Athletics are vehicle for uplifting and empowering humanity. Used with spiritual purpose, they are a powerful means of improving humanity — but that means rooting for your opponents to play well. In fact, what you really want is for them to play their very best!
It is a well-known teaching of Zen Buddhism that one should strive to maintain one’s consciousness in the here and now. Doing that certainly improves your awareness and your reaction time. But how do you be here, now, with love — especially when the world around you has every appearance of going to hell in a hand basket? The answer is to first be everywhere, always. Then you’ll be free to be here, now — with love.