We like sports and we don't care who knows

In one of my favorite classes I have ever taken I learned this simple lesson. "Sports are a reflection of our society" That is a statement that needs to be tattooed into every human beings mind! As I sat watching tonight's basketball game against USU eastern I reflected upon how big of an impact sports has had on my life. From as long ago as I can remember I was playing baseball with neighbors out at the "bowl" in my back yard or playing tackle football before school and getting sent to the principals office for doing so. It is easy for me to say that some of my best memories have come from the field, court, diamond and  mat. Unfortunately I have had some of my least favorite memories from those same playing fields. Like the time I got cut from the 7th grade basketball team (Brough's were not meant to play basketball..... its a fact of life) or the multiple times getting yelled at and being told that I am worthless and will never be any good. I have seen sports push people to the limits of success and the limits of failure. It makes me wonder why its so different for everybody. I have a couple of theories as to explain the diversity. For me it was as simple as choosing the right sport. Football was and still is a game that was created from and for the heart I was born with. Every aspect about it made me fall in love the game. There are usually words to describe how a person feels, but when talking about football, for me those words haven't been invented yet. I played outside linebacker and was a team captain my Sr. year of high school. Looking back on those times now I realize how lucky I was to even have the chance to touch the field. Football brought me to the limits I mentioned before but my success wasn't defined by a scoreboard but by the happiness I felt just playing the game. Now I know that I kinda just got off on a creepy tangent talking about how much I love a game but I just wanted you to know football is pretty awesome! I know not everyone felt the same way about football as I did. Some kids on the team really loved basketball or baseball or wrestling and they didn't put forth the same effort they would have in their respected sports. In my opinion if your not going to give all you have for the sake of the team then you for the sake of the team you shouldn't play. I honestly believe that reason why some kids fail in sports is because they are always putting their passion into something that is always a day away.  My second theory is that a coach has more power and responsibility then they can ever realize. In my sport days I went through way too many awful coaches. I would like to focus on baseball for this theory. Baseball is Americas greatest pass time. It has had moments that have almost stopped the world from turning. Baseball in its purest sense is a wonderful wonderful sport. BUT........ after little league I learned to hate baseball more than anything I have ever been a part of. I had coaches that would make us practice for hours in the hot sun. I had coaches that told me I suck. I had coaches that would get so involved with winning that having fun was no longer achievable.  It makes me sick to think that if maybe I had better coaches I wouldn't have the bitterness and resentment towards the game of baseball. I just hope that we all can step back for a second and realize the true reason sports exists. They are there to build up youth and to have fun. They are there to put a smile on our face and help escape from the real world for a minute. As a society let us not get over dramatic and crazy about things that are just meant to make us better. Lets just play this game life the best we can because that's all anyone can ask. Thanks for reading, and remember I think your pretty neat.