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GOOD SPORT
I’m not really sure when sports as we know them actually came in being. My guess is that early sports were based on exhibiting and honing everyday skills and abilities. (We are talking back when Javelin throwing was a team sport.. “one guy threw, and the other caught”).If we look back as far as the early Greek Olympics, competitors challenged each other in foot racing, wrestling, and chariot racing.
Some early sports had their origin in necessity, like the marathon. It is widely believed that in 490 B.C. amidst a great battle between the Persians and the Athenians at a coastal town called Marathon, (hence the name)a runner was dispatched and ran the 42 kilometer distance (without the aid of Nike sneakers or Gatorade) nonstop back to Athens to warn his fellow countrymen of a impending attack. He reportedly died after arriving (now that’s commitment)
Somewhere along the line sports became more sophisticated and commercialized. Competitions between competitors became less about the challenge and more about entertainment, as these contests evolved into spectator sports. Games were devised that had little in common with everyday skills, but perhaps they had some common heritage. Rules and time limits were imposed as well as short breaks in the action. (Mostly to play beer commercials.)
In the early days organized sports represented a physical activity that people played and participated in. At some point most sports have morphed into more of a passive spectator game and a T.V. bonanza. In short, many watch and few play. We have built huge stadiums, racetracks, and arenas, to accommodate the ever growing population of sports enthusiasts and fans.
Let’s face it, professional sports today is a business, a big business. Professional sports franchise are worth millions and even hundreds of millions of dollars. Sports now fill the roll between entertainment and fantasy and allows the average fan to live vicariously thru their favorite teams and players. Many avid fans will spend the whole weekend in front of the T.V., just so that they will have fodder to talk about at work on Monday morning. Some are literally exhausted from taking in all the action, even though they have not expended a single calorie. They can recount in great detail, every game and event from the weekend along with statistics, scores, and color commentary.
Promoters and team owners profit handsomely by charging exorbitant ticket prices that fans willingly pay, just to watch their favorite teams and sports heroes play. There are season tickets, box seats, club row seating and luxury boxes. Ticket sales, television, and pay for view rights add up to mega bucks for smart team owners. Sales of clothing and licensed items are icing on the cake.
Individual players are also in the position of trading their talents for big pay days. Very few players are on the roster for the love of the game. Today the players make their decisions with the aid of unions, accountants, and managers. Endorsement contracts, personal appearance, television commercials, and book deals can not only supplement their pay but propel their earnings into the tens of millions. Make no mistake about it, sports are big business.
It’s now the norm for top pro players in most sports take home multi-million dollar salaries. Players can quickly achieve celebrity status and are sought out to do commercials, talk shows, endorsements, and guest appearances. These guys live like rock stars on steak and caviar while their fans live on hot dogs and hamburger helper.
Today, sports fever is running as high as ever. There are televised games and matches, talk shows about sports, and constant news highlights and screen crawlers reminding us of sports scores. There are even channels that play 24 hour sports. Fans and sports enthusiast are fanatical about support for their teams and many stay up late at night soaking in every statistic and game score.
The sport aficionado of today is increasingly removed from the playing field. He is more likely to be found in a lazy boy or sofa than on the field. Cold beer and chicken wing in hand, they will spend the entire weekend watching someone else play a sport.
Sports seem to be the common denominator of people all over the world. In the United States its football, baseball, and MMA. In Europe and South America its soccer (football), and in Alpine countries it’s skiing and bobsledding.
Every four years athletes from around the world gather together to compete in the biggest non professional event in the world, the Olympics. The Olympics have been around a long time, probably starting in 776 B.C. (and that’s not British Columbia) in Olympia Greece. One purpose of the games was to bring together athletes from different areas. They were granted safe passage even in times of war.
Originally foot racing and then pankration (an early form of MMA) were the main sports. Back then the athletes displayed their prowess for a fraction of the compensation that modern sports stars receive, with the winners getting laurel wreaths, and palm branches. There were no fancy uniforms, fat endorsement contracts, or work out gear from sponsors; in fact they usually participated naked. (I’m kind’a glad we let that tradition die out) Today players compete for the gold in everything from Gymnastics to Judo, and hungry sports enthusiast soak up every minute of the Olympic broadcast.
Today, most sports have lost their early association with daily activities and survival skills. (except for Nascar, which we Italians consider as practice in honing our skills in driving “get a way cars”) Also, the spectrum of activity that falls under the genre of sports has broadened. Many games and activities that I would be hard pressed to define as a sport are now packaged and sold to the public as “sports”. I would tend to refer to some of these activities as pastimes, hobbies, or even social events, but not as a sport. I have to question the level of fitness, training, or physical dexterity it takes to engage in some of these sports. (I don’t want to pick on bowling, but what other sport can you play while consuming beer and onion rings between turns)
To be honest, I’m not sure how anyone can spend hours watching these boring events in person, much less on television. For me they have all the visual appeal and excitement of watching paint dry.
P.I.B.
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