A refrain you hear quite frequently in the United States of America is the old saying, "it's only a game."
To some degree, the phrase rings true.
Nobody should be jumping off a bridge or sinking into a dark pit of despair because his or her team didn't win the big game. Peyton Manning shouldn't be moping around like someone took the jelly out of his donut simply because he didn't perform well with the bright lights amped up in this year's Super Bowl.
No, individual games and performances are not hills upon which to die.
However, widen the lens beyond an isolated game. Allow the filter to catch the phenomenon of SPORT and our opening phrase is as false as false can be.
This is essentially the idea behind the Laureus World Sports Awards and Sport for Good Foundation—the influence of athletics can be profound if used wisely.
It's why the ceremonies were cancelled last year in the horrible economy—what money had been raised was needed for the Foundation and it hardly made sense to pour the resources into a glamorous ceremony.
It's also why the unique athletes honored were chosen as representatives for the organiz...
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