If there’s one bond that brings the world together it has to be the philosophy of sport. In some contexts, sport has been transformed into a religion.
Some sports are followed by millions across the planet.
Unfortunately, this faith of ours has been in the news for all the wrong reasons of late, leaving devotees in utter disbelief.
Is there room for clean sport anymore or have we reached a stage where we have to rely on gaming consoles for sporting purity?
The reputation of cycling has been tarnished thanks to Lance Armstrong’s confession of using drugs to enhance performance. The gentleman’s game, cricket, has a history of match-fixing.
News has come out that nearly 700 football matches, inclusive of Champions League matches and World Cup qualifiers across 15 nations, have been fixed by Asian betting syndicates.
While these groups conveniently engineered match outcomes over an extensive period, there we were supporting our team with unbridled passion investing huge amounts of time and energy into every single game.
The AFL is currently immersed in a crisis with Essendon embroiled in drug-use accusations. This story has rocked the entire nation and who knows what’s bound to unfold in the next few weeks.
Moreover, a recent 12-month investigation by the Australian Crime Commission has revealed that widespread use of drugs and the involvement of organised crime in sport have been prevalent throughout the country.
Let’s not forget international athletics that’s been laden with a history of drug-use by several high-profile athletes such as Ben Johnson and Marion Jones, to name a few.
It’s hard to pinpoint the root cause of this gigantic quandary. Is it sports betting, greed or is it because of the mammoth amounts of money floating around in the business?
As much as it hurts to say it, can we trust the action that goes on in the field to be genuine anymore?
You can call me silly but being a sports enthusiast like many of you, I will continue to follow this religion and am looking forward to the knock-out stages of the Champions League beginning next week.
Such a pity though that our devotion, loyalty and passion have been taken for a ride.
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