Sports And Smarts: An Unexpectedly Common Combination https://sites.google.com/site/christopherhalajian/christopher-halajian-blogs/Sports-And-Smarts-An-Unexpectedly-Common-Combination

1. 6/18/2018 Sports And Smarts: An Unexpectedly Common Combination - Christopher Halajian
https://sites.google.com/site/christopherhalajian/christopher-halajian-blogs/Sports-And-Smarts-An-Unexpectedly-Common-Combination 1/2
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Sports And Smarts: An
Unexpectedly Common
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posted May 31, 2018, 2:56 AM by Christopher Halajian [ updated May 31, 2018, 2:56
AM ]
In the popular imagination, the athlete and the intellectual are rarely
the same people. Stories of antagonism between people who like
learning and folks who like sports are common, and going by quite a
lot of teen movies, even the most benign sports fan or jock is going
to be a bit dim.
Image source: ballbearingsmag.com
Although the stereotypes are not without precedent (as I know all too
well), this has promoted the false assumption that being a sports
lover and being smart is simply not done. In truth, there isn’t
anything stopping sports lovers and athletes from also being book-
smart, and a lot of them are. Although we tend to associate sports
fans with bros yelling at the stands, many other sports fans are just
average people, with not a few engaging in all manner of nerdy
interests in between.
Leading the charge in dispelling the past division between
intellectualism and athletics are fantasy sports and esports players.
Many of them are as passionate a sports fan as any other; what sets
them apart is their interest in statistics. Especially proficient fantasy
sports players are often skilled in both mathematics and
spreadsheet wizardry. And this is hardly a new thing; baseball fans
have been noted for their own fixation with numbers.
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2. 6/18/2018 Sports And Smarts: An Unexpectedly Common Combination - Christopher Halajian
https://sites.google.com/site/christopherhalajian/christopher-halajian-blogs/Sports-And-Smarts-An-Unexpectedly-Common-Combination 2/2
As if that weren’t enough, some players are looking ahead past their
sporting careers and taking up MBA degrees.
Image source: rantoulpress.com
Coaches today are even turning to scientific discoveries and
technology to help optimize how their athletes train and perform, and
not a few recognize the importance of keeping a sharp mind while
playing. After all, an intelligent and mentally quick player can make
the best use of his or her strengths in the field.
Finally, recent discoveries show that the opposite can also be true.
Aerobic physical activity has been found to contribute to mental
development. So, assuming you put a bit of work in it, you can get
smarter by also playing sports.
Sports lover and student Christopher Halajian here. Follow me on
Twitter for more on my thoughts on the intellectual side of sport.
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