Professional Sports and Their Influence Beyond Entertainment

As I devote over a dozen hours a week to reading, writing and editing sports articles for The Exonian, I can’t help thinking about why I do what I do. Why do I love sports so much? Why am I willing to pass up on doing homework, sleeping and sometimes even eating in order to watch, analyze, and write about grown men hundreds (and often times thousands) of miles away from me playing a children’s game? Most of the time, I know none of the people on the TV screen personally, and I will probably make no impact whatsoever on their lives. So then why do I let these people toy with my emotions on a daily basis? I have run up and down the stairs of my dorm, celebrating a perfectly executed two-minute drill from the Giants on Sunday only to find myself hurling my phone at the wall on Monday because Manchester United leaked in two weak goals in stoppage time and were unable to wrap up the three points.I then remember the aspect of sports that has changed the course of my life. When I arrived at Exeter, I was antisocial – maybe that’s putting it nicely. Yet, my best connection with people came from being a huge sports fan. What were the odds that I would become friends with Mac Flaherty ’13? He was a Mets fan and I was a Yankees fan, and so a small Asian boy became friends with a thick white guy. Before long, I also made friends with my next-door neighbor, Gabe Logounov, because he was a Red Sox and Chelsea fan. In both these cases, our relationship became centered around sports (among a couple other things). Honestly, this became my best way to meet people: hopping into a sports debate and making connections.That’s what is so great about sports: they unite people, even if they aren’t anywhere near the fanatic that I am. People can rally under a common identity as fans. At PEA, Exeter/Andover, especially in the fall, is a perfect example. How many Exonians in the stands actually understand the intricacies of football? Compare that to the number of students who cheer their lungs out for PEA or their friends. Chirping opposing players and charging the field or court at any sporting event are activities that many students enjoy doing together, and they help Exonians forget about the finals they bombed or the dickeys they racked up. As hard as it may be to understand sports sometimes, it’s much easier to yell and pump your fist after a goal or a touchdown than it is to stew over how badly you messed up that paper you turned in yesterday.The beauty of sports, though, is not limited to just helping an awkward kid make connections or to uniting a single student body. On very special occasions, they can provide relief and a chance to move on from tragedy for an entire city and nation. These aspects were at their best after April 15, 2013. Boston was reeling and at a standstill after the shocking bombings at the Boston Marathon. On April 17, the TD Garden opened its gates again to a sellout crowd, as the Buffalo Sabres visited the hometown Bruins. The "Star Spangled Banner," belted out by Rene Rancourt and the 17,500+ fans at the Garden, was undoubtedly one of the greatest national anthems ever sung (and if it didn’t bring tears to your eyes, I question your ability to feel emotion), and the chants of "U-S-A! U-S-A!" throughout the game showed how the thousands of congregated fans had united to show their strength and their ability to move on from the tragedy that affected so many in the city. It didn’t matter that the Sabres won in a shootout. Collectively, as a city, the night at the Garden was a victory.Soon, honoring Boston reached a nationwide scale that was largely influenced by professional sports. Franchises around Major League Baseball played Boston’s anthem, "Sweet Caroline", during games to show support for the city. This started with the New York Yankees, who actually conceived the idea of honoring their archrivals. After the bombing suspects were captured, on April 20, the Red Sox ditched their regular home uniforms that read "Red Sox" for ones with "Boston" emblazoned across them. The famous Green Monster in Fenway Park was draped over with an American flag. The "Boston Strong" campaign, as well as Sox slugger David Ortiz’s classic one liner, "this is our f***ing city", spawned a line of shirts from Boston-based news site, Barstool Sports, which generated over $150,000 in relief for the Marathon victims. Sports united the people of the United States, and the people rallied to help Boston recover. Since April 15th, the Red Sox have gone 11-4 and have become the best team in baseball. Talk about Boston Strong: the Sox were projected to finish the season well below .500 and as one of the worst teams in the league.I guess I don’t love sports because of the stoppage-time winners, walk-off home runs or the converted Hail Marys. I’m not saying those aspects aren’t all fantastic; but, in the end, sports go beyond just a few hours of entertainment. Sports can forge connections between people when there may be almost nothing else they have in common. Beyond that, when the situation calls for it, sports can also provide the best kind of relief that can unite a fan base, a stadium, a city, a nation in the face of adversity.