Sometimes we underestimate the power of sports. The documentary Kings Ransom just finished airing on ESPN. Its focus was Wayne Gretzky’s trade from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings. The thing that stood out to me was how nonchalant Gretzky and others involved in the NHL were about the whole trade while fans were in a frenzy. To the athletes and others involved, sports are a job. It is the daily grind. Sure, some are passionate about what they do, but that it is true about any industry. The difference with sports is the passion felt by the outside observers.
What is it about sports that makes them so intriguing? Athletes are more than the role models parenting books make them out to be. Sports teams represent more than the players wearing the uniforms. People are naturally competitive. If we are unable to compete, we will designate others to stand in for us. We will cheer for them because we connect their success with ourselves. We make them out to be everything we want to be.
As stated before, athletes are not merely role models. They are heroes. Just as people are attracted to legendary figures such as Hercules, they are attracted to sports superstars. I could cite other notable heroes such as Achilles, Julius Caesar, George Washington, or Dwight D. Eisenhower from the American perspective. These are all historical people who we have bestowed mythical tales and heroic status. Athletes such as Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Babe Ruth, and Joe Montana are exactly the same. While we may acknowledge at times they are ordinary people, when they step onto their playing field of choice, they become something else altogether.
Anytime a group of people put on a uniform, they instantly are representing more than those immediately surrounding them. A national army instantly represents its civilian population. A company’s employees speak on behalf of their company. A sports team is no different. The moment the athletes put on their uniforms, they represent not only their community, but all all of their fans around the world. When Michael Phelps dominated the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the United States was watching. We take pride in our teams. Whether the team represents our community, our alma mater, our family, or simply was our childhood favorite because of awesome uniforms, we have bonded with them. We win and lose with them. Ultimately, the team becomes a part of us.
We think it is only kids who get caught up in the heroics of sports, but that is merely a misconception. The next time you go out on the town, take a look around. Pay attention to how many people are wearing sports memorabilia. Perhaps more importantly, pay attention to the demographics of those wearing sports memorabilia. Kids love sports, but the next time you watch a game on television, look at the crowd. I believe you will find there are a lot more adults than children. Sports affect entire populations, not just children.
Sports are exhilarating because we connect with the athletes and teams participating. We imbue them with near mythical characteristics in hopes to make ourselves better. They are an escape from our daily lives. They are a part of our economies. They are a part of our childhood. They are a part of our schools. They are a part of our politics. In the end, there is one phrase that sums up everything I have said: sports are not just a game.
Today at work, we had a consultant come in for the week to help us with our implementation of the software we support. The cool thing was the guy grew up in Holland. Not only had he grown up in Europe, but he is trilingual with dutch, english, and german (and in that order). I don’t know how long he spent in Germany, but apparently he lived there for a time as well. Now he lives in Illinois doing his consulting job. So what’s the point of me giving all these details? Well, as Eddie Izzard once said, “Europe is where the history comes from.”
I (along with a few others on my team) got into a fairly lengthy chat with the guy that started on World War II. Most people that I’ve known (aka Americans) have a rather narrow understanding of the era. It’s not their fault, it’s just the way it’s portrayed in textbooks and Hollywood. I don’t want to this to come off as arrogant, but I like to think I have a little better understanding than the average person I meet on the street. While I originally started being interested about 10 years ago, I’ve only done solid research on it for the last 3-4 years. In that time, I’ve read things written by Americans and British along with translations from French and Germans. Needless to say, I’ve gained a much wider perspective of what happened during those years than I used to have.
This guy seemed to have all that down without the extensive years of reading books. The best part was he had the perspective on pretty much any topic. It was fascinating talking to him about all sorts of things. In some ways it is nice to be part of a country that’s so large. In other ways, it kind of sucks. The lack of diversity and learning to deal with people who don’t think exactly like us is one of the disadvantages. I think about the only thing that can be done to combat the ignorance is to make a concerted effort to immerse ourselves in other cultures. Anyways, that’s my two cents on world politics even though a lot of people will think it doesn’t have much to do with politics at all. That’s for another day though.