Of Men And Fish

A scandal was revealed recently when it was found that there was wide scale cheating in a salt water fishing contest where contestants were found using objects, and even smaller fish, to increase their weight totals, by stuffing them inside their catches. This follows numerous incidents of frozen fish and fish full of lead weights being submitted in fresh water Bass fishing contests. Money and notoriety are involved in these contests, but Boone and Crockett, the sports hunting records body, states cheating is rampant. Some of this has to do with the devaluing of “fair play” in favor of winning at all costs, but speaks most strongly to the age old men’s question, “whose is bigger?”
Men compete with each other obsessively. Money, power and social dominance are the main prize. At the most basic level, they want to be the alpha male; the biggest one, with the main prize being the respect of other men and, hopefully, the interest of women. A trip to the gym will find it full of men mindlessly building muscle, often at the expense of health, to look the part. For some men, foregoing self repect is worth the one moment of triumph where the other men look up to you. Even if it’s just to be the guy with the biggest fish!
Men whose self esteem is intact are far less likely to cheat, but, make no mistake, they all want to win. Being the best hunter or fisherman is equated to having the best basic survival skills and draws respect. Constant media limelite makes winning more desierable, and public. “Bragging rights” feel oh, so good. As long as there is a contest, there will be a guy bringing an exaggerated, weighted fish!