Sporting activities are very essential to humans in diverse ways, such as how they help in shaping our mental, physical, and social well-being, and despite the fact that a lot of people on a yearly basis raise eyebrows at the amount of money spent to host or organize sporting events, I must say that sporting activities are important and have, through the years, played a vital role in our lives. In fact, eradicating it, in my opinion, will bring about more pains to humans regardless of if the money is spent to better the lives of the people, and in this article I'll tell you why I feel that way and also go on to extensively talk about the role sporting activities play in human lives and the danger putting an end to them would cause.
Sporting activities go a long way in improving lives, not just on a physical health level and fitness for players, but also by bringing about mental and emotional well-being for both players and viewers because they reduce stress and entertain viewers. They also bring about social interaction and teamwork. Take for instance a nation like ours, Nigeria, that's on the brink of breaking apart due to tribal and political rifts. Each time our representative in any sporting activity partakes in one event or another, you'll notice everyone puts their differences aside and supports the team wholeheartedly, even to the point of jubilating and celebrating with someone they deemed an enemy. That's to say, sporting activities bring about national unity.
Be it the World Cup, Olympics, or other sporting events, I think all should continue and shouldn't be halted for any reason whatsoever. Humanity has a lot of issues militating against it, and I for one know we need as much money as possible to tackle some of these issues, such as hunger, displacement due to different natural disasters, and the like. But one thing we can all agree on is the fact that despite how humans go through all of these problems, they usually use sporting activities as an antidepressant that helps kill the current pains they're going through, fill their mind with excitement, and give them hope.
Regardless of if money spent on international sport is diverted into other things like poverty elevation schemes or hunger eradication courses, one thing I can say for a fact is that we'll continue to have poor people amongst us, and so what's the point of taking resources from someone that entertains not just the rich but also the poor and everyone together, an activity that brings everyone together, connects them, and helps them share the same ambition? Why take that away from them? Doing that will only make humans have nothing to take their mind off their challenges, and these will bring about more depression, which leads to more issues such as suicide and the like.
Take for instance, during the last World Cup in Qatar, despite Nigeria not qualifying, being that I love Messi, I so much wished he'd lift the trophy, and when he finally did, I was so genuinely happy for him to the point where my heart was filled with joy, and you would have thought I won a billion dollars given the way I was so excited and emotional then. These are the feelings sporting activities give and why they should be encouraged. You can also imagine the majority of Nigerians who are angry that we didn't qualify for the world this last week, like my neighbor who said he wouldn't watch the match. Immediately he kept on hearing constant goal jubilation; he didn't know when he ran into my house to watch the match till the end while praying we'd qualify.
Sporting activities and competitions are like sugar that sweetens tea further or salt that makes food more delicious. I remember one popular advertisement during the 2006 World Cup, which shows a man who was about to kill a chicken saw a goal was scored and immediately, out of excitement, hugged the chicken he was about to kill. Another part of the advertisement shows how a man hiding in the closet because he was cheating with someone else's wife ran out to jubilate when he saw a goal was scored, and during those jubilating moments, he even hugged the husband of the woman he was hiding from. That's just to show you the power of sport and the way it seasons our lives with pleasurable experiences.
if at all money is need to tackle hunger, homelessness and other issues militating with humanity, then money spent on space exploration, Inventions of nuclear weapons and other weapons should be diverted to that course, but for money spent on hosting sporting activities, it should be left alone so we can continue to enjoy it.
All photos are mine.