What I am concerned about is our cultures overall emphasis on sports and the lessons it teaches. All athletic endeavors, in their purest form, emphasizes practice, athletic ability, practice, training, practice, and giving it your all. But perhaps the lesson that I think we place too much emphasis on it today's world is the idea of fair competition.
What I mean by this is the idea that in any athletic endeavor, especially team sports, everyone has agreed to abide by the same rules. There are referees to adjudicate. There are fouls and penalties. And punishments are meted out mostly fairly. Players are rewarded based solely off of their athletic ability and performance on the field of play.
What this teaches our kids is the central idea that if you work hard enough and you are blessed with certain innate talents that you bring to fruition, you will succeed on a level playing field.
The problem is, life is not a playing field. Rarely those with the most talent rise to the top. And even more rarely do we even agree on the 'rules' of the game. There are inherent advantages and disadvantages which have nothing to do with 'ability.' And just because you are shining star in one arena does not necessary translate to success in other areas.
This is why, I strongly feel, religion has a role to continue to play in today's world. Religious observance, at its best, presupposes and unfair world. Instead of imagining the world as a level playing field, it envisions the world as it ought to be. What this means is that we are supposed to work to make the world more fair, more right, and more just.
I agree that it is important to teach our kids the significance of athletic competition: how to win with grace, how to lose with style, and how to embrace the the competitive fire. But we also have to tech kids how to fight for the world that is not fair. How to stand up for those who lost the game of life because they were simply born in the wrong economic environment or only had substandard schools to attend. And most importantly, how to embrace those who are not like us at all.
Participation in sports helps to train the body, religion is essential for training the soul. Practice at sports can help make the individual and the team better. Observance of religion can help make the world better. All we need is a little more balance.