What Gives Sport Meaning?

Sports are effectively one of the most simple ideas on the planet; you place some people in a physical and/or mental challenge to see who is better. These challenges range from the strenuous to the simple, the leisurely to the serious, the short to the long and the head to the toe. 'Sport' covers such a large amount of ideas, activities and actions that it can be difficult to find a true meaning for it all.

I mean, why do my little brothers play soccer every weekend instead of having his friends come around to our house to play inside? Why do we pay so much to watch others play a sport? We are all individuals with different views on the world, so you would think that there can't be a simple way of explaining this giant mess of multi-million dollar football franchises, local hockey teams and a game of chess in a school in one simple idea.

But there is. Nothing on earth, compared to sport, is able to demonstrate the capacity and scope of human emotion and capabilities. It represents pain, joy, anger, lust, greed, stress and so much more.
Through sport we learn life skills of co-operation and teamwork in a much more simple fashion than any other situation in life. In team sports, you are given a place and called upon to act at the right time. You learn not to be greedy, to be tolerant and to have respect for the place of every other person on the field - concepts that are easily applicable to the world off the field as well as on it.
We see the desire to master a sport, for the purpose of developing a sense of self. The accessibility and variations of sport means that this concept of individual 'mastery' is realised anytime you engage in physical activities. You play because you have seen others play better than you have. It's the drive, for some, to fight for a position as the greatest.
Conversely, though, you may play and compete because sport is a way of maintaining friendship and ties. Ironically, it sometimes means that it isn't the game itself that gives sport meaning, but what occurs around it.
Sport is about being part of a dynamic and welcoming community. By being part of it, you share common goals and ideas that contribute to the past and future of your community. For example, you might play for a club that hasn't won a championship in 64 years, and it makes you want to mark your place in the community by ending the drought - to make yourself known.

People like sport because it gives us a chance to discover ourselves, perfect ourselves and share an experience. That is what gives sport meaning.