Cell Phone Throwing Contest: Art of Anger?

This morning I came across an article describing the Finnish World Championships of Mobile Phone Throwing, held Saturday in Savonlinna…

The freestyle winner was nineteen-year old Taco Cohen, who credits a unique blend of juggling and artistry for his gold medal win.

Somehow or other, I missed this sport and its highlights on ESPN’s SportsCenter this weekend — I’ll be looking forward to seeing if a video of the cell phone throwing contest (and the winning throw) surfaces on YouTube this week.

For what better sport in this post-modern age than one which exemplifies our love-hate relationship with technology, so often both a savior and a bedeviler in our daily lives? Cohen’s winning performance won over judges with its sheer aestheticism and “artistic impression”. I wonder…was it set to music? Perhaps to Billy Joel’s 80’s rock song, ‘Pressure’?

Cell phones and all the madness that can accompany — dropped calls, dying batteries, missed messages, text spam, sky-high bills — are an unavoidable evil in an age where no one should be “offline” for a mere matter of moments lest so much be lost… least of all our sanity.

I’m glad that Cohen won freestyle for his circus-y spirit rather than for sheer distance hurling; isn’t it easier to be blunt and crude and angry than suave and ironically sneering at the “can’t live with it, can’t kill” it curse of our wireless world?

This year’s distance event winner hurls cell phone 294 feet, just short of a record.

Kudos to all cell-phone tossing champions around the globe and we’ll keep a sharper eye out next year for the event!