BlueCat
Roses are red, cats are blue
- Dec 14, 2009
- 4,503
- 19,507
BUT, I do have to say this: Don't hate the player, hate the game. I don't think it's relevant to bring in names to this because they're not doing anything illegal. Why shun a gym that's not doing anything wrong on paper? The gyms in question aren't "driving 5 miles over the speed limit". Driving 5 miles over the speed limit is illegal, using 10 crossovers is not. They aren't "living on the edge" nor do they have to worry about getting caught by "the police" because they're doing nothing wrong. People who say they're cheaters or should be ashamed are obviously bitter about a former loss to one of these types of teams. It's one thing to say it's against your morals, it's a completely different situation to label them as cheaters. They aren't cheating. They're just playing the system.
It isn't against the rules to stand next to the mat when a rival team is going and yell out the wrong counts either. Does that make it OK? There isn't a rule against it in the USASF Safety Guidelines.
(Clearly not the same as crossovers - just demonstrating that following the letter of the guidebook doesn't automatically give you a pass to do whatever you want and have people applaud you for it.)
I am reminded of a youtube video:
Some people may think this was genius and congratulate the coach on his creativity. No rule was broken. Many others (myself included) think it was tacky and would never want to resort to this to win a football game - rule or no rule. Fake handoffs & misdirection within a normal play are all a part of the game, but this is "outside the bounds" of good sportsmanship, IMO.