Why does anyone read or write about sport? To learn about Mitchell Pearce and his unsavoury antics? To find out the result of a sporting fixture?
Surely there must be something more.
As a self-proclaimed sports nut, I cannot put my finger on it.
Myself and millions of others have gained so much joy out of watching several sports. But why?
From the corruption involved in FIFA to the magical comeback of Geoff Huegill at the Commonwealth games in 2010 – and his downfall years later – sport across the board reveals a great deal about human nature.
How individuals can achieve almost anything when their passion and skill is exacted precisely and yet they can also pay the ultimate price for the bounce of a ball, ergo the tragic death of Phil Hughes.
The reality is sport is more than just a game. Sport is concerned with societies and bringing together communities.
This was evident when Redfern exploded with delight after South Sydney won the premiership.
It’s politically concerned too, the Olympics has proven how sport has the power to unite us and at the same time alienate people from each other when boycotted.
Perhaps one of the greatest moments in the history of sport in Australia was when Cathy Freeman won Olympic gold in Sydney. It wasn’t just because Cathy was faster than her opponents either, it represented something much greater for Australian society and where we had come since the 1967 referendum.
In this it should be noted sport is made of incredibly complex tactical encounters on and off the field. Ask any professional athlete, there’s a lot more to winning than just pure skill.
The mental challenges thrown up have a profound importance in determining which team or individual is victorious.
I don’t want to ignore the intrinsic simplicity in sport either. That’s what makes it great, that’s what makes it accessible to people from all walks of life.
The match-saving mark Leo Barry took in the 2005 AFL grand final was an example of this. In reality it was a human catching a ball and nothing more. Yet it brought Swans fans to tears.
For me that is why I watch sport. That’s why I talk about sport and absorb so much sports culture.
If we could boil sport down to its empirical realities it would mean a lot less. Sure, there would be some entertaining feats of strength and agility, but would it move us?
It’s because of the effect we allow sport to have on us as humans that makes it matter.
It is how sport helps us understand life that makes any ‘game’ more than what it seems.
Republican
Guest
Sport is a metaphor for culture in my humble opinion so in that context what is there to like?
Russ
Guest
I think that there are culprits all the way through a story like the Mitchell Pearce one and some are those who like sensational tittle tattle in and on whatever media they get their news from. That story is about as interesting or relevant to RL as a sport as George Best's ingrowing toe nail is to soccer! It simply highlights everything that is wrong with the media and our relationship with newspapers etc and some very unrealistic expectations of athletes. Expecting people to behave well because they have put on a cricketing whites is simply illogical! This does not belong in the same league as the bribary scandals of football and as someone pointed out battering your partner! The NRL have to act of course otherwise that would be the next line of the story. But such stories do not define our sport or any other sport come to that. It is interesting to note the difference in quality and quantity of response to this compared with someone put in jail in the Middle East for trying to develop RL there. It could just be that some sports hide their skeletons much better than others. I think the truth is that we have all lost our sense of balance and the whole of humanity is now field dependent.
Blinky47
Guest
Do you mean the mark where Sampi is being held out of the contest by the irishman ( his name is avoiding me at the moment ). Not just one handful but two !, how the hell did the umpires miss that ? Might not have made any difference but we'll never know now will we, that's footy !
Beardan the Great
Guest
any article involving a commonwealth games medal should be changed (apart from that loved it)