Why sports are good

I'm not a jock, not a cheerleader. I've never been accused of being "sporty", but as I take a break from writing to watch my OSU Cowboys go into the locker room at halftime with a 35 point lead over the Baylor Bears I'm feeling a little inspired.

Maybe it's all the waving I've been doing (according to custom, we OSU faithful wave our arms back-and-forth to celebrate a score), but I can't help but think that sports are good.

Athletic programs are often criticized for taking money away from academics. Everyone who's ever had a football coach try to teach them high school social studies can probably lament the practice of putting glorified babysitters in positions for which they have no passion.

But my mom is the best teacher I've ever known (and perhaps the one person on earth who is even less sporty than I), and she has always said that what happens on the playing field was often felt in the classroom.

You know what? My mom is usually right.

Martel Van Zant just had an interception in Stillwater. It was a big play in a big game, but the stands were silent in celebration because Martel was born deaf, and instead of yelling and screaming, thousands of orange-clad fans signed their applause.

Martel is beloved among his teammates. Many of them have learned or are learning sign language in order to communicate with him both on and off the field. (They also do a lot of text messaging.)

How many of those players would have known someone with a physical challenge without having Martel in their lives? How many kids are sitting at home watching the game today and thinking that if Martel can live out his dreams despite some exceptional challenges then they can too?

A lot of bad can come with emphasizing winning and athletics (a certain Other University comes to mind.) Last season my cowboys only won one conference game. But they also kicked off all the trouble-makers at the start of the season, sending the message that we don't care how fast you can run if you're not here for the right reasons.

I don't love sports. I love my school, and when I see my team playing well; when I hear about student athletes who are working hard; when I think back on all the mornings in my apartment in Stillwater when the band would wake me up as they practiced at 6 a.m., I have to think that sports and everything that comes with game day are important for a reason.

Anytime you have a white kid from a small town working side by side with a black kid from a big city... Anytime you have a Martel Van Zant... Anytime you have thousands of people of every age, race and socioeconomic status cheering together for a common cause...

Then you can say that sports are good.

And I personally can say GO POKES!


-Ally


TODAY'S CODE HINT: Sometimes when I'm having trouble with something, it helps to step away from it for a little while and pick up a good book.