Take it all in. Bask in the glow of the non-stop entertainment, and just feel thankful that it’s all here for us to enjoy.
By URIEL STURMHapoel Tel Aviv Itai Schechter 311(photo credit: BSL)
I imagine that for some, sitting down to watch a basketball game or soccer match is an experience much like I find suffering through a ballet or a musical.“What am I doing here? When’s the fat lady going to sing already? Well-orchestrated play my ...”Ask me, sports at the professional level are first-rate performing arts in a class entirely of their own.The drama, the theatre, the spectacle, the storylines, the subplots – check, check, check, check, check.The characters, the soap opera, the vivid emotions, the pageantry? Sports have all that as well and much, much more!When examining the many reasons that sports have risen to their esteemed place of global prominence in the eyes of men and women, children and adults, people of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds, one very basic fact seems important to point out.Human beings love – and I mean LOVE – to be entertained.If the reality television craze has taught us anything (other than how many pathetic, attention- grabbing losers there are in the world) it is that people are starving for something to watch, something to capture their interest, something relatable in other people’s lives that will take their minds away from the reality of their own daily rigmarole.Even more, people are entertained by others who do things that they cannot, or more specifically, do things at a level or degree to which they cannot.Sports fill this need to a tee.Yes, there have always been television or movies, plays or operas, concerts, amusement parks, fairs, even the circus.But none of these are things are real. Well, to be fair, they aren’t imaginary either, but their aim is to create a different reality, take us into a fantasy world in which things are make-believe or how the creator wants them to appear.Sports are a different beast entirely.No longer just physical acts of exercise and competition, or varied forms of individual expression, sports (at the professional level certainly, and even beyond) have become spectacle, a smorgasbord of talent available for us to feast our eyes on.How often in life do we get the opportunity to see the best of the best – at anything – ply their trade for our viewing pleasure? If I could watch Beethoven compose music, or have the top chefs in the world prepare my every meal, believe me, I would! If I could have Al Pacino come to my house and read me a bedtime story every night, I would take that offer in a second.Sports is that nightly Oscar-worthy tale, that six-star meal, that Symphony No. 5 in C minor.Seriously, we are fortunate enough to have the top performers in the world at – take your pick: Soccer, basketball, hockey, baseball, football, golf, tennis, skiing, swimming, windsurfing, skeet shooting, hot dog eating, and the list goes on and on – all available to us on a nightly basis at the simple click of a button or keyboard.Take it all in. Bask in the glow of the non-stop entertainment, and just feel thankful that it’s all here for us to enjoy.sports@jpost.com
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