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prase comments on Why do people ____? - Less Wrong Discussion
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Status is relative by its essence. So, if some forms of direct competition seem to raise the status of both competitors, somebody else has to lose. It only needn't be one of the direct participants in the match. You're right that both competitors may gain status if they both play well, but the very meaning of "well" is decided from comparison with other players in the relevant pool; if you play better than they usually do, your status grows at their expense.
Also, it is not universally true that close-fought results get positive status change to both competitors. Close win against a low-status outsider is often a status loss for the winner, even if the loser played well.
Yes, I agree with all this. But the original claim was "sports are a zero-sum status game". And I think you and I are both saying that this isn't so -- competition is sometimes positive and sometimes negative- sum for the participants.
While social status, at the society-wide level is necessarily zero sum, the participants in the activity might all come out ahead of the bystanders -- or behind, perhaps, if the sport is disreputable.