By Terry Davis
From backgammon to
the 3,000 year old Royal Game of Ur., from Oriental kite contests to
the universal tit-tat-toe and baseball, games have been, and are
played throughout every culture and society known to man. Where is
the line drawn between a game and a sport? What are the vital
missing elements which preclude most games from being a
sport?
By comparison, all
games and sports are taken up for fun or pleasure. Winning a game or
sport always makes an individual or team happy. Winners are always
rewarded. All rewards fall within three categories: Material (IE . .
. trophy or ribbon), Monetary (IE . . . cashes or check), and
Emotional(IE . . . jubilation or
triumph).
Swimming,
baseball, and hockey are well-known games which are recognized as
sports. Chess, cards, and marbles are well-known games which are not
recognized as sports.
On close examination, we find a trend amid sports which
is not an element of common games. That key element is the number
one thing that draws the line between sports and games.
Exercise!
All games and
sports are mentally demanding. Individuals or an individual have to
plan and think to be competitive against an opponent. However, only
in sports are significant physical demands placed on the body that
result in extensive exercise. A secondary, key element found in
sports, which generally is not found amid common games is
Profession.
Football, boxing, golf, and bowling, are examples of
sports which many people take up as a paid (very handsomely
paid)profession. One final element of a sport, which is generally
not found amid common games is Risk. In every sport, there is always
the risk of bodily injury. There is no element of risk involved
playing a game of backgammon or Old Maid.
Games, once
learned, can be played by the average, and not so average person
without giving a second thought to risk or
injury.
Sports, however,
require continual learning, mental, and physical conditioning with
constant risk of bodily injury and liability on the part of someone
or some entity. Give a thought to these elements the next time you
plop down in your favorite chair to watch an activity on the tube,
or set out to participate in your favorite game activity.
Thus, two
questions which have plagued many generations have now been
answered. What makes a game a sport?; and why athletes are paid so
much.
Terry Davis is
publisher of http://southernliving.blogsome.com/ and http://newsunheralded.blogspot.com/ You will
find his publishings to be informative, helpful, entertaining,
sometimes shocking and provocative. Whenever you visit his unique
sites,
prepare to have your emotions and senses
stirred.