Jerred doing some nice one arm handstands
Put me in a time machine and take me back to 1891 when James Naismith, who invented the sport of basketball, was sitting around trying to think up a game to keep his athletes in shape, and let me talk to him. I would probably mention some things like…The NBA, and how because of a sport he created, people like Lebron James are in $100+ million contracts between playing the sport and endorsements. I’d love to have that conversation.
How about having a similar conversation with Greg Glassman, founder and CEO of CrossFit, today?
In just under a decade, tens of thousands of people are competing to be in the CrossFit Games, as opposed to a competition that use to be, more or less, a barbeque at Dave Castro’s family ranch. There are now shoes designed specifically for CrossFitters, by CrossFitters, talk of CrossFit in the news, on ESPN, and lest we forget, Reebok sponsorship and TV commercials.
Jerred during one of his outdoor WODs
Whether you were around when CrossFit was just a website or you are just now being introduced to the community, you have to realize what is going on here. It is fun from time to time to take a step back and look at what you are actually a part of.
Greg Glassman invented a sport, and it’s a sport for the other guy.
It is hard to realize what you are a part of when you are swept up in the moment and in the community. One can only speculate as to how far CrossFit growth will actually go. Either way you have to realize you are on the ground level of something amazing.
I use to think that the elite athletes in CrossFit were just good at CrossFit and would be dominated by ‘real professional athletes’. However, as time passes, I am starting to realize that CrossFit is a sport for the other guy. CrossFit is a sport where heart matters more than anything else.
I know, personally, CrossFit is what I have always been looking for…because I am the other guy. Having been obsessed with fitness for the last ten years, I never really had a ‘fitness home’. I have always wanted to be good at everything. I would do strength training, but I knew I would never be as strong as a power lifter. I would run, but I knew I would never be as fast as an endurance athlete. However, I always knew that I could run faster than the power lifter and lift more than the endurance athlete. There was just one problem…no one cared. There was no forum or proving grounds for being good at both, or being good at everything. I didn’t necessarily love sport, I loved to train and now training has become the sport.
When people speculate as to whether CrossFit is just a fad or if it will die out, I can’t help but laugh. Greg Glassman has invented a sport, and it is a sport for the other guy. CrossFit is for the guy who wants to be good at everything, the guy who had no place to go, the guy who has more grit behind a barbell than he does anything else.
I am glad I have a home now. I am glad there is a sport for the other guy – for me. CrossFit is my sport.
Follow Us