It is on the Battlefield of Sports where we are allowed to an openly express some of our suppressed animal instincts.
What is it that drives us to compete? Is it that in sports we can express all those penned up emotions that we have been taught are not acceptable expressing in public? In competition we have the opportunity to test our muscles and endurance, to push and be pushed while releasing all that unused energy and finding acceptance in the process.
Is this desire for physical conflict a carryover from an earlier time in our lives? Maybe it is an expression of the animal within each of us asking to be tested physically and to feel strong after the conquest. We express all sorts of behaviors during sports that might get us arrested for off the field. This is why the concept, "leave it on the field" is so important.
When watching dogs play and noticing how they use all parts of their body to express and vent their energies. Babies express themselves just fine by crying, screaming, yelling and laughing without evaluation. As babyhood ends so does our ability to express our free flowing emotions. Does not being able to express our emotions mean that we don't have them? Hardly, it does mean that we would be well advised to find an outlet for what we feel and not to surpress it. Many times anger is a result of excess energy in the individual. Once that energy is utilized, the person feels better, less stressed, less angry and generally more relaxed.
Our need to battle may be deep within our makeup as individuals. One of the healthier ways to fulfill that need is in sport. It is on the battlefield of sports were we meet to compete and to push and yell and scream and at the end, to thank all the other like minded players for coming to play.
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