Good Games and Penalty Shoot-outs

Ryall, Emily S ORCID: 0000-0002-6050-4353 (2015) Good Games and Penalty Shoot-outs. Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 9 (2). pp. 205-213. doi:10.1080/17511321.2015.1020854

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Abstract

This paper considers the concept of a good game in terms of its relation to the fair testing of relevant skills and their aesthetic values. As such, it will consider what makes football ‘the beautiful game’ and what part penalty shoot-outs play, or should play, within it. It begins by outlining and refuting Kretchmar’s proposal that games which end following the elapsing of a set amount of time (t-games), such as football, are structurally, morally and aesthetically inferior to games which end following the attainment of a designated goal (e-games). Instead, it is suggested that the structural deficits of t-games are compensated by the fact that they allow for a fuller test of more valuable open skills than the closed skills that tend to define e-games, such as golf. Moreover, it is the rationing of time in t-games that provides an added aesthetic value that does not occur in e-games. Finally, it is concluded that although it may appear that the existence of the penalty shoot-out supports Kretchmar’s argument by changing football to an e-game, penalty shoot-outs have limited aesthetic value because they are not a full test of the skills inherent to the game itself, and therefore should be replaced by alternative means in determining the outcome.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Sport, Ethics and Philosophy on 1 April 2015, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/17511321.2015.1020854
Uncontrolled Keywords:	aesthetic, skill, Kretchmar, football, penalty shoot-outs
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV557 Sports > GV861 Ball games: Baseball, football, golf, etc.
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Education and Science
Research Priority Areas:	Health, Life Sciences, Sport and Wellbeing
Depositing User:	Emily Ryall
Date Deposited:	13 Apr 2015 08:38
Last Modified:	31 Aug 2023 09:09
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/2093

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