Pugilism (Boxing) is indeed one of the last acceptable blood sports. Even football, as injurious as it is, is severely toned down from the combat training it once was, and attempts are made (padding, etc.) to minimize the danger. The goal of boxing, however, remains the knock-out -- the act of rendering your opponent unconscious.
Other sports based on combat -- fencing, chess, archery -- have almost completely removed any chance of damage to the participants. Pugilism, on the other hand, still endorses, even encourages physical violence upon one's opponent, to the point where ex-boxers are barely able to speak, or must give their children the same name to avoid confusion.
So when you talk of the United States as somehow being more "civilized" than other countries, remember, that we are probably the only country on the planet where people will pay big bucks to watch two men (or women) pummel each other on pay-per-view.
There are those who condemn gun owners universally without considering that there are indeed valid reasons, in this day and age, in the United States, for owning firearms. Other than the obvious ones like law enforcement, and the more controversial ones like hunting and self-protection, there is also the matter of sharp-shooting.
Many anti-gun people have no problem with bowlers and people who play darts, but refuse to see the similarity with sharp-shooting. All, and many other sports, are simply a matter of you versus yourself. The ability to control, accurately, the instrument of your game. Whether that instrument is a golf club used to fire a little ball down a fairway or a firearm used to fire a bullet at a target, it's all about self-control and skill.
Why is it that when you sit down in a restroom in an office building or other public place, you never find any part of the newspaper save the sports section? I like the idea of doing two things at the same time as much as the next guy, but the sports section bores me to tears.
Certainly you would think it wouldn't be too difficult to include some articles of interest to those of us with brains in the sports section as well as the latest statistic of how overpaid athletes are, or which athlete was arrested most recently.
It amazes me how many people can idolize sports stars and still spend their weekends parked on a couch.
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