Humans: The Ultimate Innovators?
For many years, we humans have prided ourselves on our accomplishments as innovators. Why shouldn't we? With inventions like the telescope, electricity, the telephone, and antibiotics, among others, we've surely done well for ourselves. And this innovation continues to happen today. Every two years, the memory capacity of the average computer doubles. From 1980 to 2004, the average horsepower for a car increased from 100 to 181. These trends are mirrored in many other industries as well.
Yet there's one aspect of society that I notice a lack of such innovation: sports. True, the technology increases every year as we get lighter and faster swimsuits and more precise tennis rackets, but when's the last time you heard of a new sport being invented, even in the minor leagues? The great tradition behind today's popular sports and the difficulty in spreading and marketing a new sport prevent humans from trying to do so. When humans started building the first roadways, however, did they quit because of the tremendous work required to connect every major city in the United States? Not at all. As humans, we are incapable of quitting and we should show that in our innovation of new sports games.
If this is to happen, it must first happen at the high school and college levels. Major leagues will never create a new sport unless there is readily available talent to keep large audiences entertained. Thus, if high schools and colleges market new sports to train young men and women, these same individuals can refine their techniques and the best and most experienced can play the new sport as a profession. For instance, if colleges create competitions within their school with rewards for the students that submit the best sports ideas, dozens of new college sports across the nation can be created. These sports can grow from intramural to club and all the way up to intercollegiate, but only if high schools and colleges choose to take the first step.
I leave you with a video I found of a sport called bossaball. It looks incredibly awesome and I'd love to try and play it.
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