[QUOTE=Gaarry;2704102]Sports fanaticism (“sports disease” as I call it) has grown to a dangerous and rediculous level. As a child in the Cub Scouts, they taught us the lie, “It’s not whether or not you win the game, it’s how you play the game that counts”. Then I grew up and found the exact opposite was true. “Sportsmanship” is just about dead.
Organized sports easily does just as much damage as it does good. I grew up hearing about school football teams in terrible traffic accidents, and I’ve seen many over the decades. I can’t help but wonder how many THOUSANDS have died since. Or, in cars on the way to games. Then there’s the fights at the event, then there’s the riots afterwards. How many have died in that? Then there’as those who suffered long term disability from concussions and such. It’s getting so that grade-schoolers are entering highschool with “an old football injury”.
They even admit that it is a sickness. Who hasn’t heard of “March Madness”, or “Football Fever”? When they reach the level of fanaticism as it has today, it really does qualify as a mental disorder; a disease. My question is, are they working on a cure? Ironically, as they wheel off yet another dead youth from the sports field, no one has the sense to utter the simple words that might make a difference, “Maybe we’ve gone too far”.
I particularly loath when people ASSUME that everyone loves sports as much as they do. People often ask what I thought about such and such game, or team, etc. I used to be nice about it, but in latter years, I flat out tell them I don’t care about sports (then they call me “un-American”). Likewise, I hate when the TV stations think everyone loves sports, so they put it on every channel (broadcast; I don’t have cable).
Instead of sportsmanship, there is corporate greed. Have you ever watched a coach on the sidelines? They are SO stressed, that it can no longer be called a GAME. They always talk about how sports builds “teamwork”, but there are plenty of non-sports related things out there that do the same, but without all the injuries and such. When someone dies in sports, people always say, “Well, at least they died doing what they love”. No, they pushed it too far and commited SUICIDE. There is no justification for it, and people should learn to admit that it was a suicidal, fool-hearty thing to do.
There is a PSA commercial trying to teach todays male youth to not hit women. It goes through clips of a father and son playing various types of sports, saying, “You’ve taught him to hit the ball, hit the opponent, hit the net, etc…” [paraphrased because I don’t remember the exact words] “…but maybe it’s time to teach him what not to hit”. Such ironic hypocrisy. Trying to reconcile the inherent sports brutality with being a “GENTLEman”. It’s not working.
Then there’s sports fanaticism in women. At some point, back in the 70’s, many women decided that if they can’t beat them (get their husbands away from TV during football season), then they would join them. Now, we have an entire generation of sports diseased women. Now, they suffer the same consequences and injuries as the men do. Likewise, they have learned to be just as cruel and brutal (and dishonest) as the men are.
The very existence of “sports medicine” should be enough to tell people that they are doing something wrong. When it hurts so much and does so much damage, it can’t be right; it’s against nature. Patient: “Doctor, it hurts when I do this”. Doctor: “Well, QUIT doing that!”. Duhhh [emphasis mine]
If you look on Youtube under “sports FAIL” (or something like that), you will find just some of the dangers of sports disease, as (self-destructive) people show you all the ways the human body is NOT supposed to bend or move. Heck, just a month or two ago, there was a horrific sports injury on the bassetball court (as I recall). A compound fracture of the lower leg. I didn’t watch it, but from the reactions of others, I’m GLAD I didn’t! Argh!
There is nothing to be proud of here. Nothing but shame. Life can be lethal enough without throwing impossible odds in front of yourself. For every hour someone wastes on sports, that is an hour that could have been used for something more practical (and less damaging).
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gaarry I couldn’t say it any better,when the players started getting millions of dollars it quit being a sport.Now if they played for free now that would be a sport.