Manliest Sport

As a society today, a man can constitute as an individual who is strong (both physically and mentally), tough and capable of standing up for himself. Given these few characteristics, I believe that the manliest sport is a tie between football and boxing. As a football player, people may think I’m bias for choosing my own sport as the manliest. However, the sport of football is both mentally and physically tough. It takes a lot for a person to get used to the physically contact. Many players endure injuries, both minor and major, to any parts of the body because of the constant hitting and tackling involved in the game. In addition, the grind outside of the actual game of football is rough. Depending on what level you’re playing, an athlete can have multiple things to do everyday. In high school, the student has classes all day, weight lifting, practice, film, homework and then the games on Friday. In college, the athlete has classes all day (similar to high school), weight lifting, film work, meetings, homework and games on Saturday. Games are even played on national holidays and student-athletes are required to sacrifice their time with family to play football. In the pros, the players eat and sleep football. Obviously that is their job, but everything they do must be committed to the game of football. Many people are unaware of the wear and tear of football unless they actually spend a day doing the things football players do year round. The same goes for boxing. It’s physically and mentally tough. Boxers take blows to the head and body that can cause serious harm. Not just anybody can stand in the ring and take punches for 12 rounds. In addition, the sport does require a lot of exercising in preparation for the next fight. After the match, boxers take several months off in order to physically heal from the blows they endured. It takes a real man to be able to participate in these two competitive sports.