(Free Version) No, Loving Sports is Not Part of The Issue With Conservatives

The use of the term sportsball is usually done by those who have never held much physical skill in their lives. This lack of respect for sport is also scientifically proven to be the same lack of respect for one’s self that keeps them from subscribing to this Substack publication. If you don’t want to be seen as a non self-respecting sports hater then subscribe now below. Doing a “Welcome Back” promotion and taking 15% off of the monthly subscription price so don’t miss it.

There for some reason seems to be this pervasive idea going around that part of the problem with Conservatives losing the culture war and constantly ceding ground to the left is that there are a large number of people within the ranks of the liberty-loving that love sports. I’ve personally seen this attitude from a lot of big name conservatives and people with sway on the right and while I respect the absolute hell out of those people, I’ve got to say that this notion is unequivocally false. Let me go a step further and say that not only is it false, its also deleterious to the right and loses us a lot of cultural appeal when it comes to drawing people into our net

For so many people who have went into or achieved a political career, sports have never really been a big focus. Its understandable given that there are so many hours within a day, those needing to be allocated to sleep not withstanding. Therefore, many people who have a lot going on in life professionally will choose to omit watching or consuming sports from their daily agendas. Its admirable really, to be able to ignore the allure of the athletic, stave off the urge to witness physical wonders accomplished by anatomically similar figures as ourselves, and forgo the thrills that a well-executed play or move can bring. Still, this is also a massive blind-spot for people on the right who chose to focus on politics and culture…

SPORTS INFLUENCE POLITICS AND ARE INTEGRAL TO CULTURE.

Yes, you heard that correctly. No need to wipe off your glasses or if you’re one of those dedicated subscribers, replay this segment. I said what I said. Sports have a massive outsized role in the dept. of culture building and political influence. Have you ever considered how many gubernatorial candidates in history have rose to or stayed in power thanks to being on the forefront when it comes to relations with a team associated with one of the powerful giants of sports? Ever consider that a professional sports team’s success influences the local economy of an area tremendously and catering to/becoming a recognized vendor for said team can give that business a huge spotlight to highlight their values be they conservative or liberal? What about how much influence a particular athlete can wield over an ENTIRE GENERATION of children? (See Jordan, Kobe, Lebron, Vick, Manning(s), Serena Williams, Usain Bolt, Rapinoe *ew* etc.) Also, with the NCAA revelations on Name Image and Likeness (NLI), even student athletes in college wield a disproportionately high amount of sway and with the elevation of their platforms comes the elevation of their politics.

There are plenty of reasons that understanding sports on a greater level than “Put the ball through the goal” or “Run really fast” but some of the easiest ones may be:

1. It helps you become much more relatable to people in general conversations.

2. Sports provide a very good analogue and look into human nature which can help you understand and contextualize situations a bit better.

3. No one wants to be with the side of “nerds” that seem to hate athletes or lump them all into a box as “Pampered Crybabies” that just makes you seem unfun.

4. Once the right can fully embrace the “jocks” and become known for loving sports again, then the last vestige of appeal that liberals and liberal politics have will be gone.

5. Sports have an analogue to almost every phase of society.
   

Still, you don’t have to take my word for it. Look into a few quotes from the piece ‘Why Sport is Always Political’ listed on sportdev:

Khan narrated a story of how, as a child, a friendly cricket match between his team and a neighboring team devolved into a riot when spectators in the predominantly Hindu neighborhood noted that the rival team, which was defeating their home team (comprised of Hindus), was made up entirely of Muslims. Spectators began to attack the Muslim team, and communal tensions in the larger society brewed over into a friendly match. Ultimately, the police were summoned to placate the crowd and ensure the players’ safety.

Deol shared how growing up in Kuala Lampur in the 1980s, all the players on his football team would drink water from the same pail, regardless of ethnic or religious differences. However, things are different now, and some Malaysians go as far as to claim that difference races should participate in different sports. This is because the race-based politics that dominates all levels of government has now trickled into sports.

Furthermore, I think that this final segment of the piece sums up exactly why sports can be an extremely powerful vehicle for politics:

Sport can also be used to bring about peace in society. As Deol noted, sport has been the best solution to resolve racial tensions in Malaysia. Khan reiterated this, suggesting that more friendly matches between rival nations and groups can help humanize the so-called ‘enemy’. He emphasized that instead of focusing only on elite athletes, sport at a grassroots level should be mobilized to become a vehicle for peace.

This piece really came to me because of a lot of flack that a friend of mine, Jack Murphy (@jackmurphylive) was getting over letting his kids get the vaccine so that they could play sports and the key quotes that would ring the loudest were: “Why don’t you let your kids do something else meaningful instead of play sports? Why let them get the vaccine? Sports don’t matter.” This is the wrong attitude to have and Jack had a good mention about it allowing his children to build toughness and American values. There’s some significant fruit to this and as a former athlete, I can attest to having used sports to build qualities that have not only contributed to, but anchored me where I am. I’m not being hyperbolic either. The toughness and tenacity that I have is only due to long hot days in the sun, bitter conditioning during the winter, as well as the feelings of being outmatched but needing to persevere against a superior opponent. Those are things that you will only get in either sports or the military, and lets just say that signing your life away to Uncle Sam under THIS or many of our prior administrations is not advised. Needless to say, the argument for all children to be involved in some sort of sport can be made, even at a high cost.