Sport And Politics

My conclusion: they are two sides of the same coin.

There is no doubt that sports - especially team games - are thinly disguised versions of warfare, politics and sport have the same objective; defeat the enemy. Both are a kind of tribalism that extends easily into nationalism. If, for whatever reason, you can't kill your foes, then the next best thing is to defeat them at sports.

Sportsmen and their supporters who think that sport and politics should be kept separate, don't realise what they're dealing with, it's not possible to separate them. Even some politicians seem unable to grasp the connection, although many do, and often use it for their own ends.

Here in Scotland, we have always been very tribal (one of our downfalls) and there are many individuals today who still rely heavily on the security to be gained from membership of a tribe; I'm thinking here mainly of football fans but it applies to other sports also. The importance of this modern tribalism is clearly reflected in the ridiculous sums of money we pay tribal heroes who are sometimes unable to even speak coherently. Tribalism itself is undesirable enough, to glorify it in this way, is foolish.

There are many forms of tribalism still around and although some tribal organisations make token beneficial gestures, most of them have an overall negative effect on society. This is something for another post, methinks.