Should international sports events be boycotted?

General philosophy message board for Discussion and debate on other philosophical issues not directly related to veganism. Metaphysics, religion, theist vs. atheist debates, politics, general science discussion, etc.
Post Reply
User avatar
Jebus
Master of the Forum
Posts: 2379
Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2014 2:08 pm
Diet: Vegan

Should international sports events be boycotted?

Post by Jebus »

I rarely hear people speak about the staggering environmental damage done by large sports events, like the Olympics or World Cup in soccer. I strongly believe environmental agencies need so start putting pressure on governments to cancel or reduce the frequency of such events.

In some sports, such as ice hockey, the world cup is played every year. The first step would be to change these events to a four year schedule, such as in rugby, soccer, and cricket.

I would eventually like to see the frequency of such events changed to every 10 years which will give each generation of athletes at least one chance to showcase their skills internationally. Such an initiative would also wake up the majority of the world wide population who is blind to the environmental doom we are all facing.

The message would be "let's put these events on hold until we get our shit together", and the reaction could be "Wow, I didn't realize it was that serious."

Infrequent sports events are not the only problem. Imagine for a moment the environmental harm done by the MLB where teams are transferred from city to city on jets several times per week, where uniforms are washed and given away, where tens of thousands of people drive to the stadiums, and where young irresponsible people become millionaires with excessive and wasteful life styles. An individual, such as myself, might think why do my personal efforts matter when emissions are wasted on such a scale.

I understand such events are important to many people's lives. Personally I love watching tennis and the UFC but I don't think it would impact my happiness much if these were removed. I would simply adapt and find other pleasures.
How to become vegan in 4.5 hours:
1.Watch Forks over Knives (Health)
2.Watch Cowspiracy (Environment)
3. Watch Earthlings (Ethics)
Congratulations, unless you are a complete idiot you are now a vegan.
User avatar
brimstoneSalad
neither stone nor salad
Posts: 10273
Joined: Wed May 28, 2014 9:20 am
Diet: Vegan

Re: Should international sports events be boycotted?

Post by brimstoneSalad »

A ten year schedule might deny athletes the chance since peak performance can be a pretty narrow window -- not that it matters.

I think the main impact from these sports probably comes from the fans commuting to see them, and the building of the stadiums, not so much the flights by the athletes, so I'd say there doesn't seem to be any less harm from national sports either, where people take domestic flights or drive for hours. The same is probably true, though to a lesser extent, from music concerts. Live events -- with the exception of small bands in bars, coffee shops, etc. that nobody is going to travel far to see -- are a problem.

We should probably stick to TV, movies, and video games for entertainment. The actors certainly use resources flying around, but these are small by comparison to the huge number of viewers.
If sports just forbid people from live attendance, that would probably make a big difference.

There are of course other issues with sports.

Spectator sports obsession is also very harmful to academics, where universities attract students by having winning sports teams instead of good academic programs, and pour huge amounts of resources into sports because of that.

I think sports should only be promoted as a thing we DO, not a thing to watch other people do.
User avatar
Jebus
Master of the Forum
Posts: 2379
Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2014 2:08 pm
Diet: Vegan

Re: Should international sports events be boycotted?

Post by Jebus »

brimstoneSalad wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 7:39 pmSpectator sports obsession is also very harmful to academics, where universities attract students by having winning sports teams instead of good academic programs, and pour huge amounts of resources into sports because of that.
I think there is a reason we don't see this anywhere outside of the U.S. Even though I benefited from it myself (sports paid for my education) I agree it is strange and potentially harmful to academics.
brimstoneSalad wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 7:39 pmI think sports should only be promoted as a thing we DO, not a thing to watch other people do.
Definitely, and we need to end sports that hurt the environment, such as motor sports, golf, running on a treadmill etc.
How to become vegan in 4.5 hours:
1.Watch Forks over Knives (Health)
2.Watch Cowspiracy (Environment)
3. Watch Earthlings (Ethics)
Congratulations, unless you are a complete idiot you are now a vegan.
Jamie in Chile
Senior Member
Posts: 399
Joined: Tue Apr 11, 2017 7:40 pm
Diet: Vegetarian

Re: Should international sports events be boycotted?

Post by Jamie in Chile »

I have been a sports fan for many years, mainly football and tennis, but I am less interested over time. However I did attend the 2004 Olympics, 2012 OIympics and 2014 World Cup so you can blame me for the environmental damage. At least none of them required a long haul flight - 2004 I had to fly from Madrid to Greece, 2012 I was living in the UK at the time, and 2014 I flew from Chile to Brazil.

Every 10 year events would cause many true greats to never appear there, or not at the peak of their powers, one injury and they would never play in a world cup for instance, some athletes like gymnasts and swimmers are over the hill by their mid 20s, so that doesn't work too well for them either.

I think a more realistic strategy would be to keep the 4-year strategy but reduce the carbon footprint by using existing stadia and not building too many new ones, encouraging locals to attend and not long haul travel, and other things.

Reducing flights, transitioning to renewables, and more vegan food are bigger things.

However I personally would boycott the 2018 and 2022 World Cups anyway (I wouldn't attend either in person) because of the corruption in the awarding process and my opinions about certain things in those countries. I'll still watch them on TV probably assuming I don't have to pay any extra fee and it's all included in my existing channels.
User avatar
Jebus
Master of the Forum
Posts: 2379
Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2014 2:08 pm
Diet: Vegan

Re: Should international sports events be boycotted?

Post by Jebus »

Jamie in Chile wrote: Sat Nov 18, 2017 8:18 pm I have been a sports fan for many years, mainly football and tennis, but I am less interested over time. However I did attend the 2004 Olympics,
I can imagine you were happy with the way the tennis came out that year. That was amazing.
How to become vegan in 4.5 hours:
1.Watch Forks over Knives (Health)
2.Watch Cowspiracy (Environment)
3. Watch Earthlings (Ethics)
Congratulations, unless you are a complete idiot you are now a vegan.
Jamie in Chile
Senior Member
Posts: 399
Joined: Tue Apr 11, 2017 7:40 pm
Diet: Vegetarian

Re: Should international sports events be boycotted?

Post by Jamie in Chile »

Actually, tennis is not that big of a deal at the Oympics, or certainly wasn't then. I managed to see Federer and Tim Henman, and other famous players, but if you're refering to the exploits of the Chileans (and Americans) and some thrilling and memorable matches in the latter stages of the men's singles and doubles, I did not attend any of those. When you attend an Olympics or World Cup live, you quite often miss some of the most memorable moments since you are on a plane or a bus when it happens, or at some other event.

What will be memorable to you will be something that no-one else remembers, that probably didn't get on the TV at all. In the first round of the women's doubles Li/Sun (China) who were perceived as the underdogs won a great match against Rubin/Williams (USA), with the crowd supporting the Chinese (probably due to some Greek anti-Americanism in the George W Bush/Iraq war era) and a great atmosphere. My friend loved these Chinese woman (who were never heard of again in the tennis world before or since), they just seemd so nice and good sports, and kept scrambling to buy tickets for the rest of their matches, he went to most or all of them, and they amazingly won the tournament.

Venus Williams did manage to win the 2008 Olympics doubles, this time partnering with her sister.
marycortizq
Newbie
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2018 1:01 am
Diet: Vegetarian

Re: Should international sports events be boycotted?

Post by marycortizq »

If international sports events be boycotted then how can we enjoy the play of famous players?
Post Reply