No matter if you’re someone who likes sports or not, you know a handful of people who absolutely love sitting down to watch the soccer, or playing their own game of baseball by joining a local team. Sports have been around for thousands of years, and to survive that long, there certainly needs to be something to them that people want to join in with!
So, it’s no feat to say that sports are one of the most enjoyable activities known to man. The more you get out there, and get involved, the more healthy and skilled you become. And seeing as there’s hundreds of sports you can get involved with, there really is something for everyone. But beyond this, there are some key factors that make sports so enjoyable, and give them their reputation of being a great way to spend your time. Let’s go through some of these main factors below.
The Sense of Community
Whenever you turn on the TV to watch a sport, or you physically attend a game, or you just sign up to a local team to start playing yourself, you’re getting involved with a community. You’re bringing yourself into the company of others, all of whom are equally as passionate as you about the sport in question, and many bonds can be formed here. And, even if you play a rough sport like rugby and end up needing loose teeth treatment from your dentist it really doesn’t matter; you’ve become a part of something that you enjoy and is much bigger than just yourself.
Turning on the TV brings sports personalities into your living room, where you can see and hear them. But heading on down to the bar, where the game is also playing, can ensure you’re physically surrounded by other fans as well. And we all know just how loud a baseball or soccer match can get when you’re in the stands!
This is especially true if you’re a part of a team yourself. You can very well make friends for life out of your teammates, and anything like bad behavior, lateness, or even just sloppy discipline, is taken very seriously by the community at large. It’s the kind of community you want to be in, because it’s fun, there are some serious rules to follow, and you’re all doing something enjoyable together.
The Thrill of Winning
Winning is something that feels good. If you’re a winner, not only do you get a warm, pleasant feeling in your chest, but you get bragging rights, and a reason to celebrate. You get looked to as a winner, and you get recognised as someone who knows what they’re doing, and performs well in their activity. And when it comes to sports, the winners are more celebrated and well known than any other winning personalities on the planet.
Being able to say that you’re a winner can also put a boost in your step, and ensure you’ve got either a medal or a trophy or even just a certificate to keep on your wall at home. You’ll be able to look at it everyday, and if there was a prize pot to go with it, your win was a great monetary boost to your household as well.
Speaking of, even just using sports as a way to make a bet, and looking through MLB Power Rankings to make sure you’ve got a good chance to make some money feels amazing, but is also potentially addictive. All in all, sports bring a lot of good feelings your way, simply because there’s a competition to get involved with, and the prestige (and all of its trimmings) of winning to be had for either you or your team.
The Health Benefits
Now, sports are often played for their health benefits alone. A regular, probably weekly activity that ensures you’re getting your heart rate up is not only a good way to exercise (and also commit to a workout routine), but it’s also great for your mind and body for multiple other reasons.
Number 1: Sports help you to get some better sleep at night. Exercising, in any form, helps your brain to release endorphins (happy chemicals) that ensure you feel more relaxed. So it only follows suit that after an evening of casual sports with the team, you’ll be able to get to sleep much quicker (and for longer) when you hit the hay.
Number 2: Sports are very good for the health of your heart. Hearts are often the muscle we forget about, and plenty of regular sports ensure it can beat to the rhythm of the strongest drum. When a heart is strong and taken out for exercise, it pumps the blood around your body much more efficiently.
Number 3: Sports help you to shake off some of that stress on your shoulders! As we mentioned above, when exercising your brain releases endorphins that help you to relax, which includes shaking that stress off. Not to mention sports can release the nervous energy you may be holding.
The Players are Real
As we briefly touched on above, the players in a sport are as real as you are, and that makes it much easier to form some kind of connection to them. Love them or hate them, the soccer players that fill the pitch are people you recognise, and know a lot about, and that’s simply because they’re human.
Think about your favorite movies and video games as a good comparison here. Sure, the characters in them look like you, or have avatars to represent a real person, but they’re not real, and it’s easy to stop thinking about them when you put the controller down or watch through the credits in the cinema. It’s much different when it comes to sports.
You can watch a match unfold in front of your very eyes, and it can be akin to the way a story unfolds. A slow beginning, and treacherous middle, and then at the end, the underdog team finally takes the win and makes us all proud. And because of this, you can experience some real highs and lows while watching a game of soccer, baseball, or American football.
The Sheer Fun of the Activity
And finally, sports are enjoyable simply because they can be so fun. Humans are created to run and move, and if you’ve got a ball in your stick to get to a goal on the other side of the pitch, you’re really going to release the best you’ve got!
For example, kids play sports to release some of that childish energy they all have. They can run, jump, sprint, and scream as they go for hours on end, only stopping for drinks in the middle. And when it comes to adults playing sports, while it may be a bit slower, the principle is the same.
Not to mention every single match is different, and every opponent is different, and taking them all on and determining your own strategy is a great way to occupy your mind with some enjoyable activities. There’s a lot to do on a soccer field, and there’s a lot of people around you that change the state of play, and that means you’re very unlikely to get bored too.
Sports are enjoyable because of their intrinsic fun, the people you can meet through playing (or even just watching!) them, and because of the competitive spirit most sportspeople have. So, if you’re looking to get involved with a bit more sport in your local area, make sure you keep these points in mind, because sports are good for both the brain and body, and it’s a worthy cause you’re signing up with.