Field of Play: Why Sports Matter

A thoughtful and compelling case for why sports - the universal language that we all understand, and the common ground for humanity - matter, by award-winning journalist and author Scott Russell. Sport is the provider of the sense of wonder in our lives. It's all wrapped up in the big game, the defining moment and the splendor of colour that surrounds the gathering on any field of play. The Olympic Games, the Superbowl, the Grey Cup, the Stanley Cup Championship, the marathon, the little league tournament, the peewee hockey games - all of these events race through the streets of the city where we live, exhilarating, enthralling, and engaging us. A sporting event is the most frequent recurring spectacle known to human kind and it, more than anything else, has the ability to draw us together. As children we grow up on soccer fields; as families, we gather in hockey arenas; as a collective, the only time the entire world is represented all at once is at a sporting event. Sport has become a reflection of our lifelong journey toward success, its struggles synonymous with our day-to-day experiences. Yet, for the first time, research predicts that the current generation of North Americans may have a shorter life expectancy than their parents - a crisis of inactivity and a lack of physical literacy in developed countries like Canada, the US, and the UK. Why is it that sport and physical education are not part of the core curriculum in many Canadian schools? Why, when we all agree that being healthy and active are the keys to longevity, do we not nurture our children in this way? Why is competition, as it first appears on the fields of play, not capitalized on throughout life? With contemplative research, and drawing on over 25 years of experience as sports journalist, in Field of Play Scott Russell illustrates the vital role sport plays in the survival of people and societies.