I'm Not a Sports Fan.

Last week I went to watch my grandson play T-ball. When my children played T-ball the kids were allowed to strike out and get tagged out. Tagging didn’t happen very often, but at least they learned the principles of the game. My grandson’s game wasn’t even a game. Each team got 3 times at bat. Each player got to hit the ball and run to first base. They could run no farther, even with a big hit. And, they couldn’t be tagged out, even if they hit the ball directly to the first baseman.

I don’t like seeing the poor sportsmanship that parents often exhibit at Little League games, but with no competition there is no incentive to learn and grow. T-ball today, at least in the program my grandson is in, is even more boring than watching big league baseball.

The politicians, educators and parents all seem to have embraced the idea that winning is bad, but sweating to adult directions is good. Pretend competition, where there are no winners or losers is not good preparation for life. Neither is making everyone sweat. I grew up not caring about my sports prowess. I played because my friends wanted to and it was something to do. I was even pretty good at some sports, but I didn’t care. What I really enjoyed was art. I was drawing recognizable pictures at the age of 3. At 7, I was able to draw popular cartoon characters on demand. In my home town, the city dedicated a new art center when I was in 7th grade. I had 2 of my pieces in the opening exhibit.

Back then, society thought that artistic or musical talent was just as good as "playing ball". Individual expression was accepted and nurtured. It was okay to not be involved in sports. Then something happened. All of a sudden, the only subject that was required, for all 4 years of high school, was gym. You could graduate with only 3 years of English and 2 years of math, but you had to have 4 years of physical education.

Today, society wants everyone to have their leg muscles and arm muscles working at peak efficiency. Why don’t they want us to exercise our head muscle? What are they afraid of?

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