A Place for Spectator Sports?
This post is an answer to a question from a comment in a previous post: "Do you feel that there is a healthy (or "not harmful") place for spectator sports in society?"
I think I would answer that question exactly as I would answer if the question had been "Do you think there is a healthy place for entertainment in society?" That's how I see spectator sports--entertainment.
My answer is a copiously qualified "yes."
In general, I think spectator sports are almost entirely useless, except as a temporary "untangling of mind knots" maneuver. For that, spectator sports can serve a useful purpose (but so can many other activities, most of which have some other redeeming virtue--improvement of health, exercise of the mind, investment in relationships, etc. ). I suggest, however, that watching the Super Bowl, for example, usually happens for reasons other than the one I've listed here. In school, I'm also not at all enamored with the practice of girls lining up around the basketball court to watch the boys play. I'm even less impressed when the reverse happens.
Spectator sports, in my estimation, are usually engaged in for one of the following reasons:
--Learning how to play the game better (This came through tangentially in what I heard from football players at the class at Sterling.)
--An ego boost (If I can't play out there myself, I'll feel better about it if I cheer for someone who can. If they win, I'll feel good too because I've had a part in their win.)
--An intensely competitive personal drive (which can not be on display in another setting without negative social consequences)
--An opportunity for a social gathering with other fans (I believe almost no helpful relationship building happens here. People seldom see others' best side at these times. On the contrary, excesses are often in evidence, and everyone's behavior tends to slide toward the lowest level present rather than trending higher.)
--Seeking to fill empty places in an unsatisfying life--socially, intellectually, spiritually
--Sensual indulgence (Spectators have nothing to do except watch, and, in games beyond Christian school property, athletes and cheerleaders are often scantily clad--less so for players in some sports.)
--"Sheeple" behavior--not thinking, just following other sheeple
All kinds of entertainment are best taken only in small doses, according to my understanding. One indication of that is the one to seven rest/work ratio that God Himself observed. If all non-work activity is to fit into one-seventh of our total number of hours in a week, we can't afford to fill up much of that time with spectator sports because of big losses guaranteed to occur elsewhere if we do. Simply put, if we're caught up with spectator sports, many other good revitalizing things will be displaced. This is especially the case on Sundays, as I see it. Hence my discomfort with missing a church group activity to watch the Super Bowl.
Having conceded that entertainment has a legitimate place in society, if its time-share is kept well below one to seven ratio thresholds, I still have a very hard time seeing that watching the Super Bowl on a Sunday evening fits any legitimate parameters.
That's my stick-in-the-mud pronouncement for the day.
I think I would answer that question exactly as I would answer if the question had been "Do you think there is a healthy place for entertainment in society?" That's how I see spectator sports--entertainment.
My answer is a copiously qualified "yes."
In general, I think spectator sports are almost entirely useless, except as a temporary "untangling of mind knots" maneuver. For that, spectator sports can serve a useful purpose (but so can many other activities, most of which have some other redeeming virtue--improvement of health, exercise of the mind, investment in relationships, etc. ). I suggest, however, that watching the Super Bowl, for example, usually happens for reasons other than the one I've listed here. In school, I'm also not at all enamored with the practice of girls lining up around the basketball court to watch the boys play. I'm even less impressed when the reverse happens.
Spectator sports, in my estimation, are usually engaged in for one of the following reasons:
--Learning how to play the game better (This came through tangentially in what I heard from football players at the class at Sterling.)
--An ego boost (If I can't play out there myself, I'll feel better about it if I cheer for someone who can. If they win, I'll feel good too because I've had a part in their win.)
--An intensely competitive personal drive (which can not be on display in another setting without negative social consequences)
--An opportunity for a social gathering with other fans (I believe almost no helpful relationship building happens here. People seldom see others' best side at these times. On the contrary, excesses are often in evidence, and everyone's behavior tends to slide toward the lowest level present rather than trending higher.)
--Seeking to fill empty places in an unsatisfying life--socially, intellectually, spiritually
--Sensual indulgence (Spectators have nothing to do except watch, and, in games beyond Christian school property, athletes and cheerleaders are often scantily clad--less so for players in some sports.)
--"Sheeple" behavior--not thinking, just following other sheeple
All kinds of entertainment are best taken only in small doses, according to my understanding. One indication of that is the one to seven rest/work ratio that God Himself observed. If all non-work activity is to fit into one-seventh of our total number of hours in a week, we can't afford to fill up much of that time with spectator sports because of big losses guaranteed to occur elsewhere if we do. Simply put, if we're caught up with spectator sports, many other good revitalizing things will be displaced. This is especially the case on Sundays, as I see it. Hence my discomfort with missing a church group activity to watch the Super Bowl.
Having conceded that entertainment has a legitimate place in society, if its time-share is kept well below one to seven ratio thresholds, I still have a very hard time seeing that watching the Super Bowl on a Sunday evening fits any legitimate parameters.
That's my stick-in-the-mud pronouncement for the day.
posted by Mrs. I (Miriam Iwashige) at
2:11 PM
2 Comments:
Thank you for taking time to answer the question; I enjoyed reading your response. It is a mild relief to see that spectator sports are not completely banished to the refuse pile, even in light of your well-articulated reservations. :-)
I can see and understand your argument that the time spent on spectator sports would be better invested in relationships or personal growth.
Ravi Zacharias is someone who stands in my mind as a giant of the Christian faith, and a gifted expositor of truth. He is also a passionate spectator of cricket (from his native country of India).
Condoleeza Rice is an expert in public policy, a church-attending, publicly professing Christian, world class pianist, and self-confessed sports nut who will watch anything involving "winning, losing, and a score". She is such an insightful football analyst, some have said she should make it her profession.
How do you reconcile your argument in light of accomplished and well-developed people such as these, who are so effective in what they do, yet their enjoyment of spectator sports is a part of who they are? (Granted, I have no idea how much actual time they put into it)
By
Anonymous, at 2/08/2014
I think I'll need more space than this comment box will allow to answer the question. Watch for a later post.
By
Mrs. I (Miriam Iwashige), at 2/08/2014
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