Oh, east is probably east,
And west presumably west,
But the distance existing between them
Is less than between first and next-best

Number one is all and forever,
Runners-up no better than the last,
Despite a hair-breadth of victory,
All losers belong to the past

To cheat to get to the top
Is so common it's now regular fare,
Bad only if it's detected,
Otherwise accepted without care

Stealing signals is nearly passe',
Electronic means now intrude
The most private of plans for a game,
As expected, not even called rude

All this could easily be defeated
By empty seats and darkened TV,
But without such mind-dulling shields
We'd have to look around us, even SEE

And worse yet, perhaps THINK