Competition is often a good thing

Competition can be a good thing.

Mark White is Editor of The News Journal.

Take the Corbin Police Department vs. Corbin Fire Department chili cook-off that was held Thursday evening. Granted not what you were expecting me to say about competition, but it was a pretty good one from what I understand with the Corbin Police Department coming out on top. I would imagine that there will be a rematch down the road.

One of the best things about this competition was that it raised about $2,500 for restoration work on the Carnegie Center of Corbin.

During a previous basketball game, the Corbin Fire Department beat the Corbin Police Department in a charitable match-up that raised money for Shop with a Cop.

Particularly in the pandemic era, it can be difficult raising money for charities and non-profit entities.

By using a little friendly competition, people found ways to raise some funds for much needed causes.

With the competitions tied one to one, I can’t wait to see what the third competition organizers are going to come up with next for the police and fire departments and what cause the event will raise money for.

While on the topic of competition, I have found myself watching the Winter Olympics recently more than I would have anticipated.

One event that I have mocked many times over the years is curling, but I have surprisingly found myself interested in watching it this year. There is a lot more strategy to this sport than I would have imagined. For those that don’t know, the teams slide what are called “stones” on the ice and teammates use “brushes” to cause the “stones” to speed up or slow down or curve somewhat in a particular direction. There is quite a bit of strategy in terms of where to place the stones.

The other event that I found myself watching pretty closely was snowboardcross, which is kind of like a combination motocross and snowboarding. Instead of traveling on motorcycles bicycles, the athletes are riding snowboards racing around a course.

I watched a mixed team competition the other night where the United States’ Nick Baumgartner, 40, and Lindsey Jacobellis, 36, won gold medals. It just goes to show that you shouldn’t count the old folks out. (In terms of competitive sports, 36 and 40 years old are definitely old.)

Now for a few other thoughts before I conclude this column.

• My friend, Shawn Jackson, made an interesting observation on Facebook Sunday night that Corbin had not one, but two connections to this year’s Super Bowl. The first was that Corbin native Trent Taylor was playing in the Super Bowl for the Cincinnati Bengals.

The second observation was that is the first time that the star of the Super Bowl halftime show was coming to Corbin soon afterwards. Snoop Dogg will play a show at The Corbin Arena on May 7. While I am not a huge Snoop Dogg fan, I do enjoy some of his music.

In regards to the Super Bowl, I felt sorry for Bengals fans, whose team hadn’t been to the Super Bowl since 1989. I suspect this may be the first of multiple trips to the Super Bowl though for Bengals quarterback Joe Burrows, who has only played two years in the league.

I was happy for Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who spent 12 years playing for the woeful Detroit Lions before finally being traded to a winner this past season.

• This year’s 50^th District Tournament will start Monday night at Corbin High School. Sports Editor Dean Manning will have a preview in this week’ paper about the match-ups between Corbin, Williamsburg, Whitley County and South Laurel teams. Be sure to check it out.