Sporting events, sports heroes and cheating is in the news all the lately because of the Lance Armstrong and Penn State controversy. Not only that look at the NFL story about the Saints and the coach being suspended.
Have we lost our way in sports ? life, is wrong the new right?
This article started out a commentary about cheating and sports but the more thinking and research I did the more I thought about how all of this goes deeper. It?s not just the fall of Lance Armstrong or the fact that the beloved Joe Paterno and most of his Penn State staff failed to stop something they all knew was wrong. My question is what the motivating factor is for making those choices that they knew were wrong. Choices they knew at some point would most likely have fallout. Their choices caused harm to either themselves or others.
Sports are important to us, not just Americans but all countries love their sports heroes. In February of this year 79 people were killed in a soccer riot in Egypt. What?s even worse is sporting events are the leading cause of riots ? really? Why? Aren?t they supposed to be fun relaxing events? How did fun and relaxing become deadly? What is it about sports and sporting events that cause normal humans to behave like they are fighting for their lives? I have a few thoughts.
First of all there is tribalism. We are fundamentally social creatures, and in a time of social turmoil, humans take great comfort in the support of that. Anyone that has spent any time on a team or in a group of human beings can see how we bond as a group and will even do battle with other groups that threaten our group. This happens even if we barely know the people in our group. I saw this happen on the Inca Trail in Peru. At one of the ruin sites another group yelled at one of our group members for accidentally walking through their meditation group. Every person in our group was ready to rumble to protect our group mate. The funny thing is most of us didn?t know each other well. Yet 2 days on the Inca Trail made us a tribe willing to fight for one another.
In his book The Social Conquest of Earth, legendary sociobiologist E.O. Wilson argues that it is mankind?s predilection for forming altruistic groups that has allowed our species to wipe out all the other upright-walking apes and dominate the planet. While this once helped our ancestors form effective groups of hunters and warriors, today it plays out in our passionate and utterly arbitrary devotion to sports teams. Sports and sports heroes speak to us about strength, speed and endurance we will never have. Perhaps they even speak at a deeper level of survival, a safe showing of epic battles that our comfortable lives will never touch. Perhaps the willingness to let things slide and do things that are wrong are all about that primal urge to survive at all costs. Or?maybe it?s just about simply winning.
Bad behavior in our culture extends beyond sports. Let?s take for example the fascination with Toddlers and Tiara?s Alana Thompson also known as Honey Boo Boo. She first came to my attention when the media posted that her mother gave her 6 year old a combination of Red Bull and Mountain Dew, a combination she called Go Go Juice. The thought that a mother could so compromise her child?s future health with such a toxic concoction of kiddie speed just floors me. Her mother does this so she could give a hopped up stage performance. Is this really cheating? No, but is it in the best interest of the child, I don?t think so. Is it about winning or even better getting that ever valuable 15 minutes of fame? Maybe it?s not about winning but just getting famous.
I have to admit my guilty pleasure does include a little bit of reality TV. I have watched Survivor from the first show. Unfortunately Survivor has opened the door to a genre of TV that promotes insanity over talent. I am still mystified that I even know who the Kardashians are. They should be no more famous than the fact that Robert Kardashian was one of the defense attorneys in one of the best crash and burns of a sports hero of all time. Shall we talk about OJ?
Researching Corporate Wellness Programs?
The FitNuts are in the field RIGHT NOW helping companies develop and increase participation in their corporate wellness programs.
Using a comprehensive planning formula, we make sure that your employees have effective options for exercise, eating and mindset! If you would like to find out more, check out our FREE 2 Hour Corporate Wellness Evaluation offer!
the blaze Linda McMahon Voting Results 2012 pbs ron paul Cnn Electoral Map roseanne barr
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন