Sports. Adrenaline flows through your veins, you jump
out of your seat, and you cheer, as your joy and disappointment are tied to the
actions of the players on the field.
Whatever sport you prefer, the reactions are often the same; you can’t
stop smiling when your team wins and you hope no one notices as you quietly cry
in to your beer when they lose.
(Guess
which I was doing here...)
We
often dismiss sports as nothing more than entertainment, relegated to the cause
of distracting us from our day to day lives.
We gather to watch men and women perform amazing feats of athleticism
and engage in heated competition. They
give us an opportunity to live vicariously through those athletes and to be a
part of something bigger than ourselves.
This
may already be a bit deeper look than most people take at sports, but let’s take
it farther. Competition divides people,
it pits friends against each other, it makes rivals out of cities and states, and
it even gets to the point of countries facing off as opponents in a (hopefully)
bloodless struggle. However, despite
this divisive nature that is inherent in the world of competitive sports, they
somehow manage to bring us together.
Sports
unite us. Even when they put us against
each other, we are united in competition.
Sports are an all-inclusive entertainment. This isn’t to say that other forms of
amusement are exclusive; books, movies, etc. can certainly be enjoyed by just
about anyone. The difference is that
sports fandom is a communal experience, to be shared with others, including
anyone willing to cheer with you for your favorite team or player.
Maybe that’s
the thing that makes sports so great, its ability to bring everyone to a level
playing field. Many children find something
in common with their parents in sports before finding it anywhere else. It brings together families and communities
in small ways that are rarely brought about by any other means. Even though the connections of a shared
fandom may be small and seem unimportant at first glance, they provide the
chance to grow in to something more. They
can shift from a metaphorical field of battle to a common ground.
Even
more poignant are the chances for those who would typically be alienated by the
rest of society for some reason or another instead being given a chance to be a
part of something greater via sports.
The potential for inclusion is inherent in many of the sports we love,
even for people that don’t actually play on the field.
(Joe Haden and his role model, Jacob)
Will there be scenarios where that
inclusion is forsaken and people are driven away for some reason or
another? Absolutely, sadly that’s a part
of human nature. Still, there seems to
be something about the simplicity of physical exertion that does away with many
of the complexities that exist in our society, and give the opportunity for
those that have trouble belonging, to find a home.
One step further down this road of
inclusive nature takes us to the possibility of competition to provide everyone
with a chance to reach for something that isn’t found in day to day life,
glory. Some of these competitions may
not technically classify as sports, but they certainly provide a similar
setting for the competitors, a setting in which they can be recognized as
something more than another face in the crowd.
(The story of Owen and Haatchi, who each found a place to
belong)
Recognition can go a long way in
changing someone’s life, and one person can go a long way toward changing the
world. I’m not saying that sports are a
cure-all for our society’s problems, but they may provide us the grounds on
which to begin to span the breaks that separate us.
Therefore I ask that if you are
someone who typically dismisses sports and competition as something that is
beneath you, or not worth your time, take another look. Think of the connections that these events
give us the opportunity to build. After
all, it’s impossible to find common ground without any ground on which to
stand.
Sports give us hope, they inspire, and they give
us an escape from whatever may be troubling us in our lives. However, they also give us a bridgeable first
gap in our effort to come together as a species. And they provide those among us with
something to say, a platform from which to say it.
(The story of Brian Banks, and his desire to change the
world in which he lives)
(Cleveland Browns receiver, Andrew Hawkins’ views on police
brutality and the meaning of protest)
Happy Superbowl Sunday everyone! Go Packers!!! Oh..... nevermind.
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