Post by Spider on Dec 12, 2006 15:05:27 GMT -5
The thread on the College Forum about Gable making a gesture towards Cael prompted me to write this.
Have we lost sight of the purpose of sports and their place in society? I’m not talking about the entertainment value, but about participating as a contestant, coach or official. Anyone associated with wrestling should know what I mean – character building, learning to face challenges, sportsmanship, respect, etc. etc. etc. Sure, we almost kill ourselves striving to be the best we can be, and this intense effort makes victory sweeter and defeat difficult to accept. Winning is our immediate goal, but while we work towards this goal, our ultimate end is to become or help others become better people. When we lose sight of this, we demean our sport and cheapen our efforts. When winning becomes the ultimate goal, we open the door to out of control parents, abusive coaches, disrespectful athletes, drug abuse, and a myriad of other evils. Yes, intensity is important, but uncontrolled intenisty is of no value to anyone. Yes, sport competition prepares us for the competitive challenges we will face in life, but sports are NOT life, they’re SPORTS. No one lives or dies by the outcome. When it’s over, it’s over and you move on.
Ideally, the satisfaction that one receives from victory should be reward enough. I’m not talking about professional athletes, so money shouldn’t be an issue. Athletic scholarships? Well, I’d rather see college sports played as they were originally intended – the best players of one student body against the best of another. No ringers recruited. Somewhere along the line colleges became farm teams for professional sports instead of just institutions of higher learning. What ever happened to the Olympic Spirit? Oh, yes, it became the Olympic $pirit.
I know I’m living in a dream world, but we must cling to our ideals and maybe we can make some changes. I’ve been associated with amateur wrestling for over forty years, so you can call me a wise elder or a naïve dinosaur. Either way, these are my thoughts and if you’ve gotten this far, thanks for listening.
Jack
Have we lost sight of the purpose of sports and their place in society? I’m not talking about the entertainment value, but about participating as a contestant, coach or official. Anyone associated with wrestling should know what I mean – character building, learning to face challenges, sportsmanship, respect, etc. etc. etc. Sure, we almost kill ourselves striving to be the best we can be, and this intense effort makes victory sweeter and defeat difficult to accept. Winning is our immediate goal, but while we work towards this goal, our ultimate end is to become or help others become better people. When we lose sight of this, we demean our sport and cheapen our efforts. When winning becomes the ultimate goal, we open the door to out of control parents, abusive coaches, disrespectful athletes, drug abuse, and a myriad of other evils. Yes, intensity is important, but uncontrolled intenisty is of no value to anyone. Yes, sport competition prepares us for the competitive challenges we will face in life, but sports are NOT life, they’re SPORTS. No one lives or dies by the outcome. When it’s over, it’s over and you move on.
Ideally, the satisfaction that one receives from victory should be reward enough. I’m not talking about professional athletes, so money shouldn’t be an issue. Athletic scholarships? Well, I’d rather see college sports played as they were originally intended – the best players of one student body against the best of another. No ringers recruited. Somewhere along the line colleges became farm teams for professional sports instead of just institutions of higher learning. What ever happened to the Olympic Spirit? Oh, yes, it became the Olympic $pirit.
I know I’m living in a dream world, but we must cling to our ideals and maybe we can make some changes. I’ve been associated with amateur wrestling for over forty years, so you can call me a wise elder or a naïve dinosaur. Either way, these are my thoughts and if you’ve gotten this far, thanks for listening.
Jack