Hey fans, I’m sick of these barnburners.
heart-attack endings, last shot nightmares,
even if your team wins, blood pressure rises,
hearts palpitate, way too much stress.
All you have to look forward to is the next game.
Two hours of agony till the last second shot.
Enough.
Let’s do it like the gladiators of old,
mano a mano, David and Goliath,
some whole wars decided that way.
Each selected the best warriors.
The winners vanquished the others’ army.
Everyone went home to his family
after one side buried their dead guy.
The fight didn’t take that long, maybe a whole day,
even into the night, or the speed
it takes for a stone to hit a forehead.
We could do that in basketball,
maybe other sports too.
Line up the teams, each gets the ball to score
until one does and one doesn’t.
Then many more games, short stress,
the whole tourney in a few days.
Go get a beer with your buddies
and cry or cheer till the next short joust.
Originally published in Cactifur Magazine