Ready for the game!

We passed this stadium in Boston, people beginning to arrive,ready for the game, and I thought how great it is these days that so many people can enjoy sport, follow it, love it, even if they are no good or can’t or don’t have the opportunity. It might seem a vicarious pleasure to some, but for sports fans it is part of their life.

I’m not really that interested in watching sport, except for the Cambridge and Oxford boat race and the London Marathon, I don’t really make a point of watching anything. If some golf is on, or some cricket, or maybe some rugby, then I might watch for a while… watch on TV that is.

It struck me that in my life time there has been a huge change in sport and the following of it, and it really has become an industry. I think it is probably all down to the excellence of broadcasting and the accessibility for so many people to enjoy it live. The opportunities to participate these days are better than ever, with information available, participation encouraged, transport to get to the venues… in my grandparent’s day they might have been able to listen to commentaries on the wireless, or read about vents in the following day’s newspapers, but these days, even from your own home, you can really feel a part of the event.

Sport has changed too; when I was at school we only had P.E. at junior school and it was when we went to secondary that we played netball and hockey in the winter, and rounders and tennis in the summer. We were lucky that my parents encouraged us to take up a sport that we were both good at, swimming, and we had a really good local club which enabled us to swim, train and enjoy. I have tried other sports in my life including judo – which I didn’t enjoy because I joined a club which seemed bent on discouraging beginners b hurting them as much as possible… I played squash for several years which I absolutely loved but never got any better at,  and I tried rowing where I was so hopeless that despite my enthusiasm I had to give up.

I wish I could think of a sport which I could take up now… but none really appeal or don’t cater for older beginners… so I shall just watch the occasional match/game/race on TV and try and keep fit!