4 Reasons You Should Be Sports Literate
Even if you don’t give two hoots about sports
Let’s talk sports! If you’re not into sports don’t stop reading just yet. This post is designed specifically for you (but sports fans by all means please read on.)
Every person should have a respectable knowledge of sports. Specifically one should know the results of big games and be able to list the major players on the best teams.
You may say, “Why do I need to keep up with sports? It’s so boring, I don’t understand the rules, and there are more important things happening in this world.”
Sports are not the be-all and end-all, but they are an important part of society. In order to engage with others and be a well rounded person, you should have a foundational base of sports knowledge.
Not convinced yet? See below four reasons you should be sports literate.
1. Sports Are a Safe Topic
Think of all the major headlines you hear about each day. Polarizing political controversies, tensions between bordering nations, failing economies, global health pandemics, natural disasters, and major sporting events. Of these news topics, which of these would you feel most comfortable speaking to a stranger about?
The obvious answer is sports.
Sports are not polarizing and do not involve the loss of life. Of all the topics you could discuss with a stranger, sports is your best bet to minimize the risk of angering or upsetting another person, while still effectively connecting with somebody on a personal level.
2. Sports Bring People Together
Nothing brings people together quite like sports.
Cities know this. When a hometown team is competing for a championship, in no other instance will such a high percentage of a city’s population be watching the same event.
Colleges know this. It’s no coincidence colleges plan their homecomings when their respective football teams are playing.
Nations know this. Events such as the Olympics and the World Cup captivate the entire world unlike anything else. Sports generate national pride, while bringing the world together in a symbolic gesture of peace.
3. Sports Are Cross-Generational
Imagine what the world will look like in 100 years. Now compare what will still be relevant that far in the future to what is relevant today. What will people still care about?
Fashions fade. Technology advances. Empires rise and fall. Culture adopts new forms of entertainment.
But sports are here to stay.
In 100 years the Cubs will still be playing baseball in Chicago, Liverpool will still have a heated rivalry with Manchester United, and the New York Knicks will (probably) still be losing basketball games at historic rates.
4. Sports Transcend Demographics
If you have the opportunity to drive across the country, you’ll realize people live drastically different lives from each other. Imagine meeting somebody who doesn’t look like you, talk like you, while also having differing religious and political beliefs. What’s a topic that has the potential to forge a bond between you and that person?
By now you should know the answer to that question.
The Importance of Sports
People say sports is just a game. And that’s true, it is just a game. But very few things in this world have the power to bring people together the way sports can.
You don’t need to be a sports expert, but you should have enough knowledge to expand the number of people you could connect with. Therefore engage in sports to open your world to new relationships.
You never know who you’ll meet.
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