Enjoy this fictional “letter to the editor” about a favorite MBC game!
Dear Editor:
I recently attended your most wonderful establishment at the persistence of a friend. I found it to be a charming place, with lovely people accompanying it.
However, there was one evening that truly had me concerned. On one of the these evenings, we played a splendid game, quaintly known as Big-Ball-Super-Circle-Soccer. Though I myself found the game rather fun, there were a few elements that made me rather disgruntled, and I fear have been overlooked.
Some of the players seemed to be completely unaware of the rules! The use of hands, good editor! They were using their hands! Is it not called soccer for a reason? Secondly, there were a number of individuals who were performing in (not all together wrong), but somewhat questionable manners. For example, when there was a pile of bodies on top of the ball, one young lad, (I will not mention names!), attempted to pick his comrade up, and remove him from the general vicinity of the ball. Though an amusing sight, I fear it was done in a rather unsportsmanlike manner.
There were a few other instances where unsportsmanlike things were done, but it was all in a competitive spirit.
Which leads me to my question: in the game of Big-Ball, which is more important: being good sportsmen or winning the game?
Dear Concerned Attender:
Thank you for this noteworthy letter. Your worries have been properly consulted, and actions have been taken accordingly.
Considering your complaints about hands, we have seen and dealt with many cases of hands being used in this game. Though, occasionally we have called penalties for the unlawful usage of these extremities, here at camp we practice a thing called “grace”, and most often, it is not a problem.
As for your question, I can assure you that sportsmanship always comes first. Though we strongly encourage a competitive and winning spirit, (sometimes too much, it seems!). We are sure to keep team-building and sportsmanship at the forefront of our games.
For those who decide to be unsportsmanlike characters, we have a variety of ways we deal with this. Among the more common, is to award game penalties. The most severe of the chastisements is a “tribunal” of sorts (the lake is lovely this time of the year!)
In conclusion, I thank you for your concern, and for your letter. Here at camp, we try our very hardest to enforce sportsmanship with the appropriate amounts of grace when needed.
I hope this response has assured you of our character. And that the boy who lifted his comrade off the ball has been properly dealt with.
