This past week I had a coworker tell me their reason why they don’t like sports. “All it is is drama filled”, and that was the extent of the reasoning. Yep, lots of hard thinking done there. He proceeded to tell me how extreme sports are only sports that truly are sports because those take skill to compete in, and not that other sports don’t take skill, the skill that goes into extreme sports is much more and time consuming.
I didn’t even know how to respond other than agree so I could get out of the conversation before I erupted and unloaded a world of knowledge on him about so-called dumb sports.
Even though I don’t understand how you don’t like sports or what you do all day if you aren’t constantly looking at scores and stories, I understand that sports aren’t everyone’s thing. Do I agree? Not in the slightest. Do I find you that much weirder if you aren’t a sports person? 100%.
But this conversation got me thinking… Why do I love sports?
Is it the fact that it was instilled in me from birth? Maybe that I played sports from T-Ball through Intramurals? Could it be the competitive nature ingrained in humans? How about the fact that it’s an instant connection with someone?
I had my reasons that came to my mind, but I asked a couple of friends to give me their reasoning as to why they loved sports.
Competition was the number one answer. The drive to be the best, the determination at honing the craft, and the bragging rights that come along with it. Whether it was high school football or Spike Ball at the beach, the competitiveness engraved in everyone of us comes out in full force. I chase that feeling in every day life, and would give anything to continue to compete in meaningful capacities.
Camaraderie was the second response when asked why they love sports. Between forming life long friendships through our own “careers” in sports, to having an instant connection with someone wearing the same jersey as us at a sporting event, there is nothing quite like that feeling of having a bond with someone over something you both love. Through hard times and good times, whether you’re on the same team or just support the same player, that is a bond that can only be found in the love of the game.
Both of these were reasons on my list as well. To feel as though I am part of something bigger, as if me being a fan of a team means something more than just that…simply cheering for someone to perform at a higher level than I could ever dream of being at. When it comes down to it, sports really are just a game to pass time.
“Just a game” doesn’t do it justice though. There is nothing like sports, and honestly if you’ve made it this far in this article, chances are you feel the same way. There is nothing like cheering on your teammates or high fiving the guy next to you at a game. You can’t recreate the feeling of hitting a double to the gap in your office job. You can’t recreate the high five with a stranger watching your favorite player drain the game winner, while just walking down the street. It’s something you try to explain to someone who doesn’t get it, but honestly what’s the point. If they don’t get it now, they won’t get it after a conversation with them – if they don’t get it, they aren’t someone you want to associate with anyways.
Sports are, and always will be, the best thing in life.
Till Next Time,
Trevor
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