Society has been completely taken over by sports. It is a constant debate on whether or not this is a good or bad thing for the world. While there are some people that can see the all of the benefits to society sports bring, there are an equal amount who don't forever why running and tackling can have that big of an impact on the world. I'm here to explain why sports are so vital the world we live in today.
Nationalism
People of all races, religions and social backgrounds come together despite their differences and all have one common goal: to win. The Olympics are a great example of how nationalism increases, for instance, the "Miracle on Ice" at end of cold war, where a team of amateur American players defeated a highly-ranked team of Professional Soviet players for the gold medal in 1980. This event is stoned into American history forever and gave Americans something to believe in and be proud of at a time when the Cold War was nearing its end. This is also similar to South Africa's national rugby victory after the Apartheid, which helped the country all gather together and rally around the opportunity of hope and optimism.
City pride
In terms of city pride, you also have people of all different races, religion, and social background coming together to root for your home team. It brings a source of pride to have your city representing you and winning. You also have "12th man on the field" phenomenon when you are playing a home game. The 12th man on the field idea comes out of Seattle as the idea that the home crowd counts as a 12th player on the Seahawks football team. The fans all gather together at the games to form one great entity all with the same goal to help the team win.
Economic growth
The revenue that sports raise for their city leaves a tremendous economic impact on the city. According to the USA Today, the Chicago Cubs generate $600 million annually for Illinois. However, the NYC marathon, which isn't even a team sport and it only occurs once a year, boosted the economy by $340 million.
Job market
Economic Modeling Specialists International say the sports industry in America alone has produced 456,000 jobs. Between people that work at the stadiums, businesses around the stadium, businessmen that work within the teams, marketing teams, people that design clothes for the team, and so on, there are many jobs that directly are impacted by sports but there are countless that are indirectly benefitted through sports.
Encouraging healthy lifestyles
The NFL has also started their own campaign to make sure kids stay healthy and in good shape. The Play 60 campaign is an organization that promotes kids to get outside and play for 60 minutes every day. Having the NFL and the players sponsor this campaign makes children more interested in it and more likely to listen. Sports are the best way to children to gain the proper exercise time for the day and it promotes a healthy lifestyle moving forward.
Great for underprivileged kids
Children from poor neighborhoods that would otherwise end up on the street or in gangs have sports to turn to turn their lives around. Sports keep children off of the streets after school and more engaged in an activity that encourages good behavior. Sports are also how many underprivileged kids can end up going to college and affording it. Lots of inner-city kids receive sports scholarships to schools and that is their way into a better life. Whether or not they end up going pro in sports, they walk away with a college education.
Giving kids role models
Even though there are some athletes who are bad guys, there are many who are inspirational to us as well. For example, Shaquem Griffen is a player for the Seattle Seahawks who only has one hand. He has become an inspiration to so many children with physical disabilities that just because you may not look exactly like everyone else doesn't mean that you can't achieve what you put your mind to.
Charities
Every professional team has a foundation or a mission to give back to the community and improve the community to make it a better place. The Red Sox Foundation has raised $52 million to give back, Derek Jeter's Turn 2 charity has raised $19 million, and so on. JJ Watt was able to raise $41.6 million dollars to go towards the relief of Hurricane Harvey in Houston this year. The V Foundation created by ESPN has raised $170 million for cancer research by auctioning off sports memorabilia and sports experiences with celebrities and it works because there really are that many people who care about these items and would spend crazy amounts of money on them. Professional sports also do the Make A Wish foundation lots of favors by meeting and hanging out with young kids who are living with terminal illnesses.
Attention to social issues
We have players like Colin Kaepernick who use their platform to stand up for social issues and problems that need to be fixed and addressed. Colin Kaepernick drew attention to the institutional racism involved in police work by kneeling during the national anthem and it sparked lots of discussion about the topic.
