The Social Value of Sports | PEP UNLIMITED LLC

Amburn’s Hum-Dinger Drive-In is know for its burges. Photo by Shawn Poynter

Sports provides a sense of connection and belonging for many that is being lost

Sports can serve to create a positive identity in a mass society. “The team” can deliver what the hunting-gathering band once did, and what we humans still need: a sense of belonging. That’s important, especially in a society that leaves many people feeling lost and lonely.

Sports can also provide strong emotions, both positive and negative, for people whose lives are otherwise flat, bland, and boring. Belonging to a team can give people who feel unimportant and disregarded a sense of being valuable and valued. It can give a city a more important place on the map and a certain cachet, which can, in turn, boost the self-esteem of its inhabitants. The hunger for this sense of identity and belonging, illusory as it might be, is evident from the huge sales of “official” team sportswear. “I am,” says the sweatshirt, “the player whose name and number are here displayed.”

Another source of social value is the ability of sports to create bonds between children and parents—especially fathers and sons. “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” could be the anthem of many father-son relationships in the USA. The fanbase of baseball is largely made up of boys who were introduced to the game by their fathers.

Sports in society are so vital that the United Nations (UN) has declared them a human right: “Sport and play are human rights that must be respected and enforced worldwide; the sport has been increasingly recognized and used as a low-cost and high-impact tool in humanitarian, development and peace-building efforts.”

While the UN recognizes that sports can also, at times, negatively influence society with corruption, scandal, and the incitement of violence, their positive influence far outweighs their negative aspects: “Sport has a unique power to attract, mobilize and inspire. By its very nature, sport is about participation. It is about inclusion and citizenship. It stands for human values such as respect for the opponent, acceptance of binding rules, teamwork and fairness, all of which are principles which are also contained in the Charter of the United Nations.”

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Physical activities like sports, whether for recreational, professional, or educational purposes, are not merely about fitness or victory; above all, they are an essential building block of a prosperous and healthy society. Much like a country’s educational system, media, or political and social movements, sporting events bring disparate people together by strengthening ties and celebrating the common ideals of fairness, sacrifice, and hope. Sports in society remind us that following prescribed rules does not have to be boring and that we must always carve out a place for fun in our lives.

In sports and physical education, we can face and overcome challenges and develop a concern for excellence. We can engage in activities that we value for ourselves, apart from the rewards that accrue to the most successful. Through sports, we can develop and express moral virtues and vices, and demonstrate the importance of such values as loyalty, dedication, integrity, and courage. Sport serves the social-psychological function of providing a sense of excitement, joy, and diversion for many people.

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