Sport and Politics

The answer to this question on do people care more about sports than politics is no. Politics is in everything and literally is everywhere you look. Politics is a way in which people use information, propaganda and reasoning to take a stance on certain issues. We’ve discussed several times athletes making political stances or voicing how they feel about world and national issues. That’s a very dangerous area for athletes to dive into because the weight of their words could be so influential to a person that has no idea on the political issue the athlete addresses. Now I have a totally different opinion and feel sports is more significant than politics simply because politics is something that becomes so skewed. Lies, deceitfulness, and immoral things occur within politics on a daily basis. I turn to sports as an escapism from the troubles occurring around the world and use sports as a way to understand ideologies that shape my understanding on important aspects of life. For example, without reference to Tiger Woods’ new media story, I’ve been able to learn a lot from him, specifically the American Dream ideology. He has worked hard for what he’s earned and he truly is an icon for success in this world. Most of the time when I talk with friends in general conversation politics is not the first thing out of their mouths. So I think that politics is something people generally care about more than sports as a whole but I believe the generation I’m a part of may be tuning out politics and replacing it with things of interest sports, music, etc because its less controversial to some extent.

Politics & Sports (Jordan Garretson)

I think in general, in our country, people care more about sports than politics. I think a big reason for this is the public's loss of trust for political figures. With the growing amount of scandals and lies from politicans over the years, I think our trust of the political system has gradually decreased.

Then again, on that same note, sports seem to be increasingly "corrupt" as well. More scandals, deaths, crimes, etc seem to be more prevalent in sports today. Still, our interest in sports don't seem to dwindle, unlike in politics.

Also, I believe politics are a lot more easy to just flip on the TV and enjoy. If you're uninformed, it's a lot harder to turn on a political debate rather than a sporting competition if you're uninformed about the two teams.

I think it can be problematic because it can lead to an uninformed voting public, which can lead to either poor decisions in elections, or voter apathy. I feel like the American population also takes the privilege of the right to vote for granted, and it's unfortunate.

Sports are definately important to people, but I think people may care about politics more than sports. A lot of people don't understand the different policies, so they put off the important issues and let the government take care of that. I think people believe their thoughts don't matter when it comes to politics, but with sports their support for their team makes them feel part of something, especially when that specific team wins.

I think that everyone can agree that society views sports way more important than politics. This is due to a few reasons. First of all, sports affect people's daily lives. Hundreds of thousands of people find that it is critical for Oregon or OSU to win so that their team can make it to the Rose Bowl. However, nobody really knows what bills were being passed in Congress today. This is because many of these bills truly dont effect us day to day. Sports are also a lot more entertaining than politics. Athletes perform tasks and feats that are elite that most cannot do. If Obama dunks on Sarah Palin, im sure that many people would watch that aswell. Finally, politics are not in the media the way that sport is. If the news had highlights of votes on bills, I think people would watch that too, but I dont think thats realistic.

I definately believe people care a lot more about sports than they do about politics. People take pride in just about every sport whether it's baseball, football, basketball, etc. Sports are a lot more exciting to pay attention to, and I think easier to follow than politics and some of the issues that are going on with the U.S. People state their opinions on what they believe the U.S. government should do in situations, but it doesn't always mean their opinion is right, or if it is that logical. When things are going bad sports are there to charm people up by the exciting plays and their favorite teams winning. Sports help people forget for a certain amount of time about the other issues that are going on in their lives. An example of this took place at Yankee Stadium the day after 9/11 took place, where the New York Yankees were able to come away with a win.

Politics vs. Sport

I think that most people in America pay much more attention to sports than they do politics. I could be wrong but I know that at my apartment ESPN is on a lot more than CNN, and I feel like this is true with most people, especially college students. In reality, this is probably a bad thing because in the long run sports does not really matter. Many people, myself included, don't know very much about the current policies or issues involved in today's government. They can much more easily name off sport standings or scores. One reason for this is that sports are far more entertaining. How many people would rather watch a football game over a meeting debating the future of our country? But which is more important? With this in mind I think that more people probably need to pay more attention to what is going on in the world of politics, which I think includes law making and governmental policies. Truthfully, though I am not really sure what is considered politics because I will admit that I am not well informed in that area. The fact that people care so much more about sports can be problematic because they will not be well informed when they vote for politicians to run the country. This could make them vote for the wrong person to represent them.

I think that people, politicians especially, realize the impact and following that sports have, so they try to use that following to integrate some of their ideas and gain support. Sports are a great venue for politcians to use because there is such a strong national connection involved with sports.

Sports vs. Politics

I think this is a very interesting topic. To many people, sports are exciting, entertaining, fun. They are thought of as a leisurely activity, whether people are participating or viewing them. Sports are supposed to be fun and enjoyable, and in the realm of things, anyone can participate. On the other hand, many people think of politics in a more negative manner. Politics involve rules and regulations, "bad things" that people don't like thinking about in a leisurely manner. I think this is why many people seem to be more interested in sports. Sports are a hobby for many. Politics often cause debates and fights that aren't easily solved; politics don't seem fun to most people. Although everyone also has the chance to be involved with politics (voting, etc), a lot of the population isn't very educated on a lot of important issues, and there's also the issue of "my opinion/vote doesn't matter, so what is the point?". Although the two issues probably shouldn't be mixed, they obviously are. Sport is one of the main ways is which nationalism comes through. The Olympics are supposed to be a way in which countries come together and all get along and "play", but politics often get intertwined and bad things often occur as a result. So although the two are thought to be completely separate things, they are often sort of melted together.