The Blue Angels soared over the grandstands of Levi’s stadium in their signature six-jet Delta formation just before kickoff of Super Bowl 50 yesterday. They serve as a subliminal message of patriotism -- which is, notably, more than just an aesthetic surrogate for high-paying fans to enjoy. Is it our vacuity or self-righteous indignation that champions our feeling of national pride as Lady Gaga belts the Anthem amidst fireworks and star-spangled-bullshit?
It doesn’t necessarily make me angry that politics has such a strong foothold in the sports media. Rather, it makes me question why we allow it. When the Miami Heat wear hoodies in support of Trayvon Martin or the St. Louis Rams put their ‘hands up’ in the wake of the Michael Brown case, unfortunately they are not making an impact. I do not believe anyone is going to be watching a NBA game and Lebron’s hoodie campaign catalyzes them to become a freedom writer. The same way regurgitating ‘support the troops’ does nothing but trivialize the heroes by merging them with the high-school dropouts and sing-songing them all with societal praise and empty 401(k)’s.
It doesn’t necessarily make me angry that politics has such a strong foothold in the sports media. Rather, it makes me question why we allow it. When the Miami Heat wear hoodies in support of Trayvon Martin or the St. Louis Rams put their ‘hands up’ in the wake of the Michael Brown case, unfortunately they are not making an impact. I do not believe anyone is going to be watching a NBA game and Lebron’s hoodie campaign catalyzes them to become a freedom writer. The same way regurgitating ‘support the troops’ does nothing but trivialize the heroes by merging them with the high-school dropouts and sing-songing them all with societal praise and empty 401(k)’s.
“Support the troops” is a platitude used among people looking to evoke sympathy and gain respect under the veil of national pride. Is it really any more than an empty statement that parades troops as puppets in front of post-tailgate Baby boomers and their indoctrinated children? So when I read the New York Jets received almost half a million dollars from the Department of Defense: I tend to think the standing ovation for John Doe of the 16th Airborne is patriotic ephemera instead of an act of altruistic esteem.
We are a Banana Republic and our export is troops. We have over 35,000 troops in Germany -- so I furrow my brow when I am told we are upholding democracy instead of acting as world police. Our front row subjection to the military-sports complex only enhances the inveterate notion that foreign troops equal domestic freedoms. I wonder if these constant iterations of politics has set forward a perpetual motion machine that will percolate through the generations culminating with political ornaments being embedded into children's cartoons.
When the sports realm is augmented by political coverage it demonstrates that sports is more than just a natural form of entertainment -- but a vehicle to push policy, promote brands, and (regrettably) reinvigorate the patriarchal ideals of our country.
When viewed through the lens of a skeptic, sports can be distilled into an ‘opiate of the masses’ as Marx says. I think a more encompassing view would give credence to the fact that sports can act as a ritual -- central to a country’s value system. In lieu of religion or cultural pastimes, sports can provide someone with the feeling of being part of something bigger than themselves.
The beauty of sports is that it can simultaneously be used as a propaganda machine that strengthens political machine, but also as a quasi-socioeconomic bridge to better education and sometimes even a better professional life.
This all begs the question: If sports acts as opiate to deny freedoms, why does our society accept it as such a remedy? The answer should vary from person to person; Although I believe sports have no cosmic significance, or tangible evidence that it improves the human condition, or even creates a strong bond amongst its’ fans -- it is the most lucid representation of natural selection we have left. Society preordains what is politically correct, what set of morals are acceptable, what is fashionable -- but it has no say over which team will win. Natural competitiveness is an animalistic trait at the core of the human condition.
Sports can also fill the chasm between countries with varying culture, laws, and religion. The Olympics are more than a global ‘pissing match;’ they act as a social lubricant that brings every country to the world stage. Regional hegemony and the battle among the global status-quo takes a backseat to global citizenry and universal form of sportsmanship. Although there is cultural mediation of sports through agenda-geared vehicles, we can still watch the Olympics with the mute button on and the partisan commentary off. Although, when McDonald's makes more than a cameo at the 1984 “Hamburger Olympics” you know there is a problem.
The actual manifestation of politics in sports is minimal from the fan’s perspective. As long as we can endure a few minute tributes to various American heroes, accept that the Padres are wearing camouflage, and allow ourselves to be frisked head-to-toe, we’ll be A-ok. The mere fact that the government tries to subtly tie politics into sports is a slippery-slope towards stratocracy, where high-rankings military officials have their hand in a myriad of society’s cookie jars. This makes it even more worrisome when the military pretended Pat Tillman suffered a fate akin to U.S. soldiers Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima -- when in reality, it was your run-in-the-mill friendly fire that turned this ex-NFL safety into an artifact of American heroism.
We are a Banana Republic and our export is troops. We have over 35,000 troops in Germany -- so I furrow my brow when I am told we are upholding democracy instead of acting as world police. Our front row subjection to the military-sports complex only enhances the inveterate notion that foreign troops equal domestic freedoms. I wonder if these constant iterations of politics has set forward a perpetual motion machine that will percolate through the generations culminating with political ornaments being embedded into children's cartoons.
When the sports realm is augmented by political coverage it demonstrates that sports is more than just a natural form of entertainment -- but a vehicle to push policy, promote brands, and (regrettably) reinvigorate the patriarchal ideals of our country.
When viewed through the lens of a skeptic, sports can be distilled into an ‘opiate of the masses’ as Marx says. I think a more encompassing view would give credence to the fact that sports can act as a ritual -- central to a country’s value system. In lieu of religion or cultural pastimes, sports can provide someone with the feeling of being part of something bigger than themselves.
The beauty of sports is that it can simultaneously be used as a propaganda machine that strengthens political machine, but also as a quasi-socioeconomic bridge to better education and sometimes even a better professional life.
This all begs the question: If sports acts as opiate to deny freedoms, why does our society accept it as such a remedy? The answer should vary from person to person; Although I believe sports have no cosmic significance, or tangible evidence that it improves the human condition, or even creates a strong bond amongst its’ fans -- it is the most lucid representation of natural selection we have left. Society preordains what is politically correct, what set of morals are acceptable, what is fashionable -- but it has no say over which team will win. Natural competitiveness is an animalistic trait at the core of the human condition.
Sports can also fill the chasm between countries with varying culture, laws, and religion. The Olympics are more than a global ‘pissing match;’ they act as a social lubricant that brings every country to the world stage. Regional hegemony and the battle among the global status-quo takes a backseat to global citizenry and universal form of sportsmanship. Although there is cultural mediation of sports through agenda-geared vehicles, we can still watch the Olympics with the mute button on and the partisan commentary off. Although, when McDonald's makes more than a cameo at the 1984 “Hamburger Olympics” you know there is a problem.
The actual manifestation of politics in sports is minimal from the fan’s perspective. As long as we can endure a few minute tributes to various American heroes, accept that the Padres are wearing camouflage, and allow ourselves to be frisked head-to-toe, we’ll be A-ok. The mere fact that the government tries to subtly tie politics into sports is a slippery-slope towards stratocracy, where high-rankings military officials have their hand in a myriad of society’s cookie jars. This makes it even more worrisome when the military pretended Pat Tillman suffered a fate akin to U.S. soldiers Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima -- when in reality, it was your run-in-the-mill friendly fire that turned this ex-NFL safety into an artifact of American heroism.
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