"Nature had spontaneously thrown up rare freaks-precisely the mechanism that Darwin had proposed as an evolution's first step. Darwin had called the variant "sports," implying a streak of capricious whimsy in the natural world. De Vries chose a more serious-sounding word. He called them mutants-from the Latin word for "change."
From THE GENE
It is a strange time we find ourselves currently in. The coronavirus pandemic. Lives have been lost, lives will be lost, jobs have been lost, jobs will be lost. Politicians and media, continue to ramp up their confusion and fear, looking for ways to gain advantage over each other, looks for ways to gain advantage over us.
It seems almost frivolous to talk about sport. Almost seems, ugly.
But, for a second, forget the idea of what comes to mind when you think of it. Forget the million dollar contracts, forget the athlete complaining about their money, forget the price of the tickets, forget the price of a beer, forget the travel, forget the cost, forget the business of sport.
Remember the sport. Remember the feeling of lacing up your shoes. Remember the huddle. Remember the voices. Remember the exhaustion. Remember the pain of losing. Remember the joy of winning. Remember the aha moment, when you figured it out. The first time you hit a ball, the first time you cleared the hurdle, beat a time, beat the rival, made the climb. Remember the first time you decided to stay until you could do it, and did it.
Kids turn everything into a game. How fast did I do it in? Make it harder. Race me. Everything from learning is through play. Play is sport. It drives development. We have within us some form of need to feel and see improvement. We love to see, five seconds faster up the hill, five more reps, five more pounds on the bar. Kids will be excited when they climb higher in the tree, a first cartwheel, biked up the hill finally, or figured out how to jump rope.
We are born with a need for tribes. Define your tribe. Family, church, gym, profession, school, team....
We dress the part, so people know. So we feel a part of, instead of apart from. That is sport.
Sport at it's heart has always shown us the possibilities of us. If you ever watched MJ or Steph and then went and shot baskets, knowing you could never be "that" but you could get better. That is sport.
If you ever watched Ritz, Mebb or Alyson race and run and then went and laced up your shoes, knowing you will never be that fast, but you can get better. That is sport.
If you know your Fran time, because you know what the best in the world do. That is sport.
My dad was watching an old football game from the late 70's, reshown on Classic ESPN. Two major rivals that at the time, the two best college football teams in American. He was watching them, because during this time, there was nothing else on. He told me he turned it off. They were so small and slow, the play was so unimaginative. He said it's not even the same sport. He spoke the truth.
Kids were watching the football in the 70's were awestruck by the skill and athleticism they saw. Those kids became the football starts of the 80's and they inspired the kids of the 90's. Those kids inspired the kids of the 00's and so on and so on. The game changed, because the kids changed. The kids changed, because they knew they could.
People find comfort in sports. It brings them together. For no other reason, perhaps it gives you an excuse to stop by and say hi while you watch a bit of a game. It gives a reason to meet up with friends and family. To show up and cheer on a family member or friend.
To forget the connection from sport to us, is to suspend the jump from present to future. Who is going to show us the "oh man how did he do that." Where will get the crazy comebacks. When will we have the "she's insane" moments. How will we get the friend updates about finishing a race or event that seems crazy.
Those things matter, because they seep into our thoughts streams. They let us know, a one handed catch is possible, they let us know a human can run 2:05 marathon, a human can bike 350 miles, a human can race 100 miles, you can be on the verge of defeat and claw your way back. Those things do shape us.
Sports at it's spirit drives change. Change is needed for growth. Without growth, there is decay. A slow decay, is decay none the less. So, remember sport, why you first felt what you did way back then. Lace up your shoes, clip onto your bike, grab the clubs, grab the racket, grab the glove. Climb the tree, then climb it faster. Learn a new move, practice until it hurts. Practice until it doesn't.
Change.
