Sport in Greece down to fortune
Is sport taken seriously in Greece? It is not. We don’t mean whether we win medals in global events but whether we have well-organized sporting events. Do we have a certain school in any sport, meaning any certain system and tradition? Of course not. Greek sports are haphazard, coincidental. Is there any talent-spotting program? No. Once there was an effort but it was abandoned. Players of major talent emerge by pure chance: A parent with some relation to the sporting world happens to notice some talent in his child; a watchful PE teacher notes the tendency some children have toward excellence in a sport. Similarly, there is a great number of athletes who remained unknown because they choose the wrong sport or discipline. For example, during the first explosion of basketball in 1987, many talented individuals were lost to track and field, volleyball and handball when their parents aspired for their children to be the new stars. So if we want to have major champions in the future we must first have real sports.
