Not Game

Watching the video documentary I linked to yesterday reminded me of the taunts I endured in grade school and Jr. High because I was "bookish" (a polite way of saying sissyish) and didn't play sports (thankfully that didn't follow me to high school because A) we moved and 2) I kinda grew into a big guy).

Coincidentally, blogger Christopher Scott Sarno writes today about the way-out-of-proportion reverence and status our culture gives to sports. There are alternatives, he writes. Quote of note:

You want sportsmanship, strategy, and diplomacy? Pick up Trivial Pursuit or Risk and have at it. You're looking for a little male bonding and camaraderie? Join a choir or visit a bathhouse!

Read the whole thing here. Yes, perhaps he is grinding an axe because of his experiences (which he writes about) as a nonathletic kid pressured to be athletic, but it's a good case-in-point of what a steamroller our sports-obsessed culture can be for anyone in its path. I experienced it. And to this day I can't even play a simple game of volleyball at a party or at the beach because any team sports just dredges up to many bad memories. That's why I'm so avidly into individual athletics, like biking. And I do that for my enjoyment and to stay in shape, not to compete.

And I'll take Sarno's idea version of male bonding over dodge ball any day.