3 Things I Learned From Sports

I haven’t played a team sport in a few years. However, I can still remember the “good ole days” playing basketball and tennis in high school. Looking back on those experiences, I’ve discovered that there are 3 things that sports taught me.

3. If you play a sport that doesn’t matter, you don’t matter– I think some people deny that student athletes get special treatment, but it does happen. If you’re not getting special treatment, then you’re playing the wrong sport.

When I was a sophomore in high school, I switched schools and the only sport I played was tennis. Needless to say, no one cares about tennis.

Basically, unless you played basketball or football, you were still considered a nobody in the eyes of your peers. For instance, every time we had a pep rally, the only two sports that were celebrated were basketball and football. However, one time, the tennis team was recognized because we had made it into a big tournament. We were welcomed with little to no applause and you could subtlety hear the question, “We have a tennis team?” being mumbled.

Tennis…is that like water polo or something?

So basically, here is my advice. If you’re looking to be popular, have tons of friends and have the admiration of your peers and teachers, I recommend you play a well-loved sport and get really good at it. And no, golf doesn’t count.

2. It’s not about winning, it’s about having fun- This is the biggest lie that I have ever heard. For years, I heard this over and over and over. But yet for some reason, I never really believed any coach that said this.

When I played basketball in middle and high school, I had numerous coaches tell me this before a game. But guess what? Once half time came around and we were down by 20 points, the coach was yelling and telling us how if we didn’t win, we were going to be running our asses off at the next practice.

But what if we were having fun playing the game? Sure, we were losing, but what if we were okay with that because we just loved the game? All of sudden that “having fun” part went out the window.

“It’s not about winning, it’s about having fun. But winning is the only way to have fun! So get out there and win!” I feel that’s the better expression.

“Now you get out there and start having fun!” Yelled no coach ever.

So the next time you’re playing a sport and having a good time with some friends, look up at the scoreboard. If you’re down by a few points, it’s time to step up and start having more fun. And if you’re a coach, then you scream and yell at those little punks until they start crying tears of fun! Because that’s what all the great coaches do, right?

1. It’s okay to cheat to get to the top, just don’t get caught– This wasn’t a lesson I really learned by playing sports. This was a lesson I learned by watching sports. In the world we live, sports are so important that people are willing to lie, cheat, steal, murder and take all kinds of drugs to reach their full potential and get on top.

These same athletes are considered role models and tell our kids that if you work hard, say your prayers and eat your vegetables, you can be successful too.

One scandal we can look at in recent news is Lance Armstrong. This is a story of a man willing to do anything to be number one and reach the top. So was he sorry that he cheated, or was he sorry that he got caught cheating?

It’s baffling to me that some athletes are willing to cheat to obtain their goals and be number one. But what happens when all of your hard work adds up to nothing because you cheated and cut corners to get there?

And if a majority of pro athletes are taking performance enhancing drugs to get there, what kind of message is that sending to the youth? It’s telling them that it’s okay to cheat, just don’t get caught.

But I also think sports drive people to cheat. Think about it. Let’s say you really loved football and you were a pretty good player. You did well in high school and even had a few colleges look at you. Then, all of a sudden, some coaches tell you that you need to work on building mass and strength. Sure you could hit the gym and work hard, but when every pro athlete and their mother is taking steroids, perhaps it would be tempting and easier to give yourself a little boost.

And if everyone else is doing it, it must be okay right? And let’s say you don’t have enough time to get bigger. Are you willing to kiss those scholarships goodbye? Man, life has some tough decisions.

But that’s what sports are there for right? To separate the strong from the weak. If you can’t get bigger, maybe little Timmy down the street can.

Good Lord, Timmy got swole!

Hell, even Buggs Bunny and the rest of the gang took performance enhancing drugs in Space Jam!

Makes me sick!

Don’t get me wrong though, I really enjoyed playing sports. Why? Because I had fun. I was just there to hang out with friends and have a good time. And I think we’ve lost sight of that. Sports are suppose to be fun. So ignore all the people who take it too seriously and let your coaches get upset if they want. Just don’t take anything they say personally and remember that it’s a game and games are suppose to be fun! So get out there and enjoy yourself! Unless it’s dodgeball. That’s war, not a game.

And yes, Space Jam is the greatest sports movie of all time.