Living Through Sports

From the blood-soaked coliseum floor of the gladiator games to the neatly manicured sod of the baseball field, sports are timeless and universal. I remember riding the u-bahn in Berlin during soccer season and having mobs of blue-and-white-clad Bayern-Muenchen fans spill out onto the platforms.

While vacationing in Turkey during the World Cup, the ground shook as Turkey made it to the final six. During the Super Bowl, over 141 million American homes were glued to the screen as the modern-day gladiators sacked and threw their way down the field.

Why do sports have this pull over people? Why do even grotesque sports such as dog fighting, bull fighting and cock fighting have such following?

In this day and age, it seems like everyone needs a sport to live vicariously through. As people work through their daily lives and don’t make time for their own athletic achievement, they look to experience the feelings of accomplishment through other people. The violent aspects in some sports, like football or boxing, can mitigate some built-up aggression within human nature.

While this is understandable, the cruel and ruthless nature of the animal fighting has no justification. These sports are perpetuated by insecure, emotionally detached individuals. It’s no surprise that this is the way most of our serial killers start out.

Sarah Montrowl

(photo credit: scorpionworld)

April 11th, 2009 by Sports Fan | Posted in General | (0)