Competition: the Catalyst of Greatness

The United States is built on capitalism. Capitalism requires competition. One of the main reasons our economy has been able to grow into what it is today is because of companies and individuals constantly trying to outdo their competitors and offer a better product or service.

Without competition, we are left with stale monopolies and no urge to innovate. A lack of competition leads to complacency and ineffectiveness.

We see the opposite of this in sports. In modern society, there is intense competition in everything from football to golf. The result is a continual raising of the bar and unprecedented heroic feats. This would not happen if competition was limited.

How exciting would college football be if there were only two teams?

Would people flock to the games to support Team A over Team B? No, most people would stop going to the games, some would watch on TV, others would lose interest altogether.

Now, imagine that these two teams have been playing increasingly boring games against each other for over 100 years. There’s no real competition and little incentive to pursue greatness. They only have to be better than the other team, nothing more.

What if fan support was at an all-time low and some other colleges decided to start up their own football teams like back in the day? At first these teams are horrible; they can’t keep up with the two big juggernauts. But over time they begin to catch up. After all, Team A and Team B are stuck in a deep, deep rut and aren’t making any improvements.

Then, one season, these smaller teams actually start to challenge the behemoths. They come close in a preseason game and rattle Team A. People start to rally around these smaller teams in support of something different from the status quo. However, not enough college football fans know about these smaller teams and aren’t sure if they will ever truly compete.

Their big chance is the upcoming playoff game. There used to be many teams in the playoffs, but now Team A and Team B simply play each other every year. Many people want to see these other teams in the playoffs, but a “neutral” organization decides that they aren’t up to snuff and won’t be allowed in the playoffs, regardless of the fact that they have considerable support, fans in every state, and a legitimate chance of going on to win the championship game.

Is this good for college football?

Is blocking legitimate candidates from the U.S. presidential debates good for our country?

Competition leads to breakthroughs. Challenge leads to improvements. Only the elite in the Republican and Democrat parties benefit from stifling competing voices. The public never benefits.

There is no perfect team, but the more challengers, the more each team will be forced to improve. They should feel the pressure and be compelled to improve or die.

2016 U.S. Presidential Election

• Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party will be on the ballot in all 50 states

• Jill Stein of the Green Party will be on the ballot in all but 6 states

• Neither will be allowed to represent the public that supports them during the presidential debates