A tall thin man with a goatee beard
Sort of resembling a Manchurian lord
Several centuries too late for this moment
Wouldn’t have been out of place with a robe

Had earlier been laughing with tears streaming down
Probably omitting some strange tribal sounds
Variety of people all doing the same
All of us attempting to make sense of the game

We had castles with jesters performing their acts
Fire eating acrobats advancing to attack
Jousters and jugglers and sword swallowing men
Swinging the pendulum of time again and again

Like a gathering of clans people arrived
From all corners of the world to buy tickets they tried
Just to be there to register their vote
To finally see that performance of note

Just down the road decisions abound
To collect all those votes without uttering a sound
To award the performance that ends with a winner
But will that decision allow an enjoyment of dinner

Will it all change in the years ahead
Depending on the direction of the road we take
Will they still come and enjoy the game
Or will fringe benefits never be the same