Importance of College Athletics

Abhinav Sawhney

For my GT 1000 class today we went for a tour around the Georgia Tech football stadium. It’s while walking through the stands today that I realized how important sports are for college students. There are not many events in the year where the entire student body gets together for a common purpose. Events that unite the students the most are the sporting events.

Let us take for example Georgia Tech’s football games. These games bring together everyone from students to faculty to alumni. Such an event gives students the opportunity to meet new people. What makes this process even more exciting is the fact that everyone you meet at the time have a common goal, a Georgia Tech victory. So such occasions cater as superb events to socialize.

Another reason why being involved in sports is so very important is because it acts as a stress outlet. It gives you the opportunity to forget everything else and just focus on the game. When students go for a football game they have nothing on their minds for those 3 hours but the football. Occasions like this are very necessary to refresh the students.

I know watching games is a lot of fun, but participating and playing them is equally important. You do not need to be representing the college at it, but even if you are just playing for fun. Playing sports is an excellent way of distressing and refreshing yourself. There can be nothing better than a short swim or a game of basketball after a long day at school. Most importantly playing sports ensures that you remain fit and active which benefits you in all other aspects of life.

Playing sports brings the much needed balance to a student's life. It makes them well rounded as opposed to just one dimensional and strictly academic. What a lot of people fail to realize however is the fact that sport teaches you a lot of important lessons that are much needed in life. For example team work, communication, discipline and hard work. These are skills and characteristics that are required in all fields of work. Hence I would strongly recommend everyone to participate in some sport or the other.