If you have ever played or been into the sports, then you must have known the fact that how important and glorious winning a trophy can be. For all the effort and hard work you put in, trophies come out as a final reward for all your energy you put in. It is considered as the symbol of demonstration of a deed that has been well performed. Sports trophies are most easily defined as a symbol or token of victory or the out-standing performance in an event. They are generally symbolized through some form of miniature statue-most typically coloured gold or even made of gold, depending on the importance of the event. Ultimately, all sports trophies are a memento of personal achievement and it does not matter what a trophy is made of, be it gold plated, silver plated or glass engraved, the importance of a trophy can never be valued with the material it is made of.
It is not that the sports trophies are used in today’s age only. For several decades, they are into fashion and used as a symbol for the brilliant performance and rewards. In battles, a soldier might have taken a portion of his enemy’s armour or a body part. In Spain, a successful torero would receive one or two bull’s ears depending on how well he had performed or how cleanly the bull had been killed. So, from past itself, the trend of awarding the bravery and courage in form of a symbolic element or item was very much prevalent. Moreover, in earlier days the expensive materials like gold, silver, bronze etc. were used for awarding the heroic people for their bravery and faithfulness as these valuable materials were considered to be symbolism of courage and winning traits. Now, this form of awarding a person has taken the shape of man-made cups or trophies where the material used is not limited only up to gold, silver or bronze but it also include aluminium, metal ores and plating. The oldest form of man-made award was in the form of cups. Trophies made for the express purpose of commemorating an event date back to mid-18th century. Earlier, the trophy cup was also called a loving cup where in the church people used to have “loving feats” which included passing around a “loving cup’ from person to person in spirit of community. This form of the trophies and cups is still used in today’s sporting events.
Now, you must be thinking that the importance of any trophy lies only in the material which is used but this is not the picture here. These trophies symbolize ones hard-work, determination and dedication towards a particular event which make people to show respect and praise that person. It is the recognition and appreciation which translates to future positive behaviour and gains the widespread popularity and acclaims which in-turn helps in future endeavours. These trophies are also associated with some prize money or reward money but beyond this monetary award, if anything which is of prior importance to any sportsperson then that is undoubtedly the trophy or the cup. It is because money is the volatile element and it is for the personal use only which gets used up very easily and shortly whereas a trophy symbolises and reflects the achievement and brilliance of a person which can be witnessed any time even after his/her death. It is the reason that presence of sports trophies is a natural thing for any event or game. You can also look in some regional or small level events where they do not have any good financial sources or sponsors but even after this, trophies or cups are always presented to the winner or the best player in that particular event. It is because it is not the money only which brings the joy and encouragement to a deserving sportsperson but it is the recognition in the form of some trophy which brings happiness and enthusiasm in him/her and the ignition to achieve the next higher and bigger goal.
You can take any sporting event, be it football, rugby, cricket, baseball, tennis or golf, everyone is associated with the trophies for the winning team or individual. Moreover, they are not only limited to the winning team only. To recognize the brilliant performance or sporting spirit of an individual, one is also awarded a special trophy or award for the encouragement. They can include trophies like Best Player of the Event, Highest Number of Goals in the event and so on.
Other than the value they carry, sports trophies are highly important to bring the acclaim and recognition to a hard-working and deserving team or individual. They help in boosting the morale and constantly igniting the individual or team to excel and achieve greater heights. They also deliver some great responsibility and legacy on their shoulder which they have to carry on to the next higher level.
