Yesterday, I was having a conversation with one of my best friends when an interesting point was brought to my attention in the form of a debate. Of course, I truly believe that I am right, and as expected, she is convinced that she is not in the wrong. A conundrum presents itself. We obviously both can’t be right, but there is no way to solve the riddle at hand. Oh wait, yes there is. Thanks to the glory of the internet, you can all help us to solve this debate.
The question is simple: Does luck exist in sports?
I see her argument. She is saying that because everything is done by an individual, such as the ball being hit, a pass being made, a shot being taken, luck can’t be taking part in any of the outcomes. This concept would be saying an occurrence was more of a bad break than actual luck. For example, if a ball is punted towards the “coffin corner” and is rolling on the 2 yard line towards the end zone but takes a drastic 90 degree bounce straight out of bounds, it would be a bad break for the defense and skill by the punter.
I agree with this concept. But honestly, it really expands on the concept I am trying to explain in my favor. First, the punter is very skilled to even get the ball into the position to down it deep in enemy territory. There is no denying that it was not luck for the punter to be able to put the ball within the 5 yard line. However, the fact that the ball took a sudden veer off its normal course to defeat the touchback was in no physical control of the punter. The ball, seemingly having a mind of its own, changed directions unexpectedly, saving the punting team 18 yards of field position. Luck is when the opportunity meets preparation.
She points out the fact that skill should not “run out,” so therefore, luck should never be needed. I completely agree that a player’s abilities never just disappear, but it doesn’t mean that certain aspects of a game are not in his or her control. I used the example that a player shoots a basketball and it gets stuck on the back of the rim. That is an incredible stroke of luck. The player shot the ball with his “skill and abilities,” it bounced around, and the ball decided that the rim was the best spot to stop. It was purely accidental and lucky.
If a baseball is grounded towards the shortstop and hits a random piece of trod and bounces off in some weird direction, is it not luck? The batter by no means meant to hit the ball and bounce it like a pin ball. This result was the player’s skill and preparation meeting a random opportunity: luck. I am not saying that teams have a magical leprechaun who runs around and throws teams little gifts in the form of coincidental happenings, but there is some psychological feeling that a team is and can get lucky.
I would love to hear what y’all have to say on this concept. I am a firm believer in the concept of luck. When a football hits the upright and bounces in, it was luck. When a NASCAR spins out in the middle of the track, bounces off the wall and has very little damage, the driver and team got lucky. When a basketball player dives out of bounds, throws the ball over his head backwards and the ball goes in the hoop for two points, luck played a huge part.
So, POST SOME RESPONSES AND LET ME KNOW. I want to hear what you all think about this concept. I would love to hear some other opinions. If everyone thinks that I am wrong, I will concede defeat and beg for forgiveness. However, I do think that I am right.
Tags: being lucky, Luck, luck in sports, sports
February 17, 2010 at 3:46 am |
Luck definitely has a part to play in sports. I’m not just saying this because I’m your friend.
The points you made about the chaotic nature of sports were spot-on.
You can also get into the ways that luck influences the outcome even before the event starts. If a star player injures themselves on or off the field, that’s luck shaping that team’s destiny until that player recovers, and even beyond.
More important than the circumstance, I think, are the players’ reactions to those circumstances. There’s actually a fairly recent Telegraph article on the subject (http://digs.by/1Qx3).
What a fun debate to bring to your readers!
February 17, 2010 at 4:28 am |
It is all Probability, I mean I use the term “lucky”, but in sports I think it is probability. The chances are sometimes extremely low, but shit happens. So instead of saying wow lucky bounce… maybe we should say… What are the odds of that happening! I mean really!…. so ya… suck on that!