re: More Madrid Backlash (sorry, quote wouldn´t let me enter it)

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From where comes the ´elevated thinking´ concept?

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your little tirade against Germany last night was basically teh same argument

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Your oversimplification, and suggestion that a dynamic (as opposed to static) sport is solely the sum of behavioral patterns, needs ´fleshing out´. Please elaborate with detail.

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i'm just stating that any set of behaviors in a given, set system can be analyzed/broken down into comparative, numerical units based on pattersn and success rates (obviously there will be different variables analyzed)

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Your hole deepens.

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the #1 goal of competitive sports is winning

in competitive league, stratifications emerge based on either funding or management decisions (there are only a certain number of qualified management options and everyone under that set suffers, and the set beneathe that, etc)

the #1 goal is still winning, but some teams can't. stoke is a good example. they're never going to have the finances to compete in the EPL (short of oil money). they have developed a style that almost ensures they won't be relegated, but it also ensures they will never win. since they're not going to win anyway, that second part is irrelevant. stoke is a success story in my mind.

on the other hand, swansea is a bigger success story....in the short term of the 2 styles, stoke's philosophy (defense, defense, defense) is shown to be more stable. plenty of swansea's have tried to compete by borrowing to pay for attacking talent and ended up in shambles.

swansea's emergence/success should be celebrated. if somehow they stay top flight for 20 years, if they adjust their style down the road, they shouldn't be resigned to their fate of their current reputation. they should adjust and adapt to compete, just as they're doing that now to compete. games change. styles change. new efficiencies are discovered. games change. styles change. etc etc