The impact and importance of sports in our society
The industry of sports gives people all over the world access to watch the best athletes perform incredible feats on the biggest stages. However, the off-field accomplishments and stages that sports create for athletes are arguably more important for society as a whole. Now more than ever, sports play a pivotal role in American society. Whether it is through economically shaping a city or region and uniting a group of people or giving back through philanthropic and charitable efforts, the world of sports yields a crucial positive influence in our society and offers a platform for athletes to be agents of change.
There are very few individual entities or businesses that can singlehandedly change the economic outlook of a city or galvanize an entire region, uniting them in the name of a common cause. Sports is one of those rare sectors that has the ability of doing just that.
One of the most prolific examples in recent history showing the level of importance that sports hold in our society was seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. With the city of New Orleans and a large portion of the surrounding region reeling after one of the worst natural disasters in American history, the New Orleans Saints emerged as a beacon of hope, strengthened community, and rebuilding for the area.
The devastating hurricane, which occurred in late August 2005, destroyed the homes, businesses, and lives of many New Orleans citizens and caused damage that would take years to rebound from. However, the Saints remained resilient, not only in bouncing back from a dismal 2005 season to an NFC championship game berth in 2006, but in remaining in the city of New Orleans despite the team’s owner’s interest in changing locations and the aftermath of destruction from the hurricane.
The staying presence and the on-field success of the team allowed local bars and restaurants to rebuild and get back on track, as fans flooded to watch Drew Brees and Sean Payton helm one of the most exciting offenses in the NFL. This effect was illustrated in the CNBC article “Saints came marching in: How football helped Katrina revival,” as author John Fanta spoke with a New Orleans restaurant owner whose revenues nearly tripled during the Saints’ resurgent 2006 campaign.
Brees became an instrumental figure in the city’s rebirth not just because of his on-field play, but through his contributions to hurricane relief efforts as well. Per ESPN.com, Brees raised and donated over $1.5 million for the rebuilding of schools, parks, playgrounds, athletic fields and mentoring programs in New Orleans. Additionally, Brees personally donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to schools in the area in years following the hurricane, per USA Today.
The revitalization of the team and the city would then come full circle in the coming years, with the Saints winning the Super Bowl in 2010 and the city of New Orleans hosting the same event in 2013 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Hosting the 2013 Super Bowl in particular resulted in massive economic benefits for the city.
According to a Nola.com/The Times-Picayune article by business journalist Mark Waller, an economic study showed the 2013 Super Bowl generated approximately $480 million in spending in New Orleans and temporarily created 5,672 part-time and full-time jobs. Those jobs resulted in approximately $154 million in total new income for the men and women working them.
It doesn’t always take an entire sports franchise to change people’s lives, as the platform that the sports industry gives athletes also allows for individuals to be agents of change through philanthropy and charity work, as well as serving as role models or mentors. Countless athletes give back and improve the lives of others each year through donating their time, money, and resources, as well as providing mentorship or raising awareness for causes that have a larger impact on society as a whole.
While there are hundreds, if not thousands, of philanthropic efforts resulting from the world of sports, one of the very best examples of an athlete using his or her platform, wealth, and fame as a means to help others can be seen in the work of MLB all-star Curtis Granderson.
Granderson, who is a Chicagoland native, has had an incredible 16-year professional baseball career, and has parlayed his athletic success into contributing to the greater good and making the world a better place. Twelve years ago, Granderson founded the Grand Kids Foundation, a venture designed to help at-risk kids and families in poverty-stricken communities in Chicago and across the country through monetary and food donations, as well as teaching initiatives centered around the pillars of food and nutrition, education, and physical fitness.
To date, the Grand Kids Foundation has raised over $3.5 million and donated over 35 million meals to children and families in need through food bank partners across the nation. Many of these dollars and meals go to people in Granderson’s hometown of Chicago, where he partners with the Greater Chicago Food Depository and the Northern Illinois Food Bank, as well as Chicago-founded grocery store chain Mariano’s. The foundation has also donated over ten thousand backpacks filled with school supplies to children in low-income areas throughout the United States.
In addition to his food and education initiatives, Granderson has made massive donations and set up various endeavors in the realm of athletics and physical fitness. He donated $5 million to his alma mater, the University of Illinois at Chicago, for the construction of a new baseball complex that opened in 2014. Not only does the facility, appropriately named Curtis Granderson stadium, give future UIC baseball players a state-of-the-art home field, but it also hosts a plethora of baseball camps and clinics run by Granderson and his foundation.
The camps give kids from low-income Chicago communities the chance to play at an awe-inspiring stadium and meet professional athletes, things they might never get the chance to do if not for Granderson and his foundation. Offering these opportunities through athletics also gives these children a positive outlet and a role model to look up to, a much healthier alternative than what youths of more troubled communities might normally be accustomed to.
Granderson serves as a shining example of the impact that sports can have on society as a whole and how successfully athletes can use their platforms and resources to act as agents of change. Granderson’s on-field talent and accomplishments allowed him to play professional baseball for well over a decade and earn millions of dollars doing so. Granderson then used the means he earned through playing sports to create something that will last long beyond his playing career and will impact people’s lives in a significantly deeper and more important way.
Sports give people hope. Athletes who use their platform to promote change also bring people hope and inspiration for a brighter future. Although it isn’t necessary for athletes to use the platform they are given, many of them choose to do so in order to yield a positive influence on the larger society. This results in a substantial overall benefit for the world around them and helps change the lives of others for the better.
