Debate Sports linked with gambling?

I generally don't like to think of sports like football (soccer) being linked to gambling. I often get into arguments with my father on whether the two sides in a football match are playing truely... or are they just play-acting? Usually I stand defendant on the basis that footballers are playing to their full potentials and therefore the result is the reflection of the performance put on by the two sides. My father sometimes thinks that there are even bigger players behind the scenes... and I regretfully must agree sometimes.

Take World Cup 1998 for example (sorry for focusing only on football but it is the main sport us Europeans are into). We all know Brazil is the world's best footballing nation but yet they lost to France in the finals 3-0, an overly flattering result really.

The scenes before Brazil marched onto the pitch was the interesting part however, involving Brazilian striker Ronaldo (the competition's most dangerous player) who had all sorts of rumours going on around him about being randomly sick and unfit to play... something that came too sudden to become immediately understandable. He was one of the last to walk out the tunnel incidentally.

His usual inspiring footballing skills didn't shine in that final match either. Nor did much of the Brazilian team who eventually surrendered their cup from WC 1994 to France. Something went on before the match in the tunnels? or was it a true game? Mind you, World Cup 1998 was held in France, the nation who won... but also the nation who failed to score or qualify in their World Cup group stage in World Cup 2002 (and has generally been unimpressive since Euro 2000). The competition which ended with Brazil the winnners.

Were France better than Brazil? Were Brazil influenced to lose? Was Ronaldo really unfit in that controversial final? Well, we probably won't ever know.

So back to the main topic, is modern sports governed by gambling or even politics. Is the whole thing pre-determined?

Let's have your thoughts

- Shen

 

You could say. My thoughts on the 1998 and 2002 World Cup is that it was probably all fixed. Unless France seriously got no training, which is highly unprobable. Another thing tht makes it look..."odd", is that the fact that France, won the 1998 Wrold Cup, in France. I say the goverment had this arranged or something, but i won't get into any of that without getting some real proof. My final answer:Yes.

-Seishin

 

Politics more than likely play a role in it. they play a part in almost anything that "accidently" happens and such. like those awards shows. they probably have some politics somewhere in the middle. the world is ran by politics i hate to say and yes, moeny makes the world go round. there are so many movies talking about the government being corrupt you'd think they'd ban them. anyways, yea, they probably choose who will win for some games. same could be said for boxing and nascar.

 

Yeah, i gamble a lot with football and nascar. It's always Dale jr. gonna win,
and Philedelphia is gonna win the super bowl..I don't think , I don't know
if it's really gambling or what and i don't know if it's fixed or something, but
betting on a person or team is fun!!!!!!!

 

Well its just sick. It is pointless and stupid to change a performance all over money. Its stuff like this that take away tradition and the essence of a sport.

I didnt get to watch the WC games to actually notice whether it was fixed or not But I have heard much about it. And also...soccer is a very strange and unpredictable sport. Its where you have teams like Getafe (or whatever that is) beating teams like real madrid. Anything can happen...