Signs of early sports suggest that these activities started in China as far back as in 2,000 BC. That is of course a very long time ago and fully explains why some Chinese athletes are understandably really exhausted – wouldn’t you be?
Plato, old dude from Greece, was also known as a wrestler besides that philosopher side-business of his. But philosophy and sports didn’t hit it off as a pair, compared to how philosophy and arts, academics and education teamed up. Those bearded Greeks somewhat ignorantly scuffed at sports by naming it a non-serious activity – just shows you how little they really knew; brains overrated - wouldn’t you say?
But what happened next? Sports actually ended up becoming a dominant part of Ancient Greek culture, when it finally hooked up with the military establishment. This new interest in exercise and competition also became the beginning of the Olympic Games, a celebration to take place every four years; “yes”, it all started in the small village named Olympia (for date-seekers: 776 BC); not to be confused with Olympia in the state of Washington.
A fascinating fact is that the participants in the first Olympics were competing in the nude – true story, and I have a brown paper bag full of photos to prove it. I would not mind if that was somewhat brought back in time for the 2012 London Olympic Games in certain events (snicker snicker); not in wrestling, of course. Having two men roll around on a mat in all their nakedness would be a bit weird and perhaps uncomfortable to watch; don’t you think?
The key concepts in sports are competition, game and play. “Sports” derive from the old French “desports” meaning “leisure”, and for most of us, sports are leisure activities. I mean we watch lots of sports on TV, at our leisure, don’t we? But in my vast research on this subject, I never found the concept “fun” mentioned, and to me that is what sports should more so be about – as in: are we having fun yet?
Through my life I had the privilege being involved with soccer. I played the game from I was 4 or 5 and then I evolved into coaching the game. I have coached about 800 kids from 7 to 19 year old, girls and boys, men and women. The constant essential for me was to underline the reasons we participated. Besides physical and mental health, exercising sportsmanship and fair competition, my main thing was always to HAVE FUN. The harder we practiced, the more we learned, the better we played and the more fun we had – as simple as that. When we watch sports today, the leisure kind, amateur or professional, rarely do we get the feeling they have fun playing and that’s a very sad observation.
When watching kids play sports, I mean kids who just wanna have fun, they are for the most part being pushed by coaches and parents alike to perform beyond their abilities and beyond the adults’ absurd expectations; and where’s the fun in that? You hardly ever see a kid on the field smiling or laughing.
We must remember that for the kids it is (still) only a game, but we (the so-called adult role models) keep forgetting that, because winning seems to be the only goal. So what this (adult) attitude creates is that so many kids quickly lose interest in something that is so important in their future and essential for the quality of their lives; exercise, sports and health. Too many pushy parents and eager coaches turn the kids off early on– and isn’t that a pity?
We humans have a need to compete and we do it constantly. Competition is all around us every single day. Not only is it a basic drive in us, but we are relentlessly being taught and told to do even better, do more, do it faster and so forth, not just in sports, but in school, in the work-place and in between. So sports should be a positive influence, not only for the kids, but everybody; shouldn’t it? And what happened to team-sports, by the way?
In the USA, professional sports run annual revenues at over $30 billion. Players are being paid astronomical salaries (a local baseball pitcher just signed a 2 year contract for $46 million). Professional sports are only for entertainment, because competition is diverted by the individual player’s income and controlled by the cash flowing in and out. So-called team-sports become groups of highly paid individuals (and their huge egos) instead of solid team efforts aiming at the same goal: perform their best as a team, supporting each other in wins and losses as a team; and how about having some fun in the process? Team spirit unfortunately died many years ago, and what a shame that is; don’t you think?
The only sports-team I have followed my whole life is Manchester United (that would be soccer/football). But I have never considered myself a fan of ManU (fan, the abbreviation of fanatical), because I am not fanatical about anything at all, really. If you have to place me in a “fan” category, I am more so your fair-weather-fan, which means that as long as the team wins, I fan – team loses, I don’t fan so much. But I will pick up fanning as soon as the team starts winning again - yes, even what ManU is concerned. You see, to me professional sports are only bits of entertainment, so I exercise my right to turn it on and off whenever I please.
Sportsmanship has always been high on my list, and can easily be applied to so many other levels in life, not just in sports. Fair play, courtesy, ethical behavior, integrity, utmost respect for the game and the people playing, as well as being graceful in victories as in defeats. Those are simple guidelines that our kids would pick up if they were coached the right way and guided accordingly by their parents; what a great opportunity we are missing out on, as all this could be such great stuff all the way through life.
We have been surrounded by sports and its competition for thousands of years. It’s in our nature to compete. This strengthens us and moves us forward and for the most part it makes us better, faster, smarter and more accomplished. That’s why we need to approach sports and competition in a healthy and ethical way, mixed with a lot of fun and laughter; that way it’s a sure winner for all. So when asked: are we having fun yet? The only answer should be YES WE ARE…
Till next Monday
ATHLETIC FOOT-NOTE
When watching the upcoming London Olympics (July 27 – Aug. 12), make sure to acknowledge the enormous discipline, energy and time these young athletes have invested to reach this pinnacle of their athletic career. Don’t count winners and losers, but try to fully understand the same dedication by the first and the last crossing the line, scoring the goal, missing a chance or getting those top points – or not. I don’t care about the gold, silver and bronze, because I am too busy being in such awe of these youngsters – and I have always been, as they are ALL so very inspirational... and I must believe that they are (still) having fun doing it- and they don't have to be naked.
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