Importance of Sports In Life and Society

1 SportsCanUnitePeopleasWellasDivideThem Name Institution Course Instructor Date 2 Peopleunderstandthatsportsactasacrucialanchorformanysocietiesinthewhole world.Insteadofpeopletakingsportsasoneofthebestwaystouniteindividualsviaacommon interest,otherpeoplehaveadifferingargumentoversports.Somepeoplearguethatsportsare usedincausingdivisionamongindividuals.Theyarguethatsomepeopleusesportstopushtheir agendas,whichmaycausedivisionamongindividuals.Eventhoughsomepeopleusesportsto driveindividualgoals,theaimofsportsremainsaunifyingfactor.Theessaywilldiscusshow sportsmayuniteanddividepeople. Sportshavethecapabilityofunitingpeoplethroughvariousmeans.First,sportsenable peopletoobserveissuespastraciallineswheninteractingthroughshareddesiresandpassion. Peoplewhooriginatefromdifferentracesbutsupportthesameteamcreateabondoverthesame passionandinterest.Atthispoint,theseindividualsdonotlookattheprejudicestheybear againsttheircounterparts(Mastromartinoetal.,2018).Besides,sportscreateunityamong individualsthroughbluffingtheboundariesthatexistaspergeographicallocations.Asaresult,it reducesthedistanceamongpeopleandbringsthemclosedependingonhowtheylovesports. Thenatureofinternationalsportsmakesaneffectivechannelunderwhichpeoplebonddueto theirloveofsports.Intheprocess,sportsbringindividualstogetherfromcountriesthathave experiencedalongfightandhate.In2018,NorthandSouthKoreaunitedinWinterOlympic Games(Mastromartinoetal.,2018).Theathleteswentaheadandmatchedtogetherduringthe openingceremony.Theycouldnotconsidertheexistingmisunderstandingbetweenthem.Also, sportscanunitepeopleduringextraviolenceandchaos.Inmostcases,sportstendtooffera respitetoindividualsfromconflictsthatseemnottoend,allowingcombatantstoseeeachother asone.AgoodexampleistheChristmasceasefirebetweentheGermanandtheBritishin1914 duringtheFirstWorldWar,wheretheyplayedsoccertogether(Mastromartinoetal.,2018). 3 Ontheotherhand,sportscanaswellcausedivisionamongpeople.Unhealthyand excessiveathletesmaytakeplacehencedividingindividuals.Divisioninsportsislikelytooccur ifthefansoftheteamsplayingturnagainsteachother.Theymayfight,creatingarivalry betweenthesupporters.Agoodexampletookplacein2016whenthefansclashedinFrance duringtheEuropeanChampionship(Hautboisetal.,2020).Severalarreststookplaceduringthat time.Therefore,sportsmaybecomeviolent,moresoifthefanscannotcontrolacceptaloss duringagame.Peopleusesportstopushapoliticalagenda.Insuchasituation,sportsmayturn againstthespiritofsportsmanshipmoresoifapersonusesthatplatformtopushforapolitical agenda.AnexcellentexampleofthesameiswhentherewasadenialofVisasamongtwo PakistanshootersagainstenteringIndiatoparticipateintheWorldCupshooting(Hautboisetal., 2020).TheIndiangovernmenttookittoapoliticallevelandassumedthatPakistanhadnot investedheavilyintacklingviolentmilitiawhohidwithinitsborders.Therefore,governing bodiesthatturnagainstthesportsspirittendtousethesameforpoliticalgainleadingtodivision. Decisively,themainaimofsportsisunitingpeoplethroughsharedinterestsandvalues thathaveacloseassociationtosports.Throughsports,itiseasierforpeopletogrowandlearn together.Intheprocess,individualsinteractwithoutconsideringallthepreconceivedanimosities andnotions.Asaresult,thesepeopletendtoseepasttheirexistingdifferencesandcreateabond. However,incaseswherepeopletakethecompetitivenatureofsportstoofarwithoutrestraint, peopleforgetaboutthespiritofsports,anditendsuppromotinganimosityanddecisiveviolence withinsociety. 4 References Hautbois,C.,Djaballah,M.,&Desbordes,M.(2020).Stadiumsvsfanzones.Theinfluenceof attendingplaceonUEFAEuro2016shostcitiesimage.Soccer&Society,21(5),572- 583.https://doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2019.1694006 Mastromartino,B.,Chou,W.H.W.,&Zhang,J.J.(2018).Thepassionthatunitesusall:The cultureandconsumptionofsportsfans.InExploringtheriseoffandomincontemporary consumerculture(pp.52-70).IGIGlobal.https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/the- passion-that-unites-us-all/190233