SPORTS: The Sydney Olympics--Mexico

The saga of Bernardo Segura continued. He returned to Mexico, where he was received as a hero, to shouts of variations of "We wus robbed." The TV program showed a film of the feet of the runners, proving that several had "flown" (both feet had been off the ground at )the same time). Someone was seen handing something to the referee in the time between the end of the race and his telling Segura he had been disqualified. The implication was that he may have been bribed.

The great thing about WAIS is that differences of opinion do not affect mutual esteem. No one has a higher regard for Miles Seeley than I, but we sees things from a different angle. He is thrilled by the speed of the runners. I have watched one fast race, then another, then another. Seen one, seen 'em all. The swimmers are hopelessly clumsy in comparison with fish.

If you hear a loud hissing noise, it is Miles sniffing at my mention of the sociology of sports. Yet the development of this as an academic subject is legitimate. The globalization of sports is part of it, so are the ups a downs of various sports. Soccer has developed from a lower-class English game to THE international sport, and for good reason. At the same time, boxing has gone downhill. Now it is a battle between thugs, but when I was a child it was still called "the noble art of self-defense". That goes back to the time before Sir Robert Peel organized the London police force, giving rise to the word "bobbies." As the streets became safer, the wealthy nobles lost their fear of being attacked. Now of course, we carry handguns to defend ourselves. That is real progress!! As you know, I am a Positivist who believes in "Order and Progress," the Positivist slogan.

Ronald Hilton - 9/25/00