Hugh,
I'd just really like to understand why you feel that a National Championship
that allows anyone in diminishes the value of winning.
I won once, back in 1996, and I'm really very proud of it. Yes, we had a
drying course on the first day, and one of my competitors hit a cone on the
first day that (if everything else was the same) cost him the win, but, hey,
you know what? My final time turned out to be the shortest. I won.
There were 30+ other competitors in the class, if I remember correctly. Many
of them knew that they didn't have a chance. But probably at least 10 people
really believed they had a good chance at winning. Should only those 10 have
been there? If only those 10 had been there, would my win have been more
significant to anyone? The fact is that all of those 10 were there (except
for Dick Rasmussen, who had to leave due to a hurricane at home, if I remember
correctly), and that the other 20 or so were there made it just plain more fun
for ALL OF US. The value of the trophy is the same though -- I beat everyone
else who wanted to give it a try. If some of the potential winners hadn't
qualified due to competing in a very difficult region or division, then my win
would be of less value, not more.
I just can't understand how eliminating some of the "backmarkers" would have
changed anything, other than made the whole event a little bit less fun.
Can you explain it to me?
Josh
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