[OT] St. ^3 Jon and the Soccer Hooligans

Jon of Needham sayeth:

The things that the mundanes DO consider to be socially "normal" - drink
yourself senseless, wash the car, beat the wife, spend thirty quid to scream
like a moron at a couple of dozen overpaid idiots chasing an inflated sheep's
pancreas round a field on Saturday afternoon, things like
that....  ;-)

Jon (GZG) - probably feeling particulary cynical tonight....

[Tomb] Now, now. Be nice. If it has to do with parts of a sheep, its
near
and dear to my Scottish-descended heart. Rangers rule! But, OTOH, let me
point out that the really stupid part doesn't begin until somewhere into hte
match where said screaming morons (well empowered by ethanol) begin to squish
each other, bash each other, and then cut each other up. If you want horror,
go to an emergency room after a soccer fight.... broken beer bottles and
glasses leave some nasty wounds.

Having said that, the war gaming is about war. War is horrible in its way and
yet from that crucible we get a closer look at many important human
characteristics. And war gaming, because it is gaming, can provide a harmless
escape. If I can work out my stress over a game board, then all to the better.
If I can use it as a way to learn about tactics, economics, interactions with
my fellow gamers, about the costs of conflict, about the fleeting nature of
victory and the caprices of fortune and how to deal with both of those, and if
I can spend some social time with my friends, then those are the key parts of
the game. It teaches everything from sharing to risk management. And a bit of
history (even in St.Jon's world, it doesn't hurt to understand the lessons of
the past).