Whither the ways of sports in modern times?

So, the battle lines have been drawn, almost that is, as the last quarter final of Euro 2004, between the Czech Republic and Denmark have yet to be played. The Portuguese will line up against the Dutch and Greece awaits the winner of the Czech/Dane match.

This coming week will be one hell of a week for a lot of Malaysians, this blogger included. Monday night for the game mentioned earlier; Semi-finals on Thursday and Friday nights; Final on Monday, 5 July. It does not help, also, that Portugal is in the same time zone as England unlike the rest of the EU, meaning one hour less to sleep (matches start at Malaysian 2.45 a.m. instead of 1.45). But, we Malaysian fans will manage, not to worry.

And, oh, how Euro 2004 has affected us Malaysians - from the captains of industries to office boys, from the professionals to the labourers, from the sportsman to the spectators, from the police and enforcement officers to bookies and sellers of imitation Euro 2004 emblazoned footballs and from true blue football fans to ordinary Malaysians. In fact the whole world has been affected one way or another by this tournament. Nations going into “mourning” after their national teams were beaten and others basking in their respective teams’ successes.

Football or soccer, as some prefer to call it, is now more than just a sport. It has become a spectacle, a form of entertainment with all the trappings of show business – the big money involved, the “superstars”, the glamour, the gossips and all. The stadium is now the stage and the players the actors. If it may be said, other sports too, have gone the way of football, the ones where professionalism has crept in.

One cannot help but wonder whether all this is good.

There was a time when people partake of sports for their health’s sake and also for pleasure or relaxation. The ancient Greeks realized this early when they coined the famous phrase, Mens Sana Incorpore Sano (A Sound Mind In A Sound Body) to justify participating in physical activities. Today, for many, it’s the means to better one’s lot.

Past sportsmen and women trained hard because they want to outdo themselves to fulfill the Olympic motto, Citius (faster), altius (higher), fortius (stronger) and feel good about themselves when they succeed. Nowadays, training hard is to achieve fame and success and reap the monetary opportunities that come with it.

Once upon a time, participating in sports was more important than winning. In today’s world of sports, winning is everything. And the lengths to which athletes, coaches and nations go to ensure this – remember the former East Germany “sports machine” that churned out the extraordinary swimmers and runners through a plan of systematic doping.

But then, sports in modern times have spawned a major industry, which gives employment to millions of people, directly and indirectly. And in these troubled times, if there is to be an occasion when the people of the world are blind as to race, religion or creed and unified as one, it have to be at an international sporting event. The economic and social impact of sports is that potent.

In any case, whatever the purists would say about the state of sports now, I will not miss the rest of Euro 2004.