Sports: The History of Sports

The History of Sports

Zoe Slavin, Co-Sports Editor
Published June 17, 2020

In a time of crisis, especially one on such a scale as the global coronavirus pandemic, sports are not going to save the world. They aren’t detrimental or beneficial to anyone’s health, and, on the spectrum of society’s return to normalcy, they may be low in importance for many. Yet, knowing how deeply games are missed by fans, TV channels show reruns in the absence of live sports. Additionally, these reruns might help remind fans at Columbia High School (CHS) how their favorite team’s history plays a role in what they see on screen today. When there are no new games to relish in, one might look a little deeper into the history of sports and why these teams and events matter so much to the masses.

“Typically, I don’t see the point of rewatching games because we know the result already, but this is a special case,” die-hard sports fan Jacob Kasdan, ‘20, acknowledged in regard to being unable to watch anything live. “Recently I have sat down a few times to watch reruns of baseball games just to pass some time and remember what it was like to have baseball,” he continued. Hailey Cade, ‘23, concurred with Kasdan, but also turns to reruns for another reason. “Because I usually know the outcome [of the game], I can focus more on the individual skills than the score,” she noted. Cole Strupp, ‘22, said he does not watch reruns of games often, but “[he] do[es] enjoy when [he] watches because it’s interesting to see how the game [has] evolved over time.”

“Sports have always been a huge part of my life. It has been hard during [the coronavirus] to [not] have sports. I can’t wait for them to come back” Jacob Kasdan, '20

CHS fencer Tyanna Dove, ‘20, shared how “sports have been a huge part of [her] life and something [she is] really passionate about” and echoed Strupp’s sentiment. She explained how when fencing began, a lot of the equipment used today didn’t exist yet. “It was literally like that TV [and] film duel with two fancy men playing around with blades,” she said. “But as technology and electricity advanced, so did the sport.”

Cade agreed that her favorite sports as they are today were formed by their past. She said, “Especially with women’s sports, you can see the change in support over the years.” Strupp believes that understanding a team’s history is crucial. “Fans should know about legends who paved the way for the players today,” he said. “Furthermore, I think being knowledgeable about a team’s history can distinguish between bandwagon and true fans.” Strupp continued by reiterating that the latter are “the heart and soul of a franchise.”

Sports dip further into history than just leaving long time fans with epic accounts of triumph and misery. Dove mentioned Ibtihaj Muhammad—a CHS graduate and bronze medal-winning olympic fencer—as an “[athlete] who made [fencing] in America a little more popular.” Muhammad also made strides by becoming the first Olympic athlete wearing a hijab to win a medal. Kasdan listed off Jackie Robinson, Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid, claiming, “None of them could have spoken out and performed beneficial actions without sports.” Each of these athletes embedded themselves into history extending outside of the sports world and used professional sports as their platform; some, like Kaepernick, have prevalence in today’s immediate social climate. His kneeling in protest of police brutality against African Americans is reflected in protests from the Black Lives Matter movement, in response to the police murder of George Floyd. Strupp used the New York Mets historic win after Sept. 11, 2001 as another example: “[The game] united New York and the entire country under the theme of patriotism,” he said. He also referred to sports as a “unifying force and unbreakable bond between individuals of all backgrounds, who play [for] the same team, root for the same cause or wear the same jersey.”

It is undeniable that sports matter to fans, despite how unimportant to survival they are. Their ample history will continue to fuel generations of sports enthusiasts to come. Kasdan concluded with one sentiment that encapsulates many CHS sports enthusiasts: “Sports have always been a huge part of my life. It has been hard during [the coronavirus] to [not] have sports. I can’t wait for them to come back.”

Designer: S. Mannion