Incentive to win

[TanakaY@aol.com]

Thanks for the good discussion on this topic.  One realization I've come to
is: with Taka and Waka, since they are blood brothers, it doesn't matter what
heya they are in.  If a situation arose (like what we've been talking about)
there may be no way to make them fight at 100%.  Dignity and pride might be
the only way.  So, we must treat Taka-Waka separately from same-heya matches.
 Nami-Taka may not be as big a problem.

Also, I understand that every victory means some $$, but my real point is
that "if with today's reward system, same-heya matches are not recommended",
then instead of making excuses, I say, let's try to find a system that does
reward the rikishi more for winning any match.  I mean for these guys 100,000
or even 300,000 yen don't mean much.  So, how about:  Victory against guys
who makekoshi are worth 0.  Victory (on any day) against eventual champion is
worth 1,000,000.  Victory on 15th day that knocks leader into a tomoe-sen is
worth 2,000,000.  Victory on 15th day over a co-leader is worth 1,500,000.
 Victory on days 10 through 14 over a sole leader is 1,500,000.  Victory on
days 10 through 14 over a co-leader is 1,000,000.  Now, do you think these
guys wouldn't bust their butts?  Taka-Waka may still be a problem, granted,
but we've conceded that not much can be done about blood brothers.  My point
is the houshoukin system/rule is not good enough (even if every victory is
being rewarded today), so find a better system/rule.  Even with baseball,
Nomura-kantoku of Yakult says Japanese baseball system is nama-nurui (too
easy).  In the US, the difference between majors and minors is so drastic,
that players are shinimonogurui (dog-eat-dog) to make the majors.  In Japan,
2-gun (minors) get decent treatment, and 1-gun (majors) aren't treated like
the US majors.  So, going down to the farm is no big deal.  If sumo rikishi
make good base salary, and every victory only increases his salary by 5% it
ain't a big deal.  But, if victory in important matches could double his
salary (or triple), you can bet they'll try.  Let's get some killer instinct
into these guys.

We've been mainly focusing about the Futa-beya, but another good potential
match that we may never see is:  Musashi vs. Musoyama.  That could be an
awesome match in the coming years.