Dust, Monsters, and Goals
The Hidden Magic of Sport, Play, and Fairy Tales
Syed paused, psyching himself up for the shot.
The tension was palpable in the small room, dust settling on the vast wooden board. For a moment, nothing outside this space existed.
Around him, students leaned in: fists clenched, eyes wide. One boy held his hands in mock prayer, appealing to the carroms gods for luck. A bead of sweat rolled down Syed’s back. Even the teacher, propped casually in the doorway, eyes twinkling, was caught in the drama, nodding their encouragement.
Syed flicked. All eyes trained on the counter, skimming across the fine powder. Breath held. Shoulders stiff.
Then, groans. The counter rounded the pocket but slingshots back to the middle.
Syed’s eyes dropped in disappointment until a heavy arm slung across his back. A warm hand clapped his shoulder.
“Good effort, mate. Good effort.”
The words came from a known “hard lad.” No mocking, just genuine compassion. Then Ali threw her arms in the air, shouting, “Yes! I’m the freaking champion, eat carroms dust!”
Syed laughed with her. The bell rang.
The Magic of Carroms
Years ago, I worked in a small unit for young people at risk of exclusion. There were many important moments, but the introduction of carroms was special.
Carroms (believed to have originated in India) is a turn-taking game where players flick counters to pocket them, similar to pool. Our students took to it instantly; it was better than maths!
We hyped it up, celebrated wins, and consoled losses. Soon, the game had a mythology: the “magic” carroms powder, chants to infuse luck, pocket demons who cruelly bounced counters out.
New talents surfaced. Students became known as “the best shooter,” “the reliable defender,” and “the hype person.” A shared world grew inside that small classroom. New arrivals, initially sceptical, found themselves shouting in solidarity by the end of the day.
These were young people who had been arrested, used substances, or disrupted lessons. Yet in the carroms room, that behaviour melted away. They had found belonging, teamwork, laughter, disappointment, and joy, all safely contained within the frame of a game.
And it was magical.
Why We Need Contained Worlds
The benefits of creative play, role-playing, and fairy tales are well known. Through them, children practice emotions and experiences: bravery, grief, loss, hope. They battle dragons in safety, exploring loss and love, emerging stronger.
As adults, we don’t stop needing these spaces. But often our explorations of story have become solitary: Netflix, YouTube, Kindles glowing late at night.
Some find shared storytelling in games like Dungeons & Dragons or Minecraft—spaces where character traits can be tested, good and evil explored, alliances forged. These games have even been used therapeutically, offering structured but playful worlds for emotional rehearsal.
And then there’s sport.
The Playing Field as Safe Space
For many, football offers what fairy tales once did: a contained stage for emotion, as well as escape from both the overwhelming and mundane qualities of life.
Singing the same songs in unison.
Cheering, hugging, crying, side by side.
Finding solidarity in both victory and defeat.
Experiencing grief, resilience, and joy, with no real-world danger.
It is “just a game,” and yet in that safety, the passion is real.
What the Research Tells Us
Regardless of our age, playing acts as a therapeutic bridge.
Team sports reduce anxiety, depression, and stress more effectively than solo exercise.
Watching matches activates brain reward centres, releasing dopamine and improving mood.
Live spectators report less loneliness and greater life satisfaction than those who don’t attend.
Therapeutic play isn’t just for kids: programs show adults stick to fitness longer when joy is prioritised.
Psychologists call it eustress, positive stress. A chance to feel tension, shock, and release in a safe container.
As Bruno Bettelheim once wrote of fairy tales: they give us tools to process the unspoken. Games and sports do the same, just with counters, dice, or footballs.
Why This Matters
From Syed’s missed shot to the roar of a stadium, play reminds us that we are wired to explore, fail, win, and belong.
It’s a rehearsal for life.
A place to practise being human, safely, together.
Perhaps it’s time we brought more of that magic into our therapeutic work, not just for children, but for anyone who longs for connection, resilience, and joy.
Whether it’s carroms, fairy tales, or football chants, play gives us a container big enough for our wildest feelings and safe enough to set them free.
How can you find more play in your life?📚 Further Reading
Play-based rehab in adults (e.g., after brain injury) improved physical function because it was enjoyable PubMed+14PubMed+14Lippincott Journals+14.
A designed adult “PlayFit” program showed higher fitness adherence through joy-focused participation PubMed.
Team sports boost adult mental health—reducing anxiety, depression, and stress more than individual exercise Reddit+4PubMed+4Reddit+4.
Spectating triggers a range of emotions—joy, tension, shock. This creates opportunities for what psychologists call eustress (positive stress), offering a healthy channel for expressing and managing feelings in a socially accepted way BostonGlobe.com.
Social Identity Theory suggests that identifying with a team creates a sense of belonging and community. Gavi+1Happiful+1.
Research involving over 20,000 spectators shows that watching sports—whether live or on TV—activates brain reward centers (releasing dopamine), improves mood, and ties into long-term brain adaptations that support wellbeing Axios+15The Guardian+15Frontiers+15. In the UK, fans reported higher life satisfaction, reduced loneliness, and fewer depressive symptoms when attending live events .
Bettelheim, B. (1976). The Uses of Enchantment КРЕАТИВНОСТ
Zipes, J. (2023). Buried Treasures: The Power of Political Fairy Tales Wikipedia
Sotiropoulou & Kasapi (2023). Fairy Tale as Pedagogical Tool Reddit+11macrojournal.org+11Science Publishing Group+11
Voznyuk (2025). Ukrainian Interdisciplinary Fairy-Tale Research Science Publishing Group+1Science Publishing Group+1