On the moral value of sports

In the days when there were more people than televisions in my household, my father and I once argued over whether to watch the news or the live sports match that was going on at the same time. These were the days before "picture in picture" capability came to my household. My argument for watching the news was that it was strategic. My sister, rightly, asked exactly what that meant. I replied after a little thought that I was referring to the fact that whilst the outcome of the sports match was just a one-off, adhoc event that was seldom of any ongoing consequence, the news referred to ongoing, geopolitical global events that affected more people in more ways than the sports match did.

Of course, it is the case that people have little opportunity to shape the events of either the sports or the news. In both cases, they are alas primarily helpless spectators. I suppose with sports you at least sometimes have the chance to wade onto a pitch and take part in some sort of game with your mates or the local pub team.

I have harbored grave doubts and serious suspicions about the moral value of sports ever since I watched a home video taken by a good friend of mine at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. I suddenly asked myself as I watched the little people on the jerky film- just what exactly are they trying to prove running around in circles and swinging off ropes? Endurance you may say, a celebration of the human’s ability to master their environment. Well yes, but a painful and somewhat pointless pursuit nonetheless.

I myself have always been a soccer player- I learned my first naughty swear words on the manager’s bench for the soccer cup tie between Oxford and Reading when I was match mascot at about the age of 10. Boy, that game sure did seem important to them. I like the sports that do not require much equipment- where the entry barriers to learning and playing are low- I prefer pool to snooker and crazy golf to golf.

Sports serve a moral purpose when they:

allow economically disadvantaged people to escape poverty

are used as a substitute for more deadly battles such as wars (some see little difference)

help people to remain healthy and therefore live longer

In sports, the only prejudice is rightly talent- the ability to play means that you talk the language of the game- whatever your nationality. Sports are one of the few times when a great many of the supporters cheer for and actively support people of a different nationality and color.

Sports also allow people to escape from their day jobs and lives and immerse themselves in a fixed period of sport when nothing else matters and everything else can be forgotten. Sport is one of those glorious things in life, like deep sleep and sex, which focus the mind completely on the task in hand and allow other concerns and matters to be temporarily put to one side for the duration. Its a group thing for the players and spectators- a common context, a joint mission and the accompanying opportunity to bond.

So there it is- my skepticism about sports explicitly stated. I understand the need for escapism, if not for the learning of reams of statistics. I understand why some people emphasize the need to be a team player and work together to achieve a common goal against a common enemy. I understand that some people playing the game are expected to win and some lose. I guess we should stop playing games and start getting real whenever we can, but play games when we have the time. After all, all work and no play is not much good either.

 

Author: Simon Buckingham

What do you think?

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