RE: Get rid of sports
November 19, 2014 at 11:03 am
(This post was last modified: November 19, 2014 at 11:09 am by c172.)
I used to do wheelchair track and field, from 15-17, more or less. Would dibble dabble in other sports as well. Now, I was no Paralympian (as below), just like the vast majority of you have not been in the Olympics,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SBiiN-aqzc
As someone with a disability from birth (spina bifida) that is not fatal in and of itself, but can have fatal or serious side effects (kidney failure, skin failure, bowel issues, etc.), I look back on these years with nostalgia. I'm 38, and I dropped sports 20 years ago, feeling like it was a cliche'd existence ("If you want to fit into society as a cripple, do sports. Be in the Paralympics. Blah blah blah. The able-bodies eat that 'inspirational' stuff up."). Had I known what I now know about SB growing up, I'd have gladly continued, and tried to become an elite athlete.
Not everybody likes watching sports, but it often takes doing sports to cultivate an awareness of the good things sports can bring you. Confidence, a much improved body, a certain place in the social matrix, awareness of your powers and limitations.
I'm biased. I was an athlete as a teenager (mostly T&F and road racing[mostly 5k]). I am a sports fan now. Soccer and gymnastics especially, but fleetingly many other things, especially in the Olympics. But it can really be a life changer for some.
ETA: Mods, I am having trouble delinking my text, which I am assuming goes to the URL of the video above. Do as you will with that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SBiiN-aqzc
As someone with a disability from birth (spina bifida) that is not fatal in and of itself, but can have fatal or serious side effects (kidney failure, skin failure, bowel issues, etc.), I look back on these years with nostalgia. I'm 38, and I dropped sports 20 years ago, feeling like it was a cliche'd existence ("If you want to fit into society as a cripple, do sports. Be in the Paralympics. Blah blah blah. The able-bodies eat that 'inspirational' stuff up."). Had I known what I now know about SB growing up, I'd have gladly continued, and tried to become an elite athlete.
Not everybody likes watching sports, but it often takes doing sports to cultivate an awareness of the good things sports can bring you. Confidence, a much improved body, a certain place in the social matrix, awareness of your powers and limitations.
I'm biased. I was an athlete as a teenager (mostly T&F and road racing[mostly 5k]). I am a sports fan now. Soccer and gymnastics especially, but fleetingly many other things, especially in the Olympics. But it can really be a life changer for some.
ETA: Mods, I am having trouble delinking my text, which I am assuming goes to the URL of the video above. Do as you will with that.
"For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan
