Sports have always been a big part of human life. Through sports we better understand cultural and human values, appreciate the human body, and strive for excellence. Sports are a great learning experience for children, and sports medals and custom ribbons can boost a child’s self confidence immensely.
The ancient Greeks were not the first people to appreciate sport, but are perhaps among the most famous. It was they who so admired the human form that they formed the same Olympics that are still around 2000 years later. The brutal blood sports the Romans indulged in reflect the values of a culture steeped in violence and born of conquest. Some Native American tribes valued competitions testing the speed and accuracy with which they could use their weapons, as many aspects of their hunter gatherer culture depended upon this.
In our culture today we see the commercialization of sports in all levels. What has been a pastime in other cultures has become a lifelong occupation for some in our culture. Better pay and winning are people’s only concern. What will people 1000 years from now think when they look back at our sports and the way we play them? Perhaps they will see the ferocious fans vicariously involved in sport. Perhaps they will see human beings sold like hunks of meat to run into one another and catch a ball for outrageous sums of money to giant sports franchises. What will they think of steroids?
With so much emphasis within today’s society on winning in sports and across the board, the poor conduct of so many of the people involved in sports is not surprising. What children ought to learn from sports is the value of competition and how to endeavor towards excellence. They should try to be the best they can be, competing against themselves instead of others. We should shift the focus from dominating others to improving oneself.
The benefits of sport are numerous and highly researched. From inclusion and the elimination of racism to increasing graduation rates,athletics can be a crucial part of a person’s life and a beneficial one. Research has shown that high school students involved in sports earned higher grades, got into trouble less often, were less likely to drop out, had higher GPA’s, and were more likely to graduate than students who did not participate in sports. People must retain positive attitudes though. Trying to win instead of develop the individual can make kids feel unwanted, unworthy, and unacceptable, one expert argues. It should not teach children that they are failures, but teach them to handle failure, not to accept it, and to continue always to better themselves. If we continue the way we are going in sport, we will be training a generation of sore losers and cocky winners. We need to teach children the value of competition against oneself, in order that we can have generations of encouraging children who are always seeking to better themselves.