Contact Sports !

It seems that there is a " Barbarian " instinct buried deep in the psyche of humanity that was recognised by the type of entertainment available to the public in the days when the Coliseum was the focal point of the ancient Roman empire.   Slaves fought one another to the death and the victor looked to the emperor for a sign that decided his fate.   If the emperor thought he fought well and signalled " thumbs up " he lived.   Thumbs down rejection meant immediate death.

We live in a more enlightened age today.  In most civilized countries the death penalty has been struck from the law books, but what attracts big crowds is still the physical clash that delivers injuries.   Crowds pay big money to gain a seat at world heavyweight boxing tournaments where big, muscled men do their utmost to deliver physical injury to one another.   The aim is to do sufficient damage to prevent the bout continuing and the spectators salivate and applaud as each blow lands.  The sight of blood brings a crescendo of applause and the fighters earn huge rewards for putting their lives at risk in this sort of contest.

Some of the contact sports that draw crowds in Australia originated in the schoolyards of England.  This game between schoolboys became a contest between grown men and today the players are recognised as " professionals " and they earn the sort of salaries normally bestowed on movie stars.  Rugby League and Rugby Union draw big crowds to matches and an even bigger audience watches the games on television.   The highlights that draw applause are clashes where individuals come into bodily contact with one another.  We are now finding that these often result in life threatening long term injuries that shorten the life span of the contestants.

Now what were termed " men's " sports are being played by the fairer sex and these clashes are delivering similar injuries.   The combination of fame and monetary rewards is a big incentive to players and the pundits are surprised at the audience numbers women's sport is drawing.  There is a growing movement to bring money equality to parity between the genders.

At the same time, sports administrators are working to  reduce the damage delivered by concussion.  The rules now require players to leave the field after a head clash and the long term solution may be helmets added to the uniform but the big question is whether safety will quell the blood lust of the watching crowd.

Sport is a huge business interest in Australia and the enigma is whether contact sport can survive if the clashes are diminished.  The big money and fame will always attract young men to put their lives on the line but if regulations delete the action the crowds pay money to watch these contact sports will go into decline.

It seems that audience interest is little changed since the days when the Coliseum was the big event in Rome !