"The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices make instruments to plague us." (Lear)

.....The Super Bowl game was more exciting than could be expected. The Saints were heavy underdogs, but they found the way to win. It certainly won't be the last time an underdog will win. And how do they do it? Grit; plain grit. I coached high school varsity soccer and track and field for thirty years and I could tell when my team would win, though they were expected to lose. I could see the boys' demeanor and camaraderie in the locker room. I could see in their eyes a determination, in the clench of their jaws a preparation, not for a soccer game, but for a battle.This was a moment that would define the extent of their skills. They may not have won every time I experienced this locker room spirit but their opponents found themselves in a thunderous struggle. The New Orlean Saints came marching in! And no doubt there were many drunks on Bourbon Street long into the night. Don't you just love it!!

.....Now, away from the mundane and into the controversial. A friend of mine claimed that the better team lost, and that it was an injustice. Long ago--2000+ years as a matter of fact, philosophers like Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato contemplated the meaning of "justice" and it's an interesting philosophic discussion even today. Perhaps the Colt's loss was truly "unjustified" and the Saints ought to give up the trophy. Traditionally, the Greeks' perception of justice was a certain set of acts that must be followed. The reason for being just was that Zeus rewarded those that were good and punished those that were bad. But in late fifth century Athens, this conception of divine reward and retribution had lost credibility. No one believed that this occurred. Why? People could see that many unjust men flourished, and many of the just were left behind, and the concept of "justice" became a matter of great controversy. The educators of the time, the tutors of the wealthy, regarded law and morality as "conventions". A few declared that we ought to be unjust when being unjust is to our advantage. (Why not? Makes sense.)

.....Of the norms and mores that we consider just, the claim was that these are simply conventions that hamper those that adhere to them and benefit those who flout them. Those who behave unjustly naturally gain power and become rulers; weak and stupid people who behave in accordance with justice fall by the wayside. These mores and norms of justice it was said, are conventions put in place by rulers (read politicians) to promote their own interests and to keep their subjects in a state of oppression. (Why not? Makes sense.)

.....So, according to the foregoing interpretation of the concept of "justice", the interception near the game's end by a Saint player was completely unjust behavior by a stronger team, and the Colt's were surely oppressed. Our society's view of justice demands that the Colt's be declared champions of the world--but it won't be done. Stronger forces were on the loose! Understand, that's why it happens the winning team is called "The Saints".