"It's not fair!" Who's to blame? Under Review: A Losing Proposition.

(How can I cover such a Super event as the Super Bowl and fail! to mention unfairness? "My Bad!")

In All Fairness: They did their best to be fair. OK, fair enough, but I'm still not happy with the outcome; it still seems so unfair! I guess no matter what they do, how long they deliberate, how judicious they try to be, someone is not going to be happy, but why, oh why, does it have to be me this time; can't I just have it my way this one time; it's just not fair! And so it goes...it's always been and always will be...

"Utterly Unfair!" As explained by Mr. Twain, as applied to our lugubrious lamentations on labor, "The law of work does seem utterly unfair - but there it is, and nothing can change it..."  Words, reflections on the unfairness that I have taken slightly out of context, taken a bit of editorial license to use as illustration of the instrumental and universality experience of unfairness in the work setting (who hasn't experienced this?), let alone in the "Wide World of Sports!" Worlds that seem connected in part by the idea of "getting ahead by any means necessary" (aka "ruthless!") which can in turn give rise to some unsavory practices and behaviors, whether on or off the field of play. Even seems as if those who are willing to bend or break the rules are rewarded with a "win!" (or a raise, promotion, etc.). It's so unfair. An utterance that resonates with me all the way back to our sandlot days and backyard basketball, the latter in which we debated as to who was going to call fouls: while golf is known as a "gentleman's game" in which you are expected to confess your infractions, even if unintentional, our basketball games looked more like the 'Wild West' -- "I hardly touched you; you want to know what a foul really feels like?! I quit!" Lots of iterations on this. Later this utterance was associated in our adult household with a seminal scene in the movie "Labyrinth", in which an adolescent is bemoaning the unfairness, inconvenience of having to babysit, a scene which our three-year-old daughter took to heart, which then became a meme in our family (way before memes were even a thing). Back to the world of sports, past and VERY present, as present as of three hours ago, as reflected by the intonations of an international news reporter (well, at least the one who reads the news someone else labored to obtain...unfair), in the scope, scoop of just one segment, covering both the news from the Olympics, all in one breath: "...despite failing a drug test (which she blamed on her grandfather's medicine, since she couldn't blame the dog, I guess) the teen skater from the ROC will be free to skate in the free skate in a few hours from now...the panel ruling it would be unfair to her, be potentially harmful to her long term well-being...in full review there are actually no winners in this, as it's unfair to all athletes who wonder what they'll be up against in the long term themselves...." Which inevitably brings us to who is watching over those who are supposedly calling "Foul!" As in those who have earned their stripes...

Enter the Zebras! Referees, umpires, panels of review, call them whatever you want (well, within reason, unless you want to get red-carded in futbol or given a "game misconduct" in ice hockey). But a whole other team of individuals who group together to bring a spirit of "Fair Play!" onto the field, sometimes getting onto the pitch before the actual players. Many times accused by players and fans alike as controlling the outcomes of the game more than the athletes. And, while "earning one's stripes" has the connotation of getting ahead through hard work and skill, the story behind a ref's stripes is one of a 'mis-identity', one in which a referee dressed in a fashion and color resembling one of the teams on the field that day, was mistaken for "one of us" and handed the football, at which time they were summarily gang tackled, after which they not only called out in very un-referee like language, after which he came upon some sartorial splendor, (vertical) stripes! Yet another invention, against the current convention, that came out of necessity...more like survival, in his case. And, while often the target of disdain by many fans and players alike, a few underperforming athletes are thankful they have someone else to point to, after the game, until the noise subsides. Finally, back to the question of who is watching those who watch the players, to sustain fair play, when they themselves run afoul...here comes an invention that has come to represent one of the biggest oxymorons in the history of sports...

Instant Replay: "Instant?! Come on, I can even see it from here, what's taking you so long, you MORON?!"

Unfairness! It's what's trending, on and off the field of play.