Sports have always held a high echelon in the lives of every person starting from ‘early men’. Early men, who hunted game, were looking to obtain food for their living. However, as they lacked activity, they started taking part in hunting to pass their times, and hence hunting evolved to become a past time game rather than a necessity for food. This example can be stretched to the early times in England when the lords created a competition for hunting the fastest animal on ground by a bow and arrow. Thus the reason for hunting changed again, this to become one of competition rather than of fun.
Dictionary.com defines sports as a “physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively” and as “an active pastime or recreation” (Dictionary, 2008). This definition can be best understood by the example given above about hunting. Hunting evolved from a necessity to a past time, then to a competition and now again is a form of past time fun activity. In short, sport can be defined as an activity that either has a competitive sense or a recreational sense. The basic difference lies in the fact that one is played to win while the other to pass the time. Thus differentiating this definition on these two factors forms the basis of our discussion.
We know sports as those activities that are recognized in the world for the purpose of entertainment for the viewers and as a competition for the participants. Sports such as Football, Swimming, Cricket and Basketball are held in stadiums of huge areas where the participants play in a specified limited area, while an external area is provided to the audience to view the sport in progress. Sports played for recreational purposes are usually played in homes, open spaces or anywhere they can find space and does not have a fixed boundary.
A sport in a competitive sense involves playing to win a certain prize. This may be a trophy, cup or a cash prize that is given to the winning player(s). The reputation of the players is at stake for which they fight with their opponents. Sport for fun is usually to satisfy personal objectives rather than to win something.
The factor of seriousness comes in a sport which is played for winning. Since two or more sides are competing against others, they prepare in advance, train themselves and make specific strategies of how to tackle the opposition. Since the stakes are higher, these preparations are more extravagant and usually require a professional coach or manager for this purpose. Sports for fun lacks the seriousness and is usually not played with the intent of beating the opponent.
Due to the seriousness of sports for the purpose of winning, there are fixed set of rules and regulations that has to be followed. Umpires and referees serve the purpose of making the players abide by these rules. Sports played for fun may be played with the same rules and regulations, but this is dependent of the playing parties. The abidance to these rules is overseen by the players themselves without the involvement of any other authority.
Sports for winning are involved with professionals who have the skills to play that specific sport. For such people, playing sports are the means of income and livelihood. Tournaments are organized where these players come and play for their country, city or region. Sports for fun is usually played in the free time of the playing parties with the without prior preparation and organization.
The sports played for the purpose of winning are managed on a large scale and are provided high level of exposure, especially when that sport is played to represent the country. Media covers it through the TV and radio, providing the world with second to second news and updates. Some sports are telecast live on TV or the Internet and have millions of viewers all over the world watching it. Another important characteristic about competitive sports is that, a player or a team is sponsored to play. Some brand or brands sponsor to have their logs, ads printed on the uniforms of the players too. In comparison, sports played for having fun has neither a media coverage nor a sponsorship since nobody apart from the players playing it are interested in that sport.
Throughout this discussion it has been mentioned that sports played for fun or recreation does not involve an audience, playing fields etc. This holds true in all situation expect in a sport that is played for exhibition purposes. Players, who usually play sports for winning, may also play exhibition games where the purpose is to raise charity or to help solve a cause. Here the sport is for fun and enjoyment and not for winning or losing.
Works Cited
Dictionary. (2008). Sport. Web.