My word, has time changed. I can still remember remember a time before the arrival of video and computer games. A time when little children saw rays of sunshine as a positive omen. Mother Nature's signal to get off the couch and play while affording their bodies with some natural vitamin D. Children those days would imitate their sports heroes by wearing their favorite MLB uniforms and hit a few balls in the back yard, at a nearby park or even in the streets along their houses. Of course the traffic was not as heavy during that time and cars reaching 180 miles per hour were most likely not even in existence yet.

A worrying number of young children nowadays spend way too much time in front of the LCD screen or the PC. To such an extent that even bats seem to spend more time in sunlight than they do. This would explain why the number of obese children keep increasing every year. Computer games are enjoyable, without a doubt but even the most physically exacting of computer games are unable to match the dynamism of human interaction during a simple game of rounders.

It is literally impossible to explain the the feelings a player feels the first time he hits a home run or shoots a 3 pointer. I recall going to an outdoor charity hockey game a long time ago when I was just a small child all decked in one of my NHL hockey jerseys. Right after the game, members of the crowd were invited to try their luck at taking penalties after making a small donation first. Would you believe it, I was fortunate enough to score and I could not help feeling like I had just won the Stanley Cup. I can still remember that moment vividly like it was yesterday.

The main reason I love about taking part in actual games is because you can actually use your MLB fitted caps to give signals to your teammates during a game of baseball. You cannot do that sitting on a chair staring at the screen. At least that is what I have been made to believe. To some video games can sometimes cause more frustration that fun because not a single person likes getting beaten by a machine. Therein lies the secret to its addictiveness.

Taking part in sports teaches a kid about teamwork. It also teaches us that there could be occasions where we may not win a game or two but it is not the end of the world. It also exposes kids to team strategy and the plus points of positive thinking. These are all traits that can be employed in real everyday life. After all, in some cases it does not matter whether you win or lose, or how much NBA merchandise or NFL replica jerseys you have amassed in your popular sports memorabilia collection, or even how much NFL trivia you know, its how you play the game.