In a world where you can be anything, be kind

When the equipment is put down, we are all human.
What does it mean to be a “supporter”
Sport is a phenomenon that can unite people around the globe, despite political, religious beliefs and can extend beyond language barriers. But things are not always smiles and sunshine; sometimes sport can bring out the very worst in people.

Sport stirs such great emotion and passion within people as they ride the highs of championships, promotion and success and endure the hard times of failure and relegation. Amongst all of this are the players themselves. They are thrust into the spotlight and fame whether the times are good or the times are bad. Fans and spectators place them on pedestals as somehow inflatable and perfect people, so that when times are tough, it can be hard to give the players respect and sometimes this turns to abuse. In harder times fans desert their once beloved team, they stop attending games or buying merchandise from the store. Before long the team faces financial trouble and becomes a footnote to the sport they once thrived in.

Being a fan, a supporter, should mean more than riding the good feelings when the team is winning. Being a supporter means that you should be there to support your team when the times are hard too. Sometimes, it is at the very lowest of times that players will need that support too. No sportsperson sets out in their career with failure in mind, yet as humans, we all share the same fragilities and insecurities to know that failure is (at some point) an inevitability. 

We view our sporting heroes as perfect, yet when the inevitable losses start to creep in, this shatters our illusion. People become quick to criticise or get angry, but in reality they should be looking to offer those heroes the support they need. In our day to day lives, have you ever improved your performance at something because someone you don’t know starts to chastise you, call you names or even criticise your appearance.

Female sports personalities and athletes constantly feel the pressure of criticism and objectification. People disregard their sporting contributions as not being “as good” as men. These views are nonsense. To criticise an athlete’s appearance is like complaining about a car for the way it tastes - totally and utterly irrelevant and altogether pointless.

If you support a team and/or an athlete and their are going through hard times, be there for them. If your friends abandoned you when you reached a low point in your life you would think poorly of them.

Be the fan that you would want to have - rejoice in the highs together and come together for support during the tougher times.


“In a world where you can be anything, be kind”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Finals review 2021

Playoff previews 2021: Semifinals

Playoff previews 2021: the final