Best grades do not get you the girl

IT IS NOT a practice that is very popular in this industry, but it is not unusual for one columnist to write in reply to or even disagreement with another.

And for those who are ferociously calling for the control of the media, this practice - of columnists not using their space to disagree - is not motivated by some conspiracy of ganging up against some unknown enemy.

Though there are no rules - written or otherwise - I suspect one of the reasons we do not do this is because we respect freedom of expression. We would rather leave it to the readers to agree or disagree with a columnist, than keeping the debate in-house.

But I have to break with the tradition, fully aware that I am not a trailblazer. It has been done before.

Disagreeing with Sy Lerman is not an easy thing. He is what one would rightfully call an elder statesman in this trade. I suspect that Sy was a journalist long before I finished my potty training.

I, however, take comfort in knowing that as a true newsman, Sy would not expect his views to go unchallenged, not least by other writers. On the contrary, I would expect him to want any kind of engagement with what he writes, even if the challenge came from a fellow columnist.

In his column on Wednesday in this very same newspaper (Charity Cup should include PSL champs) the venerable and legendary Sy holds the view that SuperSport United should have had automatic entry into the Telkom Charity Cup.

On the basis that they are the reigning and three-time back-to-back PSL champions, Sy avers that United have earned the right to be included in this pre-season four-team competition, recently won by Kaizer Chiefs for the umpteenth time.

I say this with all the respect I have: Sy is way off the mark. The Charity Cup is firstly about raising money for needy causes and secondly about football.

To this effect, it is a bonus if the "best" teams get to play. What is critical is raising as much money for charity as possible.

This year the all-day jamboree raised a staggering R40million for charity, all without the participation of United, with all their league glory.

I remember years in which the Cup went ahead and raised good money when even Orlando Pirates did not qualify.

Personally I hold no brief for United and all these other clubs, including Bidvest Wits (which Sy also mentions in his column), that after all their years in top-flight football have not produced marketing strategies to create a respectable following. This includes Mamelodi Sundowns.

I am one of those who believe that the voting system to choose the four participating teams is not perfect, but until someone comes along with a system that will be better, while not short-changing charity, we must all live with it.

Actually, I agree with Sy that there are teams that should get automatic qualification, and these are Pirates, Chiefs and Bloemfontein Celtic. Between these three, charity will benefit regardless of who becomes the fourth entrant.

If my wish were to be followed, maybe a case can be made for the inclusion of the league champions as the fourth participant. In the event Pirates, Chiefs and Celtic are the top three, then number four would join them for the Charity Cup.

The argument advanced by Sy is tantamount to someone arguing that a boy who gets the best grades in class should have the best girls, in spite of his hopeless tactics to chat up and impress the lasses.

Absurd!