People often say "friendship first, competition second," but that's rarely how things actually play out.
Otherwise, various competitions wouldn't be plagued by endless chaos like rampant drug use, targeted rule changes, corrupt associations, and biased referees.
The supporters of competing teams are also rife with conflict. Online taunts and flame wars are the mild stuff; it often escalates to real-life confrontations.
The temptation of victory is simply too great.
So, since it's impossible for everyone to just get along, it's better to crank the competitive tension up to the max.
As everyone knows, competitions based on countries and races may not necessarily have a higher level of skill than those based on individuals or clubs, but they are definitely more intense.
What Zog was thinking about now was how to elevate the stakes of this world virtual sports tournament.
