It’s not uncommon if you dedicate significant parts of your life to working in or talking about sports and the world feels like it’s on fire, you start wonder if you’re efforts are a bit glib, like you’re picking a new kitchen backsplash when the house just fell down. It does start to feel a bit like that right now, with the onslaught of news from the White House coupled with growing international crises, how could one indulge in a diatribe of why the SEC deserves 12 bids to the NCAA tournament. If you’re worried about the end of democracy, how could you possibly spend your energy and, in this case, air time, on such trivial affairs.
To be fair and clear, it’s not something I haven’t thought about before. Even as a graduate student, it was fairly obvious there weren’t a whole lot of people writing dissertations about sports television. And early in my academic career I was building degree programs for people who wanted to work for the Knicks while other parts of campus focused on training teachers or scientists. I’m certain that many of you feel that way about watching sports right now, or listening to sports talk radio. To some, it feels empty – the more ideological might even say tone deaf.
So I do think about this, as a lifelong diehard sports fan, a former college athlete, a sports commentator, a sports academic, and a parent of two high school kids who both play and watch sports obsessively. And hopefully my thoughts can be helpful for anyone else who doesn’t want to feel guilty turning on a college basketball instead of the news, or heads to the Garden instead of a protest. First, recognize that studying and talking about sports is far more than that – it’s truly a microcosm of the larger social condition. So when politicians rail about economics or socialism or race and gender or international affairs or health policy or whatever else is happening, remember that these things have been a part of the sports discourse pretty much forever. Remember that Teddy Roosevelt got involved with reforming college football because of its perceived violent brutality and Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier and you’ll realize that if you stop thinking about sports, you stop thinking about a lot of things beyond the game itself.
Second, and this might sound pollyannish, but given the immense cultural divide in the US, much less the world, sports is one of the few places we communicate and convene across all sorts of demographics and ideologies. It’s not to suggest sport is some egalitarian utopia, not with the prices of club sports and pro tickets, but there simply aren’t a whole lot of spaces where people can get together and not fight. Or at least only fight with fans of the other team.
Third, it should be noted that in the most dire of times, sports has taken a back seat. Whether that was after 9/11 or in the height of Covid or during the Iran hostage crisis, there are lines and a recognition that sport doesn’t fall on the bottom row of Maslow’s pyramid, even if it might not seem that way when you’re at, say, an Alabama football game.
Finally, and perhaps this is the most important point, or at least the most universal, is that even in times of considerable stain, and I’d argue we are, sport is important. And not important because it’s tied to larger social issues, but because it isn’t. It’s easy to forget when you’re up against what makes life more than an ongoing struggle. And while basic needs like housing and education might be more essential, don’t forget that sport – like the arts and music and travel – helps sustain us, as an individual and a collective. And instead of an opiate or a distraction, for a lot of us, sport is part of what makes life worth living.
Of course, in case you hadn’t seen, it looks like there’s now a 3.1% chance an asteroid will hit the Earth in 2032, which is a SNL Debbie Downer line if I’ve ever heard one. That makes the end of democracy the number two concern. That also, of course, would make Juan Soto’s 15-year deal with the Mets a bit less valuable. Until then, I’m happy I’ve still got games to talk about. And for the time being, I won’t feel guilty.
Keith Strudler is the Dean of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. You can follow him at @KeithStrudler.
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