Ever imagined a life without no sporting activities or games? What if there was no football, no basketball, no golf, no Premier League, no La Liga, no Australian Open, no boxing, and the likes? How would the world have been without these big competitions that bring money to the players and fun to the spectators?
What would you have been doing during your leisure? Without a doubt, life would have been a bit boring and unimaginable without games and sports. For this reason, one cannot help but appreciate games and sports.
In the past months, I have had a glimpse of how boring it would have been if there were no sports and games. Here is my story: I had to travel to another location far from home for educational purposes. Now, in this new terrain, I can hardly engage in certain sports activities or even get to view professional tournaments because of certain factors like poor network connectivity.
Being a very rural environment, you cannot find a good football to play or table tennis, etc. On top of that, not enough space or good pitch to engage in playing football. Also, indigenes aren't even interested in the game as everyone is busy with his/her farm work and/or other businesses.
More so, getting to watch football matches or other sports online comfortably is a big problem too because network connectivity is either slow or poor. You can imagine how frustrating and boring that would be for someone who loves sports. My last resort, therefore, becomes jogging/ road walking. I would wake up early in the morning and jog a meaningful distance just so I can keep fit. But still, I miss playing football or table tennis and I can't wait to finish up and return home.
Why Games and Sports are Important
Sports have been very worthwhile and advantageous in various aspects of our lives. The interesting part is that you don't have to be directly involved in sports to enjoy its benefits. That is to say, sports and games benefit both the active participants and the passive participants.
By passive, I refer to the spectators who just watch the games and fans who show support to their favourite teams. This article will discuss briefly a few ways sports and games have been beneficial to mankind.
Relaxation and Stress Relief
You will agree with me that the level of stress people experience in our society today is on the high side. Stress could arise from many areas ranging from the lack of finance to the nature of work people do to family and societal problems etc.
In the midst of all of these tensions and difficulties, sports and games have always been very instrumental in helping people ease off stress and be relaxed. No one ever engages actively in any sporting activities or sits somewhere to spectate an ongoing game and remains very sad, anxious, troubled, and/or worried.
Doing any of the above, that is, playing a sport or spectating might not take away the problems permanently but at least, it will help take your mind away from those problems. Therefore, sports help in taking away worries, easing off stress, and causing a person to be relaxed and happy.
Are you lacking happiness? Try getting involved in any form of sports and you'll see the difference.
Unification
Another important thing sports bring to society is unification. I'm not sure there is anything that brings people of different countries, genders, races, religions, and cultures together as sports do. It is only in sports that you'll see people of different religions coming together and dropping aside their personal beliefs.
I remember one of the times when I participated in a football tournament. I'm a Christian and before then, I never had any Muslims as a close friends even though I respect them and their beliefs. However, in the process of forming a team, we had both Christians and Muslims come together to complete the squad. And we played together in oneness.
Employment Opportunity
Most importantly, sports and games bring to society and individuals an avenue to make ends meet. In a world having a large population of people but limited job opportunities, the world of sports has employed and empowered thousands of individuals thereby reducing the rate of unemployment globally. Today, we have countless people we earn from all kinds of sports either as players, coaches, or staff.
Career
Also, sports serve as a career path for many. Nowadays, we have people who study a certain sport professionally and have made it their career. People who are gifted and talented in certain sports can now dedicate their lives to the sport, playing and eventually guiding others to become professionals.
These are but the few aspects sports have contributed immensely to the world we live in. Now, imagine how it would have been for us without sports.