Published on 12, July, 2020
I hate sport, all sport, I don't like competition or see whats so good about it, why it has to dominate so much air time, rugby is practically a religion in Wales with football not far behind. I dont' like wearing uniforms, I'm not a uniform person. I intensely dislike getting hot and sweaty too. I swim like a brick and the best bit of skiing I ever managed was backwards.
Can someone please explain to me whats so good about sport and competition?
There are different ways of enjoying sport, and it does not necessarily need to be tribal. I have booked two weeks off work to immerse myself in the Paris Olympics from the comfort of my sofa. The example of Charlotte Worthington in the BMX freestyle final at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 probably sums up my enjoyment - in the final, they had two efforts on the course to perform whatever tricks they liked with their best run counting, and she had fallen in her first run. Rather than play it safe in her second run in an effort to guarantee a medal, she pulled out a trick that had never been landed before by a woman in a competition and that had caused her to fall in the first run (a 360 degree backflip), and won the gold. It was not just the combination of courage and skill that made it so special, but also the jeopardy, not knowing what might happen, the thought of the years of practice and effort that had gone into that moment, and the sheer sense of joy and relief that resulted for her (which admittedly led to some eye-moistening). Sadly, sport is not always that pure and it certainly helps when the people involved are likeable, but at its best it can be magical.
Good luck in the Euros play-off final tonight