As the world is grinding to a halt with anxiety and fear sweeping across the globe far more rapidly than the virus which is threatening our existence, to think and write about sports would seem an act of gross stupidity. Yet one must live and lead a normal life, within the restrictions prescribed, to face a world which even in the best of times is uncertain and indefinite.
"Mass death sentence defines the human condition," as French writer and philosopher Albert Camus wrote in his book The Rebel, a fact that most of us ignore while we continue with our business of living and indulge in activities that give us hope and pleasure. Human pursuit means many things to many people and whether it is a means to an end or an end in itself is something we can debate as long as we last.
Does life have a value beyond its immediate existence or is it, in its randomness no different than that of an insect, an ant, which never knows when it may get crushed under the ‘giant’ human feet? We may never find an answer to this and in our quest to live happily within the boundary marked for us, we have, among many other things, created multiple sources of entertainment, some enriching and some devoid of any deep meaning.
A primordial physical act which has over a period of time evolved into mass activity called sports has now become a multi-billion dollar industry and a major source of passing time for the majority across the world. It may no longer be an amateur pursuit, more a professional industry, where excellence and money combine to produce an event a day, making it no longer the definition of an ideal, harmless activity. It can’t survive in isolation. It needs participation from those who are the primary actors — sportspersons — and the masses, who watch and follow the fortunes of their idols and teams.
The sufferers in real terms are those who play, compete and spend years and years in preparing to achieve their goals, especially those who target an event like the Olympics, which comes once in four years.
The coronavirus is gradually, slowly but with utmost surety, forcing postponement of almost all major sporting events. As we worry about our own well-being, brood over the future of our world and what is to come, shed a tear over the shattering of many dreams which may have been conceived in isolation, but were to be executed on mass platforms.
It is in times like these that we also realise that we all have a shared destiny. No goal, no desire — whether that of an individual or a team — can be pursued or achieved without the help of the other and the larger community of fans who inhabit this earth. In the safety of the others lies the safety of an individual. What is happening in the world of sports today is in a sense a metaphor for life in the times of a virus which is making people realise the worth of the collective as they go into a forced exile.