The Importance of Sports as a Temporary Escape

Hello friends.

It has been almost exactly 3 months since my last post.  In it, I discussed how the sporting achievements of the Rio Olympics (and there were many amazing ones) may have blinded us from the very real concerns about Rio as a viable host, the IOC selection process, and Ryan Lotche being a moron of epic proportions.  Since then, I have been distracted by the real world.  Sure, I have still been following sports.  I got to enjoy my Nationals playoff push before they lost in the first round... again.  Both my fantasy football teams are doing well.  The Skins are being competitive, and have a winning record at the moment.  Syracuse football, while probably not going to a bowl this year, at least has been more exciting to watch, and NCAA football has been quite compelling.  NCAA basketball, the NHL, and NBA are all underway. Hell, the friggin Cubs won the World Series! So, sports have been there while I have been busy with work, and the election, the depression from that result, and trying to push forward.  I have missed writing, but haven't really had much to say.  I think that may change in the coming months.

You may not have the same political or world views as me (though you should, cause I'm awesome), but I think we can all agree that having sports as a means of escapism is exactly what the world needs right now.  The entire Washington DC area, my home, has been walking around in a daze for the past week.  The only things that seem to have snapped anyone out of it were the Skins' win over the Vikings this past Sunday, and the very exciting game between Georgetown and Maryland last night.  It has helped us restore a bit of normalcy in what we fear may become increasingly frustrating and dark times.  Sports are something familiar, with happy memories, even in cities like DC that haven't won anything since 1992.  They are a security blanket that we can rely on to shield us from the Boogey Man of reality, even if just for a few hours.

This isn't to say that sports cannot play a very important part in the real and political worlds.  History has given us many examples of how sports can be ahead of the curve when it comes to social issues, even when it lags further behind on some others.  Recently, stories like the protests during the National Anthem, the gender pay gap in US Soccer, and leagues failure to act with immediacy regarding domestic violence issues have all been part of our national sports discussion.  This is a good thing, because it means the conversations about these issues are at least being had in a wider forum, as they should be.  What makes sports so special, though, is that after the off-field issues are discussed, there is still the on-field product to enjoy.  We can sit back in our chair and yell at the refs instead of at each other.  We can be united, temporarily, in the love of the game.

We shouldn't ignore the very real issues facing our country and our world.  Lord knows there are a lot of them.  We shouldn't accept the (my opinion) upcoming potentially-awful administration and the abhorrent platform it represents as the new normal.  Americans, especially those in my generation and younger, should stand up and help make change whenever and however we can.  But that can be exhausting, and sometimes we need a break.  That is where sports can come in.  We can rest, relax, recharge, and enjoy the games we have loved our entire lives.  We can come together, with thousands of strangers, and actually agree on something for a while.  And who knows, maybe we can even be inspired.  That Cinderella team making the Final Four can show us nothing is impossible if we work hard enough.  That improbable comeback in the final minutes can remind us nothing is over as long as we keep persevering.  That cursed franchise that finally wins it all can prove to us that no matter how impossible it may feel, no matter how many times we are beaten down, we can still be victorious in the end.  Sports can give all of this to us, and that is why it is such an important escape.

I'll be writing more soon, and I hope that my posts may help momentarily take your mind off your troubles.

The Cubs managed to get through 108 years of troubles.  I bet we can make it through the next 4.