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What
do you think of money in the sport? Is it good or bad?
A lot of people in the sport have different motivations for flying pigeons.
I’ve heard people criticize how much money is coming into the sport and
how costly everything is. This is not necessarily bad.
Generally, anything that people consider expensive, they also consider
valuable. It’s not a bad thing for a pigeon to be valued at $20,000. It
makes people outside the sport take notice. It may make people realize
that there’s more to these pigeons than the average person thinks. Money
can attract respect, and our sport needs this.
Regarding the one-loft races and gambling, I agree that they sometimes
make people show their worst side. But all in all, they’re good. Certainly,
no one would complain about a racehorse being worth $1million. What is
wrong with a racing pigeon being worth $100,000? It does evoke respect.
There is something very basic in our nature that makes us love gambling.
It is being proven around the country and the world that many people love
to gamble. I believe that a lot of people wouldn’t participate in our
sport if they didn’t have the opportunity to gamble on the races. You
have to respect their motivation for being in the racing pigeon game,
because the fanciers who enjoy the gambling aspect add significantly to
our numbers and to the value of our birds.
My opinion of the money in the sport is that it doesn’t do any harm and,
in the long run, it may do our sport a lot of good. Generally, the more
that something is worth, the prouder people are to own it, because of
its perceived value. People need to be prouder of their birds. If anything
is wrong in the sport, it may be that people aren’t proud enough of it.
As far as hobbies go, people find the money to do what they truly want
to do. Racing pigeons is no more expensive than golfing or fishing or
hunting. With golf go expensive clubs, shoes and other equipment, along
with costly club membership dues and green fees. People have also been
known to bet on a golf game! Fishing as a hobby entails owning and maintaining
a boat, high-quality rods and reels, and paying for fuel, licenses, and
bait. Hunters who are serious about their hobby pay each year into leases,
own expensive guns, expensive dogs, and specialized clothing. They pay
transportation costs to get to their leases, and each year buy licenses
and ammunition.
We should hope that our birds become more and more valuable and that our
sport continues to grow. It’s smart to introduce younger people into the
sport. When they’re ready to settle down, they may want to participate.
If you just look at the numbers, you’ll realize that our sport is for
people who are settled, older, and retired. Most people come into the
sport for a few years as a youngster and then come back to it after finishing
school and establishing a family. So the issue of our sport being too
expensive really isn’t an issue, because those who are participating in
it are financially most able to. |
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