We're debating something that's in large part subjective, so there's definitely room for diragreement. What is it about biathalon that appeals to you? I like winter and I like guns, but there's nothing inherently libertarian about them. In my opinion there's too many rules in biathalon, and too little creativity and fun. You've seen one biathalon competition and you've seen them all...
The hardest competition is with the self. |
That's true, but I'm trying to draw a contrast between sports, which tend to attract a large crowd willing to pay for tickets, and personal fitness, which everyone should ideally engage in but most people wouldn't pay to see. ("Libman naked on a treadmill" videos being a rare exception.)
Team sports can be perfectly "libertarian". Just think of rational self interest and the division of labor. Reasonable people are wise to associate with those who best complement their own skills.
Teamwork is important in business, but there you have a lot more individualism and asymmetric dynamism within the team, while traditional team sports are all about imposing artificial equality. A sport that a libertarian person would find worth watching is a celebration of something
romantically heroic, and I can think of nothing more so than a professional wrestler making his entrance. My favorite of all time was Bill Goldberg:
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He was to sports what Howard Roark was to architecture. I just can't imagine this kind of heroic greatness expressed in a team sport!
[...] Wrestling seems to have quite a bit of central planning involved. [...] |
Central planning? In
professional wrestling? That's a laugh! Sure, it's scripted theater, but it's completely unregulated by the government (much less so than most sports leagues), and anyone can start his own backyard wrestling organization and try to sell tickets, but you do need
a lot of talent to rise to the top.
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