Daily Beauty, Day #26: Sport

Since today featured another thrilling win from a Canadian hockey squad, I thought perhaps I’d touch on another aspect of sport and why I love it so much.

I love most all sports, but I follow hockey devotedly. Becoming emotionally invested in the outcome of sport is something that I think some people don’t understand. They see it as “silly” perhaps to become so involved in what is only a game. In some respects, they may be right. But there is more to sport and more to supporting a team than merely winning or losing.

In my opinion, a true fan cheers for their team and offers support and encouragement throughout times of adversity and victory. This does not imply that frustration or disappointment have no place. There are many instances in which the outcome of a game upsets and affects me emotionally. My hopes soar and then plummet just as quickly and I feel the bitter sting of a defeat that is not my own.

And yet even in those moments, I do not regret caring. So much of life is lived lukewarm. We subside into generic political correctness. We have hidden opinions we would rather not share. We want something, but say it doesn’t really matter. We don’t mind. One way or the other.

This is much bigger than hockey. When did we stop caring? When did we start saying “that’s just the way things are,” even if they’re not the way we think they should be? I don’t think we should ever settle for less than truth, or keep quiet because we are afraid to be seen as standing apart from the crowd.

It is so beautiful to care about something. However, I think caring is frequently misconstrued. Caring about or believing in something should not automatically be taken as an insult to everything else. There is nothing shameful or wrong about believing in something, expressing this belief respectfully and fighting for it. As a matter of a fact, I think this kind of caring is extremely courageous.

Maybe what we need in this world is a little more passion. I’m not saying that hockey is a more important issue than others, but then, I’m not comparing it at all. I don’t think it needs to be compared. I think it is beautiful for what it is, and I think it is beautiful for how it unites people together, and for how it makes so many feel like a part of something bigger than themselves, creating the feeling of belonging.

There is a lot of passion in sport. And I think there is a beauty in this passion alone that would perhaps help us all to grow, merely from witnessing it.

So if I had one more thing to say on the subject, it would be this: wear your passion proudly.