Smiling Men With Bad Reputations

I don't know what it takes 
to like sport as entertainment,
any more than I know
how to enjoy being competitive.

No sporting activity
I was ever enrolled to lose in
ever involved mentoring.

I have no idea how it feels
to feel supported as you compete,
and regardless of the result,
simply 'keep in the game'.

I see sports speculation and news
as public relations exercises,
where a win by a given side
props up the status quo,
a loss represents instability,
possible insecurity and change;
whatever happens the speculators
continue with their speculations. 

From the 1936 Olympics onward,
states with democratic deficits
have enjoyed staging public sports events;
they are cheap way of improving
their reputations whilst avoiding
doing anything to address
why they got the bad rep in the first place.