Then again, there's the problem of how thousands of kids drop out of school to become pro athletes, and don't even reach college level, and the problem of colleges admitting illiterate athletes and letting them graduate illiterate for "prestige".
2014. Finals of 4x400m female relay for the European Women's Championship.[0]
The last French runner, Floria Gueï, gets the baton passed to her in a distant 4th place, well behind the top 3 favorites for the race: Russia, Ukraine and UK.
In her own 400m solo race she was eliminated in the semifinals, a titanic disappointment. And now she is so far behind in the relay race, the French TV commentators are focusing on watching the battle unfold at the front and writing her off as a lost cause.
That day, she performed one of the most impressive comebacks in the history of the sport to finish in first place.
I would say that there is way more catharsis and inspiration in watching someone beat their own limits and rise above the odds, than you can find in most of fiction entertainment. I certainly don't find Rocky or Die Hard to be more impressive or inspirational as this 2-minute video.
I'm an amateur runner and I get immense inspiration from watching pro athletes run, I'll never get half as good but it gives me a huge push to keep working towards my own goals.
"You get no getting new insight, catharsis or inspiration from watching someone run."
Applies to all of them?
I barely understand the sport itself, I'm not a team sports guy, but to deny the excitement, inspiration, and sheer joy seems ridiculous under the crushing weight of the energy sports can bring people. People use it to better themselves, not just trying to get more pro sports, and that's a goal I think every person should strive towards. We are thinking things, but we're also masses of tissue, and it's important to celebrate that connection and that part of us.