Back in the 1960s and 70s our choices were limited. We had four TV channels (in the Detroit area): 2, 4, 7, and 9. If your TV had a good antennae, channel 50 was available. The next best thing was radio. I'd listen to Ernie Harwell and Paul Carey announce the Tigers' games particularly when they played at night and away from home.
Sports were and still are a vital part of my life. Like with many others, sports provide an amusement and a means of entertainment that take us away from the drudgery of our daily responsibilities.
When I was in my first year at Western Michigan University, I lived at home with my parents. My dad and I would "get away" to the golf course and play a round of nine holes. We talked, laughed, and competed like heck with each other. The sport provided a diversion as well as a bonding experience. Like Plato once said: "You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."
The word sport comes from the English word disport which meant to "amuse oneself." It comes from the Latin word desporto- des="away," and porto="carry."
More loosely, it means "to carry away from work," which is exactly what sports afford us. We work hard all week and then we vent, relax, enjoy, and even participate in sports on the weekend.
Sports divert our attention which comes from a similar idea from the Latin diverto, or "turn" to games to amuse us from the serious cares of the day or week. We look forward to watching our favorite teams or players compete in a game, we can root and be a 'fan' who takes pleasure in the fun of seeing who will be the stronger in a contest.
I wrote a post last year on the benefits of play and competition (check Archives-"Let's Play"= Nov. 2013). There are reasons why we want "fun" diversions from our hard, daily work. Sports provides this needed escape. The history of the word sport and the word game go back centuries if not millenniums.
The idea of sports, games, and competition was sparked within us at a young age. It is entrenched in our social fabric of what we would call entertainment. In the Middle Ages, the word disport meant a person would actually get solace, consolation, and be given a source of much needed comfort.
We, as a culture, have arguably placed too much value on the business of sport and on certain individuals who play games. They make a lot of money for a business based on a "pastime." Yet, we still can't get enough as consumers. However, let's hope that the heart remains pure in our motivation to take sports for what they are. Let us support those who still "play" the game for the sheer love and pleasure of it.
Whether you're viewing, rooting, or competing, understand the essence of the original intent of the word sport: have good fun. It's a privilege to embrace and carry away winning memories.
Ok. I have to go turn on the TV. Go, Tigers!!