Let it be said from the get-go that I like sports. I've grown up playing and watching sports, it's part of who I am. I say all of that because this post might seem like I'm proposing a hatred for sports and other activities.
I was watching the Olympics last night and I realized that, for all of the overly-poetic commentating saying otherwise, the Olympics are not about sports at all; they're about politics. It's about national pride, and one nation saying to the other nations, "I have the gold, thus making my country superior to yours." This all hit me when I watched the men's gymnastics last night. China's men's team was performing (just as an aside, male gymnasts are absolutely enormous, seriously watch the Rings competition and have your mind blown) and what I saw was not a bunch of athletes who were happy to be there and have the opportunity to compete. What I saw were machines who were bred and designed to win. There wasn't a hint of happiness or joy on their faces, even when they performed well. Even when they high-fived each other, they looked like they were getting into proper position first, and then robotically celebrating their actions. After a performance, they would flash to the stands and show the Chinese coach, and his face was always stoic, bordering on angry, regardless of the performance.
I saw a report the other day where the Chinese government hand selects the most nimble and flexible three year old girls to start training for the Olympic gymnastics. Let that sink in for a moment. It has nothing to do with whether the girls want to be gymnasts, they are told to be gymnasts. This isn't sport, it's industrial breeding. This is breeding for a political purpose. China is trying to show the rest of the world that they are superior by winning more gold than everyone, most importantly the U.S. (this is actually a stated goal of the Chinese Olympic federation). In my mind, this makes a great deal of the Olympics fraudulent. Sports should be about fun. Sports shouldn't be made into a political agenda.
Lest we throw stones too quickly, let me say that I think we're headed the same direction. Go to any Little League baseball tournament and you'll see what I mean. The games aren't about fun anymore, they are about winning. They are about winning, because they are about pride; pride in your town, state, league, etc. If you don't believe me, listen to this. A girl in my youth group who is a cheerleader (yes, I agree that cheerleading isn't a sport, but the same principle applies) told me about a girl on her squad that intentionally broke her ankle so that she wouldn't have to cheer. After I picked my jaw up off the ground I asked the obvious question, "Um, why doesn't she just quit?" Her answer said it all to me, "She didn't want to let her parents and coach down." Wow. She would rather find a way to break her ankle than to quit and "let her parents down."
Sport should be fun, and sports should be enjoyable, but our culture is pushing all of the fun and enjoyment out of it. I quit baseball when I was in fifth grade because I had one coach (not you dad) that sucked all of the fun out of it and was hell-bent on nothing but winning. I'm not advocating getting rid of sports, I'm just asking for the fun to be brought back to it. Let's lay down our stupid pride (pride of country, pride of our children being better than other children, pride of town or team) and just relax. Let's also have a sense of perspective that, in the end, sports are completely meaningless and inconsequential when measured up to the world's bigger problems. And stop freaking yelling at my dad for being a bad referee at basketball games, it hurts his fragile feelings.
6 comments:
I agree with everything you say except for the last comment. I have no problem with being yelled at. Frustrated ex athletes will do and say anything. The lack of respect for authority is what bothers me.
you know what hurts the most? it's the lack of respect...well...that other thing hurt the most, but the lack of respect, that hurt second most.
Matt, well-played, although I'm probably the only one who got the reference.
I agree with your post. As an umpire and as a parent of girls who played, I saw and heard way too much to figure it was for the kids any more. I saw parents make fools of themselves coming out of the stands. I saw an umpire (me) kick parents out of the stands and send them on their way because they were foul-mouthed and ranting and raving. It is time to bring back the fun for the kids and for the parents to stay out of it.
i think people take youth sports way to seriously but at the same time we have to have some things to build up kids self esteem and stuff like that. otherwise we are going to raise a bunch of average kids. Look at this story and tell me what you think of it.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=3553475
I agree with the self-esteem thing, but what happens to a kid when they are berated by coaches and parents for not being good enough? Mandy and I sat in on a softball game a few years ago where a girl was tagged out at home. The coach's wife absolutely let her have it for being too slow and the girl spent the rest of the game crying in the dugout. Did I mention that the girl was slightly overweight? I don't think her self-esteem could have been any lower at that point. I think there are other ways of building kid's self-esteem.
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