Sports: Why People Love Them, this article is to a general audience. The article was written and released by Tim Delaney and Tim Madigan in the University Press of America, 2009. Tim Delaney is the Sociology Department Chair at the State University of New York, Oswego. Tim Madigan is the Assistant Professor of philosophy at St. John Fisher College.
This article explains the different social conditions, why sports still thrive and a variety of sports or sports fans. They argue that sports in some cases can be used as a diversion for more serious concerns people have in their own lives. They give examples of how sports are more than just a persona, but there are a lot of physical and athletic skills. Putting into prospective that sports have been around for thousands of years, from 1400 BC.
Although we may only think of sports to be the national level, there are many to consider and how they were started through survival skills and religion. When considering the importance of sports, there are many lessons to learn. Some people in the public eye are heroic and others are antiheroic. This is a platform for athletes to be role models for others, mainly our youth. There are many traditions to being a sports fan, for example, tailgating is a popular ritual. Sports are a huge part of our society and there are many different sports to follow. We all have different opinions about sports and that’s what makes it fun to be a fan.
The article gives a lot of examples of why we love sports. I agree with a lot of the ideas stated by the authors. Many people have busy lives that may be stress filled. Sports are a way to get away from reality for a while and get excited while watching something play out in front of their eyes. Sports also provide an opportunity to spend time with friends and family. In many families they have set rituals, for example, “Super Bowl Sunday” is a day when people have parties to enjoy time with friends and family. These types of rituals set a positive influence on families because this is known, in some ways, like a holiday when everyone gets together. There are many aspects of this article I agree with and they hit many of the high points about sports.
We can’t talk about sports without mentioning the values behind playing or following sports. As mentioned in the article, there are positive actions and negative actions from players or fans. It’s all about having fun playing the game and not worrying too much about winning. When there is overemphasis on winning, it makes watching sports not as fun because people get hostile or in a bad mood when their team loses. I believe sports are after all, “just sports” and should only be concerned with the good part of sportsmanship. Some parents, players and fan would disagree with this statement, but to keep sports positive, we have to emphasize the good that comes out of sports and encourage this throughout. Another positive would be children who play sports are exercising keeping them healthy. I do agree with Madigan and Delaney stating, “sports serve a vital, positive service to society”.
I feel as if this is an important article to sports fans. It gives some history, how we interpret and the values sports can provide. It is very important to teach children who love and play sports the real value of the game. These types of teachings provide our youth with key elements to be better people. This also gives adults a way of letting their stress out through cheering for a team or just forgetting about the worries in life. This article might not be the most important piece ever written but there are some key lessons and different ways we interpret sports as a whole.
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