Inhistoric

It’s something that can drive men crazy and lead them to do stupid things; it probably came into being as a way to channel excess energy and reduce the natural and fierce spirit of competitiveness that man is born with; and today, it is not just a means of relaxation, it also makes a ton of money as well. Sport is more than just a game to most people – to some, it’s a lifeline to sanity, to others, it is life itself. It drives men and women crazy, its lucrative gains push them to do their best, and when this is not enough, it eggs them to adopt underhand means to win at any cost.

From time immemorial or at least as far back as we can trace, man has been involved in some kind of sport. Starting with the most primitive forms like throwing rocks the farthest and swimming rivers the fastest, our early ancestors soon moved to fashioning crude equipment and using them for sporting entertainment as well. Competitive events were held for glory alone, and winners were awarded wreaths or other such decorations instead of money or valuables. Some events were violent while others were toned down in intensity.

As the centuries passed, animals began to be used for sporting pleasure as well – royalty in Europe chose horses to race while their counterparts in India preferred elephants to play polo. The domestication of animals opened up many more opportunities for sport and lovers of sport. Individual events gave way to team games where entire villages or communities banded together to play neighboring units (incidentally, cricket is the oldest team game on record). Advancement and development in general life gave way to similar advances in sporting events as well, and even though the aggression and violence were toned down with rules and regulations, sport continues to have some amount of bloodiness in it.

The role of women in sports has always been minimal in the early years; they were expected to play more conservative roles in society and sport was something that was seen to be aggressive and so suited only for men. It was only in the 20th century that women were allowed to compete as well in professional sports; even so, even with all the anti-discrimination laws that are in place today, sport remains the bastion of testosterone-fuelled males with the feminine gender being pushed to the background and forced to play a smaller role (perhaps the one thing that remains common to ancient and modern-day sport).  

Today, it’s hard to imagine a life without sport – it’s not just a form of entertainment, it also constitutes a fun way to exercise and makes a ton of money for players, organizers, owners and everyone else associated with it. It will continue to be tainted by scandal, but these are side effects that we must ignore and try to prevent if the future of sports is to be bright.

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This guest post is contributed by Sandra McAubre, she writes on the topic of sports management degree programs . She welcomes your comments at her email id: sandra1.mcaubre@gmail.com.