"But it's just a game..." That phrase is one of the most irritating, annoying, nails on a chalkboard phrase anyone can ever say to me. Yet it is heard all the time. But what this writer notices is that when it is said, it's coming from people that just don't get it. They struggle to see that sports are more than "just a game" and the impact sports has on both the athletes and fans alike.
These people drive this writer up the wall. They say "I don't understand why you get so upset over sports. It's just a game." Sorry, but no it's not just a game. Sports means so much more than "just a game" to so many people. These people don't understand just how hard it is to hit a 95 mph fastball or take a hit from a 245lb linebacker and get up off the ground to do it all over again. They don't understand or appreciate the time and effort it takes an athlete to get to the top of his/her game. They don't understand that when a game is on, sports fans can't be pulled away from the TV or why Game 7s just can't be missed. They don't understand why watching something historic like a perfect game is so special. They don't see that sports can bring a nation together (ie...the 1980 US Hockey Team or the New York Mets right after 9/11).
Sports motivates people to be the very best they can be. Sports makes us average Joe's think that we fans can still play a kid's game. Take a look at this writer as an example. Up until recently, yours truly played amateur baseball in an adult wooden bat league in Ft. Worth, Texas and loved every minute of it. This writer wouldn't trade the time on the field for nothing in the world. When yours truly would be on that field, this writer felt like a kid again. Yours truly would have daydreams of being discovered by a team and getting offered a contract to get paid to play when in reality, it was the highest level of competition this writer would ever face or reach.
Sports bonds families together like nothing else can. Yours truly is almost 31 years old. For all of this writer’s life, sports have been a major part. Growing up, this writer’s mom didn't care for sports unless yours truly was playing in the game. The only reason she cared about those games was because this writer was playing. But as time has gone on and she has gotten more and more into watching Texas Rangers baseball, it has given us even more to talk about and something we all can enjoy as a family. This writer loves music, but have different music taste than my parents so music couldn't bring us together that close.
Sports brings all walks of life together. Only sports can bring liberals and conservatives to the same table and have a rational and civil conversation. It can pit rivals like the extreme religious and atheists together, even if for a few brief moments. It can bring all kinds of people to the same table for a few hours and make them all forget their troubles. Sports can teach kids about fair play and doing the right thing in life (although there are a few cases like Aaron Hernandez who seemed to have missed that particular message). It can teach kids that it's not always about them. Sports is the only thing that can do all that.
In sports, there aren't any agendas...only working together for the better of the team. Even individual sports like golf, tennis, or swimming are team efforts because you have coaches and other athletes who you train with. Nothing else in life does that. As stated yours truly loves music, but bands are all about the lead singer. Movies are about the leading actor/actress. Even day to day businesses are about the head boss. But in sports, it's all about the team.
In sports, you have a chance of seeing something you've never seen before. On May 16th, 2013, this writer attended a Rangers game for his Bachelor party. Yours truly saw Yu Darvish throw 130 pitches, 90 pitches for strikes in a win over the Detroit Tigers. That is something yours truly had never seen nor will probably ever see again. Every single game, you could see something you've never seen before and that is the great thing about sports. Sports is one of the biggest influences in all history. It has helped shaped our country to what we know today and it has helped to bring nations together. So the next time you think "it's just a game," stop and think about what you are about to say, then just shut it. Because to some it's not just a game...it's a passion that burns deep inside us and, for some of us, even defines us.