The 2010 FIFA World Cup has just started and the planet resonates to the sounds of the Vuvuzelas.

Watching sports is a form of entertainment that I never enjoyed much. I tend to see it as a waste of time. I like to play sports, to have fun with friends, but not to watch 22 people running for ninety minutes on a football field.

When I do watch sports, I can’t help myself thinking to the Roman Emperors who used to keep their people happy by giving them bread and circuses – food and entertainment. A football stadium is similar to the Colloseum except that today, people watch sports on TV and professional players - modern day gladiators – now escape the death sentence when they are defeated.

So when Amazon recommended me to buy a book called “It’s ok to like sports” by Matt Wasowski, the title intrigued me and I put it in the shopping cart.

In this book, the author makes a collection of personal essays that closely examine how nearly every aspect of his everyday life is affected by his love of sports, from conversing with his friends, to thinking about parenthood or discussing one’s personal finances. He tries to convince the reader that there is cultural value in athletics and that it’s ok to like sports.

Reading it through, two points caught especially my attention:

“It is false to say that sports are not intellectually stimulating”: for Wasowski, sports are subject to debate and interpretation just as much as art and music. The games are so complex that every detail is important and you can talk for hours about a game, trying to interpret a coach’s decisions.

What athletes are doing is truly extraordinary and can only be done by a handful of people on the planet, “just as only a handful of writers could have come up with the Odissey, The Sound and the Fury and The Invisible Man”. Athletes force admiration in their efforts to constantly push the boundaries of the human body.

So to my question: ”Why would anyone waste his time watching this stuff?” Wasowski answers:

“For the same reason anyone watches any other form of art, creativity or entertainment – because sports are fun and heartbreaking, light and dramatic, pleasing and upsetting, life and death, and consistently conjuring a gamut of emotion, insight, analysis, strategy, and debate”.

Do you watch sports? Would you also compare a football player to Homer or Faulkner? Do you find intellectual stimulation in sports, or just good entertainment?

Antoine is a Co-Founder and the CEO of Sandbox. He will watch a couple of games over the next weeks and who knows, maybe he’ll enjoy looking at them from a different angle

It was a gorgeous spring morning in New York, and the Bacchanal festival at Columbia University was in full swing when Gustav Borgefalk and I met for coffee. Gustav is currently a student at the Stockholm School of Economics. Mild mannered, friendly and easygoing, he told me all about his passion for essay writing and case studies, and how this has provided inspiration for his newest venture, Student Competitions. Gustav on Facebook and Twitter.

Tell us about the story of your latest project/occupation

My current focus is on Student Competitions (SC), a website that I started with friends in Sweden. We pitched the idea for this company on the Swedish version of the television show, Dragon’s Den, and are now up and running at full speed. We bridge the information gap between students and organizations that hold student competitions, by guiding students to both local and global events. Hence, we provide them a larger sphere in which to participate and showcase their skills. Competition is intrinsic to life, and I believe that it can lead to positive growth. It gives anyone the opportunity to become an academic superstar, and win opportunities and recognition regardless of their background. Currently, we have offices in Sweden, the UK and India, and are in the process of expanding to China and the US. SC was recently one named of the world’s 100 Most Innovative Student Ventures by the Kairos Society and exhibited at a fair at the New York Stock Exchange!

What are you doing and how did you get there?

My desire to found Student Competitions originated from my own passion for competition. Last year I submitted a case study for a microfinance organization in India called Hand in Hand and won the opportunity to do an internship in Tamil Nadu. We worked on bridging the ‘digital divide’ that has arisen in urban and rural India, by providing self-sustaining Internet access in rural India. I consider myself an opportunist, and do not turn opportunities down. I just say yes and make the most of it! By helping other people, you will always be presented with new opportunities. The good you do will come back to you, because individuals want to help one another succeed if you are helpful to them.

Tell us about the biggest successes and failures in your life. What worked, what didn’t and what did you learn?

For me, the biggest success in life is really tied into being a happy person. Feeling good about myself, and what I do, is the most important thing. Being able to pursue, and stay committed to, an entrepreneurial path in life has been one of my successes. Winning one of the world’s largest student essay competitions in 2007 helped me realize that I was a strong competitor and has paved the way for the rest of my opportunities. However, I have had my fair share of failures too. Often, I have not been able to live up to people’s expectations because I’m constantly trying to live up to my own. Two years ago I entered a business venture with seven other friends, but found that I had stepped into a role that I wasn’t really ready for and consequently was not able to deliver results. It taught me how important it is to be comfortable with my settings; one that includes the right people, in an environment that I’m in control of, at an appropriate stage in my life. On the occasion that I won the St. Gallen Wings of Excellence Award, I had travelled to Switzerland to present my paper. I climbed onto the stage, in front of 600 of the world’s most influential leaders…and promptly fainted in under a minute! In hindsight, it was the best PR stunt I could ever have pulled. It meant that they actually had to read my paper for themselves to find out what I was going to say.

What do you want to achieve in a) the next week, b) the next year, and c) the next 10 years?

a) Firstly, I have to make it back to Europe this week, once air traffic is back to normal. I am throwing a launch party for Student Competitions back in Sweden, in connection with Dragon’s Den. I am also going to reconnect with old friends, as well as apply for one or two new competitions. I try to participate in one every week!

b) Next year, I want Student Competitions to be the worlds best website for information on student competitions. I want to do new things, continue exploring the world, and meet great new people. I’m also going to graduate! Just a few more exams to take care of.

c) In the next 10 years, I want to work with the worlds greatest entrepreneurs, make the world a better place, and have a lot of fun while doing it =D

What was your most inspiring moment during the last two weeks?

Since it is my first time to the US, experiencing springtime in New York has been just smashing! My first meeting with Sandboxers in NY was also truly inspirational.

How could other Sandboxers and the outside world support you and why would that be exciting for them?

Sandboxers can help me spread the world about Student Competitions by talking and blogging about it. I know that Sandboxers love global opportunities, and by helping me with this venture, perhaps I too can guide them towards competitions that are of interest, or assist them with new undertakings. I’m very grateful to Fabian for providing me with invaluable support here in NY.

Gustav’s Favorites:

Quote: “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.” (Henry Ford) 
Travel

Destination: Nepal. Wonderful climate, people, heritage, and SCENERY! I love mountains!

People: Happy people =)

Music: 80’s Music and Rock.

Nirav Devnani works with Sandbox in New York and studies at Columbia College. He wants to thank the volcano for giving him the chance to interview one more stranded Sandboxer! He hopes do do many more : )