Sports have always been a big part of human life. Sports can teach us a lot about the cultures they exist in. Sports are a great learning experience for children, and sports medals and custom ribbons can boost a child’s self confidence immensely.

The ancient Greeks were not the first people to appreciate sport, but are perhaps among the most famous. After all, the Olympics are still around 2000 years later. The Colosseum and its bloody sport reflect the values of a culture steeped in violence and born of conquest. Many Native Americans, especially those on the plains, valued competitions testing the speed and accuracy with which they could use their weapons, and much of their culture involved these skills.

In our culture today we see the commercialization of sports in all levels. What has been a pastime in other cultures has become profession in ours. Better pay and winning are peoples only concern. What will future generations think when they look back at our sports and the way we play them? Perhaps they will see the ferocious fans getting into fights with each other in the stands and even with players on the court or field. Perhaps they will see human beings sold like hunks of meat to run into one another and catch a ball for outrageous sums of money to giant sports franchises. What will they think of steroids?

With so much emphasis within todays society on winning in sports and across the board, the poor conduct of so many of the people involved in sports is not surprising. Sports should teach children the value of competition and how to endeavor towards excellence. They should try to improve themselves, competing against themselves instead of others. This would shift the focus from dominating others to improving oneself.

Research has found many benefits to sports. From inclusion and the elimination of racism to increasing graduation rates,sports can be a positive influence of children. One study showed that high school students involved in sports earned higher grades, got into trouble less often, were less likely to drop out, had higher GPAs, and were more likely to graduate than students who did not participate in sports. People must retain positive attitudes though. Trying to win instead of develop the individual can make kids feel unwanted, unworthy, and unacceptable, one expert argues. We should not be teaching kids that they are failures, but teach them to handle failure, not to accept it, and to continue always to better themselves. If we continue the way we are going in sport, everyone will feel either like a loser of a winner. Children should learn to compete only against themselves, in order that we can have generations of encouraging children who are always seeking to better themselves.

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