Just like life, sports is a great leveller
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We live in a country regarded as the world's largest democracy but apparently it is doing worse than the world's largest dictatorship. Inflation, unemployment, corruption, rape -- these are testimonies to the fact that we are doing worse than what most of us can think of and the title of we being the world's next superpower is more of an exaggeration than a reality.
The only thing that makes us feel somewhat good about ourselves is sports, cricket in particular. Perhaps, the greatest feeling we experience in sports is freedom to express ourselves. That's the reason why we think of bunking schools or offices just to watch our favourite players in action even if it results in a pay cut or detention.
Just like life, sports is a great leveller as it teaches you not only to fight but to stand up and accept the truth that you were just not good enough on that day. It teaches you or gives you the strength to take failure in the same breath as success.
The biggest leeway sports gives you is that you can measure the performances of people. If you're good, you play and if you are not, you don't make the cut. And that's why sport can be a massive example of how a society should be run.
People still talk about Muhammad Ali's bouts. Who can forget one of those most famous fights, including the 'Rumble in the Jungle' fight with George Foreman. Just like grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand, he used to beat up his opponents but to get there he also had to endure that much pain or else you don't become a champion and he sure was one hell of a champion.
Sports can be our lifeline which can bring people together in the sense that competitiveness cannot be installed through artillery and weaponry, but on the basis of a mere ball or any other similar element which can get the teams to compete against each other in a friendly manner.
There was a story that went around World War I. German and Allied soldiers had stepped out of their trenches, shook hands and agreed a truce so that the dead could be buried which is known as the 'Christmas Truce'. The soldiers also used that truce to chat with one another and, some claim, even played a football match.
While it is debatable whether the story is true or not but it has far more significance when you understand the meaning of it in its true sense. At least, it is a step forward to becoming a prosperous nation. We might not live to see the change but success at times is not about what you achieve but what you leave behind.
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