The role of Sport in our society | INFJ Forum

The role of Sport in our society

Soulful

life is good
Nov 18, 2008
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Other than to the athletes practicing them (or involved parties), do sports contribute to society?

Is this contribution equal across cultures and national climates? (In other words, is your answer locally or globally rooted?)

A similar question can be posed about the arts, and any other non-pragmatic, supposedly non-essential sphere of society. My question is posed specifically with regard to sport, but you are more than welcome to discuss the latter as well.
 
All I know is that sports make me happy, particularly when I participate. I especially love skiing and swimming, but I like all sports--always have. I believe all people have an innate need to move, and moving with a competitive purpose is particularly satisfying.
 
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It's a testosterone issue. The majority of human beings, especially most men, are simply wired to compete. Now, we can give that drive healthy outlets, whether it is participating in sports or being an entepreneur etc, or it will inevitably be expressed in other less healthy less humane ways. Which would you reather see at the Stadium: The Dodgers playng the Redsocks? Or a couple of gladiators fight to the death?

FWIW, I don't really care for sports, unless I'm playing them with my friends. I resent having to pay for sports TV from my cable provider :D
 
they nostly give men an excuse to sit around and watch television . .without feeling guilty
 
Sports bring people together (okay it can separate people too, different teams, but religion can be like that too); a lot of sports are universally enjoyed.
They are enjoyable for a lot of people. Some people devote their whole lives to improving their skills in a game.

I guess it's like anything, like baking, or eating candy, or going to church, or smoking. It's just something people do.
 
High-end motorsports do contribute to automotive technological development...materials, safety, aerodynamics, and of course all the oily bits.
 
I think "professional" sports has reached an all time low in terms of the human perspective. There is too much emphasis on winning at huge costs for most and huge gains for a few.
People all over the globe get too caught up in identifying their selves with a team. If the team wins - then they think they're something special. When in reality they did no act or did not compete with their team. The same holds true for losing. When their team loses - the person's identity suffers the loss as well. They become despondent and sometimes aggressive.
There are massive sums of money spent on behalf of going to the game or seeing the game. Massive amounts of waste is generated for the same reasons. Most people are not physically active even though they are caught up in the sport. Health suffers. Energy is wasted. There is no real product for all of the effort put into a professional sport.
...and the owners get richer. ..New stadiums are built with taxpayer money. The owner gets rich. The tax payer has to drive in traffic jams, pay for potholes to be repaired, put up with more pollution. The owner gets richer...
While the players get some of that money - most don't make it rich. Lives can be ruined easily. Too much pressure to perform. I see this attitude start in the young grades here where I live. Parents get into fights at the local baseball stadium over 6 year old players. Kids break down in tears - or - the bullies are formed right there on the field.

Backyard football, roller derby girls, sandlot baseball, cross country horse jumping...these encourage a person to get out and move. Sports played with this attitude encourage a person to play - just for the sport of it - the fun of it. One feels alive because the body is moving and testing itself to new limits. There is no real mental stress because the emphasis is not on winning - but playing.

Do you think sports creates a team spirit - an awareness of what it means to be part of a team - what it means to be dependent upon a team?

If they do - then I think that might be of value to society. But I'm not sure professional sports does that...
 
Professional sports have been ruined by the obscene salaries of many players. So, why should I be loyal to a professional team when any player is happy to switch teams immediately upon a better offer? I'm more interested in the Olympic Sports and Extreme Sports, which are inadequately covered by TV and newspapers.

If testosterone were such an important factor in sports (note: women have testosterone, too), pre-pubescent children would have no interest in sports. Endocrinology aside, healthy competition is important because it motivates excellence.

I believe that learning to play on a team is important because it suppresses the ego in favor of the group's benefit. Man is a social animal, group cooperation has been an evolutionary adaptation that has helped us survive and progress, and team sports are just another manifestation of this cooperation.
 
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It's a way for people to bond and find solidarity in conflict without anyone going home dead as a direct result...unless you're at a Raiders game. It's like playing war.
 
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Couldn't agree with black sheep more, a modern day arena of sorts. only no one dies.
 
Sports is just a safer form of warfare.
 
Spectator sports seems to have some sort of war and religion vibe going on. I understand that it brings people together and I can see that as a good thing... except that it seems to come at the cost of an "us and them" mentality which ultimately ends up being aggressive... sure, on a good day it's "friendly rivalry" but there's a dark undertone and it doesn't take a great deal before it's not so friendly. Maybe most of us are hard wired for it though... a tribal survival mechanism.

Individual sport? Seems healthy to me... getting physical exercise and learning about your body and its limits and feeling the freedom of movement... yeah, good stuff :)