What is it about writing contests that draws me in like a magnet?

Every time I don’t do as well as I expect to, I swear I am never, ever entering another writing contest.

Then the next one comes along…

What really amuses me is the format in which these contests are run. They want fiction from the best and brightest minds, but only specific fiction. As if writing for enjoyment isn’t real and everything has to have a deeper meaning of some kind.

Why?

What is wrong with getting lost in a good book? using the words of another talented writer to escape the reality of everyday life, if only for a little while?

I say nothing…what say you?