Sports are MORE than entertainment
In this era of sports clips going viral, athletes signing million-dollar endorsement deals, and social media keeping a close eye on every game and player, it is easy to think that sports’ main purpose is to entertain. After all, stadiums are packed to the brim with fans, and sports merchandise is flying off the shelves. But to reduce sports to just entertainment is to misunderstand their deeper social, cultural, and human values. The essence of sports does not lie in entertaining others, but in its connection to the community and people.
Sports are a valuable source of character development. Many athletes do not come into their sports games to put on a show for spectators. Rather, they compete to test their limits, persevere, and use their hard work to achieve their goals. These are the things that the athlete internalizes before the game, not to show off in front of a crowd. A student finishing a final lap in a track competition isn’t doing it to get applause; they are doing it to grow and keep doing their best. A football team that just won isn’t celebrating the fact that people are cheering for them; they are celebrating that their hard work brought them a win. If sports were just for entertainment, there’d be little need for youth leagues, local tournaments.
Sports are also very connected to the community. For example, sports are an engine for societal change. Consider how Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier, or how athletes like Billie Jean King and Colin Kaepernick used their platforms to challenge injustice. They could make that impact on our community because sports are connected to society, not just because they are entertaining. Sports also create a sense of belonging. I would play basketball with my friends to exercise and enjoy time with friends, not to entertain. National sports teams generate insane patriotism that brings people together. Sports is more than entertainment; it is a connection to other people that helps bring communities together.
Some people may argue that sports are intended to entertain, pointing to the commercialization of sports as evidence. While I do admit that this does blur the lines a little, in the end, sports’ primary goal is not to entertain as much as it is to connect and improve. The athletes who walk on the field at the Super Bowl are not thinking about how they will get applause; they are thinking about how to win and improve. The commercialization of sports also does not show how non-televised sports, like high school sports games, are made to entertain. A person’s high school sports performance is to demonstrate how much they have trained, not to entertain spectators.
In the end, sports are not just about putting on a show. Sports are there to improve our character and connect people and communities. Entertainment is part of the package of sports, but not the primary focus of sports as a whole.