Over Analyzing

Today in class Professor McMahon brought up the subject of whether or not Hyland was going too far in his search for what sports are. I believe many of the reading we have had in class are searching for something that is not there. The authors of these stories or philosophies are trying too hard to explain something that is so simple. I think sports are a way for mankind to release some of his natural aggression/tendencies that has been supressed by our society. You see animals in the wild play with each other by running and tackling another of his own species (i.e. puppies) but it isn't deemed acceptable for a man to just go tackle another man for no reason so he plays football; there is no justification for a person to hit a ball with a racket over a net and then run around to hit back to someone else. Sports are a way for a man to prove to other men how athletic he is. Men have natural tendencies to prove to other men how competitive they are. Basically, sports are an alternative competition that men have used in place of natural inclinations.