In a heated political environment, it is important to find common ground. There is perhaps no place better than sports.
Some say it is all for the love of the game, but the stress of politics and cultural division persists. For Montclair State University students, the anxiety of modern America disrupts the sanctuary that sports can provide.
As tensions rise during America’s current era of political strife, local voters turn to the New Jersey gubernatorial race for possible answers. While tension hangs overhead, sports offer an unexpected escape. Freshman Mia Morales recalls fond memories of playing basketball in high school, bonding with her teammates in an unforgettable way.
“We all had lots of laughs together. It didn’t matter what ages we were, because we all played the same thing,” Morales said. “We’re all doing what we like together. So there’s no reason for any animosity. There’s no reason for any divide.”
However, the intersection of sports and politics becomes even clearer as sophomore Jordyn Cash recalls a cultural shift in her dance studio amid increasing political tension.
“When I was growing older in my high school levels and the election time came around, there was definitely a shift in my studio,” Cash told The Montclarion. “It’s not outright, like saying their public opinions or their political side, but you just know through comments, through body language, what was happening, and you kind of just sense the vibe to change.”
Jordyn Cash, sophomore sports communications and dance double-major. David Bien-Aime┃The Montclarion
Morales believes that politicians should generally abstain from sports, while noting a divide, not just between Democrats and Republicans, but also within the parties themselves. She claimed that no two people truly agree on everything, but sports are a way to escape from those disagreements.
“Everyone has different beliefs, no matter what side you’re on, even if you’re on the same side,” Morales explained. “[With] sports, you are all watching the same thing, experiencing the same thing, same type of emotions,” she said.
Freshman Mia Morales recognizes the importance of sports as a form of escapism. David Bien-Aime┃The Montclarion
The results of the gubernatorial election could reignite hard feelings from the presidential election, Cash said. People may rejoice in victory or agonize in defeat, adding to the preexisting division that she believes cannot be fixed. “I just feel like we’re so divided right now, where it’s, like, I don’t want to say unfixable, but I feel like it’s gonna take something. It just makes me sad.”
While Cash believes the division festers within the general public, Morales claims it stems from the government as a whole.
“It’s just more divided, not just amongst ourselves as civilians, but within the White House, within the government itself,” Morales said. “[Sports] can just bring us the joy that we need during this time. I hope that whatever is happening in the government can, I don’t know, wrap up, fix itself.”
Then there is the division within the sanctuary: intense rivalries that fuel a city’s love for the game. Morales says that those rivalries make the game more fun, but the hurt in the political world cannot be ignored. “No one’s supposed to really get hurt in these kinds of rivalries, especially in sports,” she said. “But unfortunately, when it comes to [the] government, people do actually get hurt and we’ve seen that.”
Even though Morales wants a world where politics and sports are separated, Cash points out how separating the two can be an impossible task.
“Sports bring out so much of people’s real opinions, of people’s political opinions, so it’s kind of hard not to tie it in,” Cash admits. “When you’re done playing football, you’re done playing basketball, done dancing, you’re still a person who has rights, and you’re still a person who deserves to live in a world where you believe that you belong, and you know that you belong.”
