,
but this has done it. Here we go.

Let me share
my experience in quiz bowl. I played in middle
school. I played in high school. I played in undergrad. I
play now as a grad student, and after this year, I'll
be moving on and not playing on "the circuit"
anymore.

I am, by my own admission, not a good player. I
have never been on a team that has won a college
tournament title. I have never come close to being named a
tournament all-star. I'm generally never the best person on
my own team, regardless of what team I'm on. I've
been beaten in one-on-one tournaments by people who
are a few years younger than me, people who are now
college freshmen. I know I'm not good, and I can deal
with that. I'm a graduate student that you could
probably beat, and I can deal with that. I ask you, is it
unfair for you to compete against me, even though the
odds are probably in your favor? Based on your theory,
it shouldn't be.

Don't get me wrong--I can
somewhat see your point. I have felt the same way before
myself. But there's a problem. People may liken quiz bowl
to athletics, but there's no such thing as a
professional league for quiz bowl. Until there becomes a
well-developed Masters circuit, graduate students will continue
to play in the same arena as undergraduates. Is this
a good thing or a bad thing? That's a judgment call
that I'm not going to make here.

Quiz bowl
perpetuates because people who have played in the past are
willing to give back not for any reason other than the
greater good of the community. I direct several
tournaments, particularly at the high school level, simply
because I enjoy it and want other high school students to
have the same opportunities (or actually, more and
better ones) that I had as a high school student. I
enjoy quiz bowl, and THAT is reason enough for me to
stick with it.

My recommendation to you is that
if you don't like the way things are going, look to
try to change things then. Nothing is firmly set in
stone, but change only comes gradually. Give back for
the greater good, and then you'll be able to justify
your playing.


David
(speaking strictly
for myself and myself alone)