In which we meditate on the insanity in our activity

There’s bunches of comments on Facebook from people going to TOC. They all sound about as happy as cows on their way to the abattoir. Somehow this tournament has become identified with sheer torture, yet as far as I know nobody who has qualified has refused to go on the grounds of maintaining their sanity. At the point when the big tournament of the year is no longer exciting in a good way, or generally fun no matter how you slice it, one has to wonder why it remains the big tournament of the year. I mean, we have plenty of big tournaments at the end of the season, whether it’s state tournaments or national tournaments. An embarrassment of riches, you might say. Does anybody really have to go to all of them? Or even the majority of them? Is that what teenagers do nowadays, drudge themselves along from one tournament to the next, week after week, far and wide, so that at the end of the season they can go to even more tournaments, week after week, further and wider? Doesn’t anybody just stay home and hang out and read a book (i.e., a book that’s fun to read, as compared to a lot of the debate literature that is impenetrable drivel)? Or enjoy the nice spring weather with one’s local friends? Of course not. I am obviously missing the whole point of debate. Soddie always used to say that competition is the means to an end. Not the most original thought in the world, perhaps, but one that bears repeating often. Ask yourself this question: What is your debate goal? Ask it regardless of whether you’re a debater or a coach or a judge. If the answer is no more complicated than, “Win a lot of debates,” well…

TOC does bring out the philosopher in people.

Tonight is my farewell to the troops, as in, dinner with the team. I will no doubt be warning them about foreign entanglements and the like. Meanwhile, I have officially started working on the tabroom setup for Big Bronx, after many discussions about the tournament with Diane S in Vegas, plus discussions with Kirby. Everyone is on the same page. I’m not running it, by any means, just facilitating it. And tabbing it. And doing my best to make it fun and exciting in a good way.

Plus ca change, eh?