Beg mercy to the mercy rule

Mercy is defined as compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm. Mercy is something we all crave in desperate times. The mercy rule, a rule in many sports games, implies that if one team is leading by an insurmountable score, the game must end before the designated endpoint. This rule is designed to prevent the ongoing impossibility for the losing team to win. Acting as a sort of “band-aid” for one teams dignity, the mercy rule does not reflect too well on the true meaning of sports and competition. The dilemma is, does the mercy rule belong in sports, or is it just a tactic to spare one's feelings, a concept not well aquipt when it comes to proving your abilities at whatever cost.  It is never a pleasure to watch your favorite team get completely dominated by an opponent. An abundance of tears, physical pain and an overall upsetting mood floods your body. But what about when your team is winning? Streams of adrenaline, joy and relief race through our blood. So who can say whether it is fair to end the game early when one team is proving to be highly skilled compared to the other? Mercy may come in your favor one day and fool you the next. So which one is it? Through careful consideration, I believe it is safe to say that the concept of sports does not go hand in hand with throwing a pity party for the losing team. Compete; strive to gain or win something by defeating or establishing superiority over others who are trying to do the same. Competition is a key concept in most every sport including basketball, soccer, football, tennis, hockey, lacrosse. Sports games are set up to prove one's excellence against another's, a concept set in place since the genesis of the world's first game. So where, in between all the sweat and exhaustion, did one decide that there was a limit to which you could be the greatest? You could argue that it is a moral code designed to protect the dignity of the lesser teams, but when you step onto the court or the field or wherever you have arrived to fight your fight, you are running the risk of being defeated in any fashion by the other team. This is a bitter truth, but one we’ve all faced at one point or another. In real life, there is no concrete mercy rule. There is no get out of jail free card when faced with a situation that may upset you or in which you simply haven’t amounted to the same as your opponent. Bluntly put, mercy is not at your aid whenever you see fit so, mercy has no place in sports games.  The debate between the morality of the mercy rule lies in a teams dignity. As a sports fan, would you prefer the team who's dignity must be shielded by the blow of a whistle, or would you prefer to be cheering for the team that lays it all out on the court whatever the mat brings?