I am always amazed when I hear people saying that sport creates goodwill between the nations, and that if only the common peoples of the would could meet one another at football or cricket, they would have no inclination to meet on the hattlefield. Even if one didn't know from concrete examples (the 1936 Olympic Games, for instance) that international sporting contests lead to orgies of hatred, one could deduce if from general principles.

 

Nearly all the sports practised nowadays are competitive. You play to win, and the game has little meaning unless you do your utmost to win. On the village green, where you pick up sides and no feeling of local patriotism is involved, it is possible to play simply for the fun and exercise: but as soon as a the question of prestige arises, as soon as you feel that you and some larger unit will be disgraced if you lose, the most savage combative instincts are aroused. Anyone who has played even in a school football match knows this. At the international level, sport is frankly mimic warfare. But the significant thing is not the behaviour of the players but the attitude of the spectators: and, behind the spectators, of the nations who work themselves into furies over these absurd contests, and seriously believe -- at any rate for short periods -- that running, jumping and kicking a ball are tests of national virtue.

 

當我聽人們說體育運動可創(chuàng)造國家之間的友誼，還說各國民眾若在足球場或板球場上交鋒，就不愿在戰(zhàn)場上殘殺的時候，我總是驚愕不已。一個人即使不能從具體的事例（例如1936年的奧林匹克運動會）了解到國際運動比賽會導致瘋狂的仇恨，也可以從常理中推斷出結論。

 

現(xiàn)在開展的體育運動幾乎都是競爭性的。參加比賽就是為了取勝。如果不拚命去贏，比賽就沒有什么意義了。 在鄉(xiāng)間的草坪上，當你隨意組成兩個隊，并且不涉及任何地方情緒時，那才可能是單純的為了娛樂和鍛煉而進行比賽。可是一量涉及到榮譽問題，一旦你想到你和某一團體會因為你輸而丟臉時，那么最野蠻的爭斗天性便會激發(fā)起來。即使是僅僅參加過學校足球賽的人也有種體會。在國際比賽中，體育簡直是一場模擬戰(zhàn)爭。但是，要緊的還不是運動員的行為，而是觀眾的態(tài)度，以及觀眾身后各個國家的態(tài)度。面對著這些荒唐的比賽，參賽的各個國家會如癡如狂，甚至煞有介事地相信 -- 至少在短期內如此 -- 跑跑、跳跳、踢踢球是對一個民族品德素質的檢驗。