Sports talk vents some frustrations
It’s that time of year when people who are dismayed, disgruntled and downright fed up with the current tenor of American politics often turn to sports as a diversionary tactic.
Of course, if one’s team is performing badly, that’s no real salve with which to blunt what’s happening on the current events front.
And truth be told, the problems that plague the worlds of amateur and professional athletics— steroids and other drug issues, player pay, domestic and sexual abuse, and the like —can create more disillusion and angst.
Regardless of the dark days and the bitter disappointments in how unseemly and even outrageous some in government comport themselves, we citizens have to find a way to stay the course. There’s just too much at stake to do otherwise.
As for hanging in there with our struggling sports organizations to which we have developed strong emotional attachments, it helps to do what I have for years — pull for several different teams so the present-day woes of a long-time favorite are not so hard to bear.
In the long run though, athletic contests — albeit entertaining — are hardly as critical to our nation’s well-being as myriad other public concerns and how they might best be addressed for the good of all.
Still, reading about the daily machinations of today’s officeholders or watching their video diatribes causes one to wish for the authority of a football game referee and reach for that yellow flag. It would be one way to vent our frustrations about what is going on in Washington, D.C., and demonstrate our sports lingo knowledge, too.
For instance, when the behavior of those sworn to serve and protect the Constitution and our nation’s best interests is clearly inappropriate, pretend you are a gridiron game official and blow your whistle.
Depending on the egregiousness of the offense, the penalty assessed might just be for offsides or the more serious unsportsmanlike conduct rebuke.
When you hear individuals lob increasingly crude verbal grenades at members of Congress, the military, and even U.S. allies, don’t hesitate to call out the speaker and penalize him or her for a personal foul.
If duly elected or appointed persons stonewall legally issued subpoenas or otherwise attempt to thwart the attainment of key information sought by federal investigators or regulatory agencies, an astute line judge could find him guilty of pass interference or roughing the passer.
Well, you get the gist of this little game within a game. And you can also play it by using forfeitures or punishments from other sports, i.e., tennis, golf, soccer, baseball.
Just as the outcome of any game depends on the resiliency of its participants, so will the future of our Republic rest with the heart and grit of its constituents.