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My colleague Gisela Salim-Peyer put it bluntly final weekend: “Many ladies love sports activities, however I’m not certainly one of them. I don’t wish to play any sports activities, and I definitely don’t wish to watch.” I’m personally fairly aligned with Gisela right here, however this 12 months, I’m discovering myself invested within the Olympics. Like Gisela, I’m discovering that this worldwide spectacle of athletic excellence often is the exception to my sports-averse rule. Perhaps that’s as a result of the Olympics have a method of exhibiting us what sports activities ought to be about: camaraderie, competing with oneself to surpass outdated targets and set new ones, and the enjoyment of well-earned success (additionally, nice outfits and glitter).
Consider right this moment’s e-newsletter as a sports activities reader for the sports-averse or sports-ambivalent. I’ve rounded up a set of Atlantic tales that remember what makes athleticism a deeply human endeavor, one which’s value exploring even for those who don’t see your self as a “sports activities individual.”
On the Pleasure of Sports activities
Why I Hate Sports activities however Love the Olympics
By Gisela Salim-Peyer
It’s the one time that feminine athletes get equal billing—however that’s solely a part of the reason.
A Skeptic Attends the First Fashionable Olympics
By Stephanie Bai
The video games didn’t all the time encourage international patriotic fervor.
Sports activities Are Nice As a result of They’re Pointless
By Arthur C. Brooks
Probably the most trivial issues can construct the strongest relationships.
Nonetheless Curious?
- The unintentional spectator’s information to enhancing sports activities: “Bearing witness to sports activities with none actual emotional attachment, I’ve seen a number of issues endemic to baseball, basketball, soccer, and soccer—and like a McKinsey advisor at a metal mill, I’ve developed concepts for tips on how to treatment them,” Juliet Lapidos wrote in 2014.
- The enjoyment of glory-free sports activities: Final winter, Lora Kelley recounted the pleasures of her mediocre-squash period.
Different Diversions
P.S.
I lately requested readers to share a photograph of one thing that sparks their sense of awe on the earth. Heidi A., 27, from Philadelphia, wrote:
“I took this image from the highest of the cable automobile on Mont Blanc in France. The buildings and platforms up there have an interesting combine of normal vacationers like me and severe alpinists. There are units of footprints and teams of alpinists seen within the background of the picture, climbing towards the summit. The opposite vacationers and I clapped when the alpinist within the midground made it again to his associates, who had been managing his rope from the platform. I used to be blown away not solely by the fantastic thing about the world, but additionally by the folks round me!”
I’ll proceed to characteristic your responses within the coming weeks. If you happen to’d prefer to share, reply to this electronic mail with a photograph and a brief description so we will share your marvel with fellow readers in a future version of this article or on our web site. Please embody your identify (initials are okay), age, and placement. By doing so, you agree that The Atlantic has permission to publish your picture and publicly attribute the response to you, together with your first identify and final preliminary, age, and/or location that you just share along with your submission.
— Isabel
