On a bleak Sunday night, I watched as two bitter rivals attacked each other on national television for the whole world to see. This situation actually occurred twice that night: one in Lambeau Field as the Green Bay Packers took on the New York Giants on Sunday Night football; the other took place at the second presidential debate. Packers versus Giants. Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton.
Being the informed citizen I am, I disregarded my unwavering love for football and chose to watch the debate. I, along with many others, thought this debate would be one of the most important of the election season, and possibly one of the most influential during my young life.
I was wrong.
For 90 minutes, Trump and Clinton attacked each other just like the Giants attacked the Packers. However, there was one fundamental difference between the two cases: at the end of the game, players from both teams congratulated each other, walked off the field and set their differences aside. Each team had respect for the other.
There was no respect on the debate stage. Respect has been absent from politics for a long time, but respect and sportsmanship are the building blocks of every sport.
Whether or not they grow up to be athletes, young kids are taught that sportsmanship and respect are the basic principles of all sports. Before they learn to throw and catch, athletes learn that regardless of the outcome of a game, you walk off the field, shake hands with the opponent and leave the field without a complaint. All you can do and ask of yourself is to be better and work harder. One does not blame the refs for rigging the game or attack the integrity of the other team postgame.
Political campaigns and elections—much like sports—are generally two-sided. One side wants to win and will do anything in its power to subdue and defeat the other. If the reverse happens, we have a regular war both on the campaign trail and on the gridiron.
As the election is tearing our country apart, the world of sports has and will always be a uniting factor. In our local community, Orlando witnessed this phenomenon in June after the Pulse Nightclub shooting. Orlando City spearheaded the Orlando Strong campaign. As our citizens were in pain, the soccer team lifted up our spirits in the darkest hours.
Gay rights, gun control and immigration were questioned during this time, but soccer remained a constant uniting force.
“Many people bond over sports teams and sports in general, even if they might have different political views which might separate them,” Myles Shreck, a junior who is actively involved with the Republican Party, said.
Even those who are not sports fans found solace in the light-hearted game.
“A community takes a sense of pride in its sports teams,” Young Democrats leader Samuel Stewart said.
Arguments are the best way for people to air their grievances, but sports arguments do this in a respectful way while political arguments are oftentimes extremely divisive. Rival sports teams and their fans hate each other on the field and during the game. Yelling and screaming during the game makes the two fanbases seem like each other’s worst enemy. They can disagree on who is better and who should have won, but at the end of the day, we are all sports fans.
“[It is because of] the good nature of sports,” Schreck said. “People can respect other people that enjoy the sport.”
While a difference in sports opinions could create a small difference in a friendship, a political disagreement is harder to look past.
“You can still respect their opinion,” Schreck said about agreeing with a rival sports fan. “You can do that in politics, but it is just a lot harder.”
In one of the bleakest times in American history, the period following the Cold War, a remarkable sports story was here to lift the heart of our nation. The 1980 Olympics saw the improbable run of the US Men’s Hockey Team, known as “The Miracle on Ice.”
“We had the most negative attitude about ourselves as a country,” Stewart said. “And then, out of nowhere, comes this ice hockey team that beats the Russians.”
Americans had the chance to escape from the treacherous times of war and a presidential election to witness one of the greatest moments in sports history.
The most overt showing of American pride, the Olympics, matches up coincidentally every four years with the Presidential election cycle. While presidential candidates were scouring cities to swing the election their way, every American could root for the same team—Team USA.
“It gives you something you have in common because the politics is pulling you apart,” Stewart said.
Recently, Colin Kaepernick shocked America by refusing to stand during the National Anthem, citing that the country oppresses the rights of minorities. Despite creating controvery, his demonstration has prompted many people to action. Politicians are trying to fight and relieve this issue, but the football player has seen the most success in his efforts. More people listen to athletes because they are more relatable than politicians.
“We all [have] played some sports,” Stewart said. “All of us who played as kids always dreamed of being good enough to get to that level. We live vicariously through athletes.”
As much as we like to keep politics and sports separate, athletes and athletic accomplishments have a tremendous influence on people’s opinions.
Escaping the horrors of political life seems almost impossible at times. We get bogged down in the miniscule details of a candidate’s policies, whether or not it will be effective, we get wrapped up in the angry debates with friends and get infuriated over a candidate’s temperament. We forget about the simple joys of sports.
Sports has and always will be a common denominator in life that we can all respect. Sports, more than anything in life, transcends political ties and unites the community.
