Sport Fan For Life

“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does." - Nelson Mandela

Sport has been a powerful force in my life even before my chubby infant arms and legs had the anatomical ability to partake in it. Nineteen years and hundreds of ball games and races later, and I still believe in athletic competition; it is a psychological vehicle of motivation, teamwork, and human development, a social cause of healthy rivalry and human equality, and a cultural medium through which national pride and international unity and interdependence can grow simultaneously.

As we grow and become more aware of the financial connections between big business and sport, it is easy to lose hope. It takes no effort to lose faith in sport, to dismiss it as a silly, even worthless competition, or to point to flaws in its structure and the focus it puts on big businesses such as Coke and McDonald's in order to raise funds for advertising. It is a simple action to condemn the sports industry, to mock its excessive measures and rituals and blame them for "taking away" from the better of society. While I in no way stand by the connections between fast food, soda, and a healthy Olympic quality athlete, I am not so quick to lose hope.

Rather than take the quick route of criticism that is so easy to take in the adult world of money, bribes, and corporate power, I choose to believe. In the atmosphere of the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, let us look beyond the golden arches and red cans of fizzing liquid. Let us not forget they exist or the powers (good or bad) they may possess, but let us focus on the true spectacles, the miracles, the athletes.

It is not Apolo Ohno, Sean White, Lindsey Vonn, or Bode Miller who pay the companies and endorse corporate sellouts. It is they, who, despite the pressures of consumer culture, train and sweat, train and sweat, and train and sweat all over again to test their bodies, to be the best in the world, just as the original competitors in the first Olympiad in Greece did before them.

In the ancient Greek Olympics, spectators held a victorious athlete in the highest prestige. In Homer’s, The Odyssey, he states, “there is no great glory for any man alive than that which he wins by his hands and feet." The Greeks believed in the concept of arête, or excellence. They respected glory and victory and announced only one winner in every contest. Although today we give out medals to the top three victors, I believe this concept still holds strong today.

The connection between the Greek Olympics and athletic competitions of today is not to be forgotten, no matter how old we are, or how many corporate sponsors exist. It is not coincidence that athletes today, even in Vancouver carry on their athletic equipment the sign of the ancient Greek goddess of victory herself, Nike. This popular brand of athletic gear emphasizes the athlete’s drive to be elite, a concept true to competitors from ancient Greece to the modern world. The Olympic motto mirrors the Greek concept of always striving to be the best: “Citius, altius, fortius,” three Latin words meaning faster, higher, stronger, encourage the athlete to reach beyond their grasp. This search for excellence and the joy of competition is the highest motivation for the Games of both times. To me, the influence of franchises on televised events and even some athletes themselves does not change the meaning of sport, rather athletes of all times are undoubtedly connected by their will and power to achieve arête.

Coming of age, does not have to signify the loss of simple joys such as sport. It is this simple joy that can bring complex problems to an end, and bring together people with a love of something simple: sport.

If all of this ranting has still had no effect on your opinion of sport, or even if it has, I encourage you to see the newly released film "Invictus." Maybe then, Mr. Mandela's opening lines will make more sense to you. Sport, even in today's world, is a powerful vehicle of change, a display of athletic excellence, and a joyous activity. The organizations and the competitors deserve your respect. If you can't give it to them, take off your Nikes.