Sport is a huge topic of which a great deal has been written
and spoken. At this time of mid summer in the UK, much sport is taking place
and more will commence shortly. There’s tennis at Wimbledon, the Indian Cricket
team is on tour, the Tour de France is due to start on 5th July, and the
Commonwealth Games on 23rd July.
Over the years since the founder of the International
Olympic Committee, Baron Pierre de Coubertin summed up the spirit of the Games,
with these words, “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning
but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering, but fighting
well,” there has been a vast change of attitudes brought about by the
commercialization of sport.
Pope Francis has said, “When sport is considered only in
economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost, it risks reducing
athletes to mere trading material from whom profits are extracted.”
The essential nature of any physical sport is competition,
either between individuals or teams, the members of which cooperate in order to
gain victory. When it comes to this year’s FIFA World Cup, astronomical sums of
money have been spent on building stadiums, associated facilities and infrastructure.
Many Brazilians believe the perceived benefits cannot be justified, and that money
could have been better spent on job creations schemes, building schools, training
teachers, and on health care. As a result, discontents have expressed their
anger by staging riots in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Brasilia, Belem, Belo Horizonte and Salvador.
The health
benefits of sport cannot be denied, and many useful lessons can be learned by
those who participate in them. ‘Sport for sports sake - not for monetary gain’
is the mantra to teach our children.
1 Corinthians
9:24 ‘Do you not know that those who run
in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may
obtain it.’
Links
UK Sport
XX Commonwealth Games
Pope Francis warns against commercializing sport
Which football team does the new Pope support?
Ethics of Sport
Ethics and Sport
The Tour de France
PGA Tour
Pierre de Coubertin
FIFA World Cup
Riot Force Created for World Cup
Brazil Riot Protests against World Cup 2014
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