my kids played football, baseball, soccer, hockey, lacross je. it forces me to think about a question all parents ask. why do we want our kids to play sports? why not let them spend more time in front of the tv or studying ancient and greek literature? ray lot of parent -- a lot of parents reply with the obvious fact that sports are good for fit rns and discuss the intangible benefits of learning about team work, building character, things like that. it turns out that there really is something to all of this. empirical research shows us that kids who play sports stay in school longer. as adults, they vote more often, and as adults they earn more money explaning why this is true is trickier. it probably has something to do with developing a competitive instinct and a desire for achieve. . roosevelt was probably correct in believing sports influenced the character of nations. americans of much more likely to play sports and likely to attribute economic success to hard work as opposed to luck. it may be the sports are a manifestation or possibly eve