It was a surprisingly good game. Between cooking a steak, polishing fenders and mixing V8 bloody marys I managed to enjoy most of it from Tom Brady's record setting drive to Eli's brilliant clock management and the game clinching accidental touchdown. For once the game was better than the halftime or the commercials, but the following day I happened to be at a local elementary school talking to a playground supervisor and noticed the preoccupation the kids showed for competition at that age. The boys got together for pick up games of football or basketball while the girls grouped in jump rope battles or a casual soccer match. Less than half of the classes occupied themselves on the extensive climbing and exercise equipment but I'm guessing they had a scoring system worked out. It seems that we have programmed ourselves to associate exercise with competition, especially team competition.
Now I'm not against competition and I think the trend in pee-wee leagues to eliminate score keeping is just plain stupid. I do think there should be more emphasis placed on individual participation sports and activities. Looking at the kids in the yard I can't help but think of some of the people I went to school with. Those involved in sports did it for acceptance and notoriety (we all know the quarterback gets the girl). After their move to grownup life, their activity quickly deteriorated from active Spartan heroes to occasional weekend warriors and finally to sedentary old 30 somethings for whom walking from the golf cart to the ball was effort ameliorated by their talent to drink while walking. Since adding 12 ounce curls to their only activity
is hardly a way to maintain a calorie deficit, they slumped into obesity, premature aging, heart disease,diabetis and all the medical problems attendant to self neglect.
Nowhere in our sports programs do I see recreation being taught as anything but competition. Fitness is taught as training for other sports rather than personal maintenance. Most schools will argue they don't have resources to teach participation sports to the whole student body, but they all have facilities for basketball, football and baseball programs in which few students can participate.
Just thinkin' too much again, another way cycling could change a few people.
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