The memories go back a long time as far as sports is concerned. The day that I got a brand new cricket kit some 30 years ago, is still one of the best days I experienced. I remember Papa had bought me a maroon helmet, the colour that West Indies players don in Test cricket. It was a prized possession of mine and I used to think of myself as the right-handed Brian Lara when I took stance. It is another matter that I was an ordinary batter and bowled slightly better.
The emotions, however, which are associated to sports are immense for any child. For me personally, they take me back to a time where I managed to derive joy out of little things in life.
Joy is that one pristine feeling that sports brings in life, whether Kabaddi, Kho Kho, Cricket, Hockey or Chess. The emotions, skills, temperament that you develop while playing these sports in your childhood help you deal with professional and some personal problems ably in future life.
Sports is the essence of life
Bracketing sports as pastime, adventure or occupation is difficult to say, in the very least. It surely is the essence of our lives whether we play it, observe it or dream about it.
Society has always admired people who earn their livelihood, respect, love and goodwill through conscientious efforts. People who have done well in sports at any level also need to be appreciated for their just efforts when they put their heart and soul for achieving great goals in life.
In essence, sports provides a means to a better life and this should be the mantra for any aspiring professional sportsperson. By providing an impetus to their life, they help people associated with them to also see a better world. The sports managers must also remember this aspect while charting out their careers.
Aspirations when combined with dedication achieve better results
The above mantra may be assumed to be the guiding principle for sports managers. If they are able to inculcate this value into their proteges, wards or team members then they are sure to achieve a sense of job satisfaction combined with organisational and overall growth. In a team sport, of course, the value of achieving victories also assumes importance. The sports managers could learn in this aspect from team captains and their insights or experiences in these matters.
In the times that we are living in, the importance of proper healthcare has also assumed importance. The sports managers’ focus on players’ health is more than what it used to be in the past.
The Good Samaritan fans
Sports is a field which could really help the people who play or watch it overcome their fears. While no one could forget the Sri Lankan cricket fan Percy Abhayasekhara and how he waved the Sri Lankan flag at the venues there whenever his team plays a match there, no one could also forget the Indian cricket fan Sudhir Chaudhary who paints his face with the Indian flag and keeps on waving the flag through the day at venues where India plays a Test match.
Of course, the old-timers talk fondly of Percy and the new generation is in awe of Sudhir. Victories achieved by teams mean the most for such fans and tears in their eyes are the greatest earning that any sincere observer of the game can think of achieving. The performances of players and the exacting stiffness of sports managers may be important but they are not the end all and be all of professional sport. The value that such committed fans bring to the table are remarkably noteworthy and appreciable.
The essence of sports is really beyond my limited knowledge to be explained in more comprehensible terms and I hope people of the future generation would remember the values, sacrifices and dedication that sports followers also brought to the table apart from sportspersons and sports managers. Their hearts were not only immensely invested but their labour of love, blood and toil in aspiring for the best for their idols also spoke and will continue to speak volumes.
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