They Shoot Horses Don’t They

A sport executive’s vision of the future of sport

A Micro-Story by Alex Traczyk

Half way through a championship game an injured player is lying on his back on the pitch grimacing … in agony … holding his abdomen as if he had been shot.

Players from both teams are standing about, watching anxiously looking like lost sheep … as a respectful but impatient crowd in the tens of thousands looks on.

After the doctor examines the fallen player, he shakes his head and tells those attending the player that the situation is hopeless.

So he takes out a syringe out of his black bag and plunges the needle into the player’s arm. After thirty seconds the player’s body goes limp and he is out cold.

Once the doctor confirms that the body is motionless, a crew wearing black come running onto the field carrying shovels and pick axes.

The crew digs a deep hole in the ground next to our fallen hero … wrap him in a white sheet, then gently lay him in the hole and cover it with dirt.

After a moment of silence, the restless crowd bursts into the customary respectful applause.

But when the referee raises his arm and blows the whistle to resume the game, the crowd bursts into even a greater applause verging on the unruly.