Sporting or not

Is there sportsmanship in the world?

Has the competitive edge cut away what once was so compelling about the sports we love to watch?

A part of me once would have said yes and no, however, it is far more complicated than that.

Any sport deals with two different emotional conditions. One is the desire to win; the other is the desire to compete. At first these two categories may seem to be the same; howeve,r to compete is not the same as to win and to win is not the same as to compete.

The formation of human desires can be traced back to the animals from which we evolved. They basically come down to a simple desire to be the alpha, the top dog, the number one, the best of the best. It comes from the need to do something that sets you apart from the rest.

It is that desire that drives us all. In any sport, there are those that are happy to run with the packs and those who wish to lead the herds. In Formula One, there are those drivers that will try to win at all costs, regardless if the cost is in terms of equipment or their own health. In Extreme Sports, there are those that seek the greater effect, the louder cheer, the louder roar of support from the crowd.

These are the ones that want to win.

These are also the people who take no prisoners. If the sporting world, be it either mainstream or extreme, was made up just of these hard-nosed competitive people, there would be no sport at all. There would be just painful moments when we loose to them.

Thankfully, for those of us that are happy to run with the herd, there are others like us around- people that just like having a good time.

Motor Racing used to be fun in the 1950s and 1960s. The drivers did not make the same amounts of money, but there was never the total lack of sporting gestures that there is today. Back then, it was considered a fringe activity or a niche sport. Now it is big business.

Looking around at my fellow extreme sports fans and sportsmen, I am glad that although there is a willingness to be the best, in most cases, it is not mutated into an arrogance that has to be emulated by others to survive. Mainstream sports are loosing that battle.

I am glad that the U.S. is full of Extreme Sports, as it is one of the last places on Earth where you can still find a sportsman willing to be sporting.

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