Oh yes it does!
It can create a sense of belonging and identity among a completely disparate cross section of a country/region/city/family - just observe any public place when India plays cricket (or when England plays football, or the Yankees are in action). Complete strangers get along famously, united in supporting a bunch of athletes giving their best on the playing field. People huddled around TV sets or in pubs and bars, cheering and agonising together - very few other social activities can generate such a feeling.
Sport taught me the value of teamwork. The camaraderie that comes from playing a team sport with a bunch of blokes every evening is irreplacable. The winning feeling and the lessons learnt from losing help me on a daily basis.
And yeah, if you do play sport, it helps combat obesity and shitloads of other diseases.
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