Israel and Palestine are going at it again. I know nothing about the war, nor do I pretend to.

I do however notice some interesting observations from the way this war (and wars in general) function nowadays.

1. Relevance: When it’s “in season” or a new bombing just happened, it’s the hottest news on the planet. Six weeks later, nobody cares. That’s okay though, there’s always next season.

2. Patriotism: In both war and sports people are extremely patriotic. They go so far as to identify themselves with the “entity” (team or county) that they like the most. “We are winning” is something one hears often, the pronoun including the speaker.
They also tend to root for whatever side closest to home. An New York born American for example is likely to root for the Yankees vs the Red Sox as he is America vs. Iraq. And, have you ever seen what happens when someone roots for the away team?

3. Irony: The truth is that most people whom observe these events have never or will never come close to actually experiencing them. The 250 lb guy drinking a beer on Sunday watching football or the local news commentator both have no experience ever doing the event they are so avid, passionate and seem to know so much about.

4. Ratings: Similarly to how networks broadcast major sporting events, news channels leap on the opportunity to report the latest terrorist attack, bombing or gossip related to the latest war. These programs are widely viewed thus advertising space for them is extremely lucrative. It’s also a huge cash machine.

5. Misunderstanding: Arguably the biggest commonality is the fact that everyone has an opinion of the situation although very few actually have any clue what is going on. For every winning sports bettor there are likely 1,000 losers, just as for everyone who actually knows what is going on in Israel there is probably 1,000 who don’t. The irony in both is that probably 950 of those losers or clueless individuals think they really know what’s going on (hence how the winners survive, and the puppeteers keep the public brainwashed).

6. Close Minded: Have you ever tried to change someone’s mind? It’s a difficult task in any facet, but in war and sports it’s nearly impossible. No Yankees fan will ever be convinced the Red Sox are better and no pro Israel person is ever going to sympathize with Palestine.

7. Statistics: In war and sports, anything can be “proven.” The public loves to use numbers, despite being entirely irrelevant. “The Yankees scored more runs in the 4th inning than any other team this post season,” an announcer will say tout into the inning. Inevitably, some imbecile will think the Yankees are actually a better 4th inning team than others, and place his bets accordingly. Humans aren’t meant to understand randomness, and contrarily, they are good at attributing meaning when there is none. Both sides, regardless of the odds, find outlets for hope and reasons why the past means their future looks brighter. Nobody likes coincidence, and in war and sports there are none. Ever.

8. It’s A Game: Albeit obvious, in both war and sports there is a ton of skill and strategy. Some of it is obvious: tactile ground missions and orchestrated game winning plays. Other aspects are not: how to gain the public support and where will our annual marketing budget best be spent so we can ensure maximum ticket sales?

9. Marketing: Image is everything. Just as coaches, players, owners and organizations care deeply about the image they portray, so too do both sides of any war. They want to make sure the counter party is seen as the villain (or more accurately, downplay wrong doings of themselves while bolstering their image). They’ll apologize when necessary, but only as a last resort. And the better the marketing, the more funding behind the operation.

10. Keeping Score: This isn’t meant to sound insensitive to those who have passed. I am extremely overwhelmed by the terrors of war. But let’s set aside the grave reality of human causalities for a moment. In sports, both sides keep score to monitor their progress and measure who is winning. In this current Israel-Palestine debacle, it works the exact same. Whether its civilian causalities, money spent, or soldier death tolls, both sides love numbers. And they boast when they’re winning. Can one really say that just because in war, where the game is played with human lives, that it functions any differently from sports? Or are the stakes just higher?

A closing thought: I know sports and war are different ,and I don’t need 10 ways they are in a comment. If you do wish to comment, and if you’re still reading, you must be intelligent, so I genuinely hope you do, please make it worth reading.

– Me