One hand washeth another, both the face. [Lat. , Una mano lava l'altra, ed ambedue lavano il volto. ]
I like night fishing, even though there is a molecule of terror in it. Maybe it is that tiny bit of terror that I relish, that going mano a mano with another predator in the dark. I know it is not entirely civilized, but there is nothing to compare with the sizzle of fear except, perhaps, the rush of being feared. Either condition confirms you are alive.
I submit that tennis is the most beautiful sport there is, and also the most demanding. . . . Basketball comes close, but it's a team sport and lacks tennis's primal mano a mano intensity. Boxing might come close- at least at the lighter weight divisions- but the actual physical damage the fighters inflict on each other makes it too concretely brutal to be really beautiful- a level of abstraction and formality (i. e. , play) is necessary for a sport to possess true metaphysical beauty (in my opinion).