When politics invade NFL, turn to AMC
Remember when the primary purpose of sports was entertainment?
Remember when you could sit down in a stadium or in front of a television and you could shut off your brain for a few hours and enjoy a safe, wholesome escape from your troubles?
Unfortunately, thanks to a combination of social media and a political climate that is as volatile as it’s been in a half-century, that perceived innocence born in Little League and backyard games has been dashed by reality. This point has never been clearer than this past Sunday when NFL games became more about how teams were protesting our President’s incendiary and, in my opinion, completely unnecessary comments about the players and owners.
I am in no way a politico, nor have I ever made an attempt to do so. Much like I have never graduated from caffeinated soft drinks to coffee when it comes to my energizing mix of choice, I still want my sports to be about winning, losing and knowing all the statistics, rather than who’s kneeling for what purpose.
Please don’t misconstrue this as a confession of my ignorance. I’m no genius, but I understand the reasoning for African-American athletes taking a stand, and their teammates supporting them. However, I still want an institution as timeless as athletics to be a safe haven for not only myself, but my sons and their friends.
So, I got to thinking. Are there still places in our current existence where the games we grew up with can be enjoyed in the simple ways of the past? Thankfully, I found my favorite alternative that has always been right there for me.
If there’s one form of entertainment in our country that can rival sport for longevity and reliability, it’s the movies. Tuesday night, I flipped on my television and there it was. The film that, in my opinion, reflects the pure, unadulterated love for a game better than any other … The Sandlot.
I couldn’t help but smile and stare with my mouth half open in total engrossment as I watched the exploits of Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez and the rest of the team as they looked to pickle The Beast and put the moves on the lifeguard.
But, at the center of it all, was the relationship forged between that small group of kids with baseball at its core. Nothing has ever made me truly believe more in the appeal of the pre-internet world than that all-time classic.
Perhaps no other piece of sports cinema is more appropriate for our current age than Remember the Titans. It’s not hard to see the parallels between the small Virginia town torn apart by racial prejudice during the civil rights movement era, and the uprisings that are becoming more and more commonplace throughout our country.
While glossed over quite a bit by Disney, I believe the message of the film is a simple one. Just as head coach Herman Boone didn’t allow assistant coach Bill Yost to play favorites with some of the black players on the team, true equality doesn’t mean treating any group with kid gloves. Rather it means allowing all members of a team, group or society to suffer, grow and achieve together.
I honestly believe that theme of equality and brotherhood regardless of circumstance, race, creed, gender, etc. is what is missing in this modern incarnation of the battle against prejudice. Until we can look at each other as teammates, and not black, white or brown teammates, major change will come slow, if at all.
Well, that’s it for now. So, the next time you get tired of your sports being tainted by racism, classism and the cesspool of American politics, try turning off ESPN and switching on AMC.