In my personal opinion, sports are one of the great ways to heal and help forget about the realities that people face every day around them. During class when we discussed the movie Invictus, I could see how powerful sports really were when the South African people looked to a group of men playing rugby to help them take their minds off of the civil unrest of apartheid that was currently going on. The love and passion for a sport can bring a whole entire nation together to cheer for something and too me, that's very powerful and tells me how important sports are to the world on a global level.
It can even influence world leaders as well. As we saw in the movie and know from real life accounts, Nelson Mandela was an advocate for the South African rugby team because he saw the power of sport and tried to use it to his own and his countries advantage. It was very successful because the South African team won the world cup and for a moment in time provided an escape from the harsh realities of apartheid within the streets of South Africa. It showed that a simple game of rugby could unite a whole nation and bring worldwide recognition to a country that needed it at this time in history.
Nick,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that sports can be an effective remedy for healing. When I attend a competitive sports event, I become completely absorbed in the action on the field and I can feel the excitement of the fans around me instead of working about the day’s realities or work I should be doing. The example of rugby in South Africa was a great demonstration of the power of sports to help people be positive and hopeful and can even help unite entire countries in support of their favorite sports team.