Sports - Are They the Best Icebreaker?
Scenario 1: A bunch of international students who have never met each other before are enjoying and having a great time, completely oblivious to the fact that they did not know anything about each other five minutes ago. The formal polite smiles are replaced by laughter. The awkward silence is gone!
Scenario 2: Although living in the same neighborhood, a group of people who could have been strangers just moments ago now seem to be engaged in friendly banter. There is an uncharacteristic familiarity amongst them.
What do you think transpired for this sudden transformation? What helped them break the proverbial ice?
It’s Sports! (Kudos to you if you guessed it right) Sports helped bring these people together. In scenario one, these international students quickly got past the fact that they didn’t know each other over a game of Billiards, Bowling or video games. In scenario two, these random people who had just assembled and split into teams, were cheering for their teammates and completely lost in a game of Cricket. There was even a hint of rivalry floating about in the air!
A sport seems to have the uncanny ability of bridging the gap and bringing people together. It helps one to quickly step out of their comfort zone, mingle and even engage in heated arguments. The ultimate goal may or may not be to win, but it can still make people cooperate, collaborate and conspire for their team. However, at the end of the day, it should be imperative that people forget what happened during the game and only remember that they had fun.
There are tons of such instances when a sport has served as the perfect icebreaker. It has the potential of building lasting friendships, relieving stress and overcoming differences between people.
So the next time you are surrounded by a bunch of strangers and want to break the ice – play a game of sport. Better yet, watch a game live!