Achievement and Appreciation

It has come to my attention that we, as a society, place far too much emphasis on sport. We worship footballers like gods and have many national and international competitions in which athletes and those of peak physical fitness can shine, and be doted on by an adoring public.

This first came to my attention during Danny Boyle's opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Boyle did, in my opinion, a wonderful job producing a spectacle that incorporated pretty much everything that's good about Britain - while leaving it to the closing ceremony to showcase everything that's bad about it! But there was one thing that stuck in my mind more than anything else, and that's the fact that a grinning David Beckham riding a speedboat down the Thames got instant recognition and applause from the crowd, yet Tim Berners-Lee got a polite and slightly subdued clap only after an announcer told everyone who he is. For those who still don't know, Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, and Beckham gets paid to kick a ball around a field.

I believe this is a problem that stems from childhood. I was one of the kids at school who was useless at PE, but I excelled in subjects that actually matter, such as maths and science. I'm not for a minute suggesting that it's not essential to get some exercise, but it always annoyed me that one day every year we had to be pulled out of lessons to go and watch the physically able kids show off - we called it "sports day". I certainly don't recall a "maths day" in which academically bright children were cheered and applauded for doing what they're good at. I may even go as far as to suggest that it's possibly a root cause of bullying. We're encouraged from a very young age to worship the physically fit, but not the brainy kids. Who are the kids who most regularly get picked on at school? The geeks and nerds.

I'm not telling anyone off. If you feel that someone who can score a goal from the other end of the pitch or run 100m in under 8 seconds deserves praise and adoration, feel free to give it to them. Heck, if I was feeling particularly cold and ruthless, I might even suggest that we genuinely need to show sporty people all this love, because it may be the only thing preventing them from realising that their achievements don't actually matter in the grand scheme of things, and I personally can't imagine anything worse than having no purpose. But as we show love to these physical powerhouses, let's not forget those who actually get things done. Scientists, doctors, nurses, teachers, builders, inventors - heck, toilet cleaners and street sweepers do more for the good of humanity than most footballers, and get a fraction of the appreciation, not to mention paycheck. So let's make our culture better by celebrating and appreciating everyone, not just people who are good at sport.

UPDATE 2014-07-29: This week's episode of University Challenge was moved from its primetime slot to teatime, because the commonwealth games pushed everything on BBC1 to BBC2. If that doesn't prove my point I don't know what does.