Commercialized sports have corrupted the otherwise elevated values associated with sport. Non-commercialized sport recaptures those values.
Americans are less religious than ever before; the number of adults in the country who consider religion vital to themselves has declined yearly in the past ten years. But while churches, synagogues, and mosques are emptying, the country’s stadiums are filling.
While many would argue that this decline in religious behavior has little to do with the increasing number of Americans who participate in some form of sport, a number that has risen for every year in the last ten, this could not be further from the truth. As Americans move away from religious practices, an argument can be made that they are filling the void by turning to sports. How so? At the core, religion and sport revolve around the principles of meditation and morality.
Meditation. The oldest written meditation record dates back to a Hindu religious text from 800 BC. Since then, training the mind to focus on a specific thought or object to reach a state of calm or heightened awareness has remained central to many religious practices. But what does all this have to do with athletics? Simply put, athletics constitute the ultimate act of meditation. From yoga to football, athletics trains the body and mind to stabilize even during discomfort. This mirrors the cross-cultural notion of spiritual growth through adversity, from Job to Harishchandra.
Morality: Sports act as a way to forge a strong moral code and promote self-reflection. Sports not only teach specific skills, but also enforce discipline and respect. From the little to the big leagues, athletes everywhere gain a strong sense of respect as they recognize the efforts of other players as they all attempt to win. Moreover, the desire to win and have fun motivates people to push themselves to their limits. The intimate act of making oneself physically renders a beautiful performance of the soul in which individuals can deepen their self-knowledge and come closer to enlightenment, regardless of their relationship with God.
Sports legends like Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, and Simone Biles—all of whom exemplify self-discovery by pushing themselves to their limits—can achieve success by prioritizing their processes over their outcomes. Regardless of how contradictory this may seem, these athletes achieve whatever they set their minds to by refusing to let the uncertain future distract them from their training.
[Just as the religiously devout recite mantras or perform certain rituals repeatedly until they reach a state closer to God, athletes like these repeat drill after drill until they ascend athletically. In sports and religion, repetition helps individuals achieve a heightened state because it gradually reshapes the mind, quiets distractions, and deepens insight.
Still, the benefits afforded by sports are currently in jeopardy. Rather than a decreased affinity to traditional religious practices, the real threat to American values lies in sports betting and the overzealous glorification of athletics. As sports organizations shift from “leagues”– in other words, groups of teams who compete against one another– into “industries, gluttony takes over, and the spectacle replaces the sacred.
Unlike a league, an industry entangles those directly involved in a game with broader commercial interests. When groups like the NFL deliberately partner with sports betting conglomerates like DraftKings, the heart of the game is lost. Beyond the ethical concerns and potential for rigging, sports betting organizations– especially when partnered with the leagues themselves– promote a solely outcome-oriented mindset that undermines the values of individual improvement and community building that should be at the core of every athletic performance.
Still, all is not lost. In recent years, non-industry-based sports like running and biking have increased. Similar to how the Protestant Reformation represented a rejection of the Catholic Church’s greed (specifically of practices like “Indulgences”), the current resurgence in non-industry-based sports indicates a general public disdain for institutionalized greed.
Only through focusing on non-commercialized sports like those can we rediscover the deeper values associated with athletics.
