25 Reasons Sport is Life

Juan Antonio Samaranch who served as President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1980–2001 made the following statement at the 1996 Olympic Opening Ceremony:

4. Sport is Life

The opening line of Remember The Titans, one of the most revered sport movies of all time is, “In Virginia High School Football is a way of Life.”

Sport shapes, inspires, and brings people together for a multitude of reasons. Many family gatherings take place around a television set while rooting for our favorite teams. In small towns old men still live and breath high school sports and at the collegiate and professional ranks hundreds of thousands pack stadiums and millions more are watching on TV. It’s not uncommon for complete strangers to embrace with a hug after a big play or to strike up a conversation with someone they don’t know just because he or she is wearing the colors of their favorite team. The world is passionate about Sport.

It is vitally important to remember that Sport should not define us. Sport may be something we do but it is not who we are. An athlete who drops a ball, an official who makes a bad call, or a coach who calls the wrong play is not necessarily a bad human being.

Sport is life. Not because of our fandom or participation but rather from the Character qualities that Sport Provides. Here are only 25 of my favorite behaviors that Sport freely offers and define who we are: Belief, Commitment, Courage, Discipline, Execution, Failure, Faith, Fear, Fun, Gratitude, Grit, Integrity, Leadership, Love, Motivation, Passion, Practice, Process, Risk, Sacrifice, Selflessness, Service, Toughness, Trust, Work.