Sports, the new opiate of the people

[bhikkhu]

42. The enjoyment of sports is a very human habit

...and I'd have to disagree pointedly with the statement: "people who love sports and fanatically follow LeBron James, nothing wrong with that...don't know jack of what goes on in the country and affects their lives".

People are complex. They commonly have more than one interest and more than one focus, and a variety of experiences. Few grow up without participating in some sport or other, and most, in later age, follow some sport or other. I don't think there is any direct relation between sports and one's self-knowledge, politics (or lack thereof) or knowledge of current events.

My focus is cycling, which I follow more or less closely - though I never seem to have the time to watch more than the highlights of races. My own healthy choice is to spend more time doing the sport than watching the sport.