MORGANTOWN — It’s been said by sportswriters far better than myself that sports are nothing more than a great escape from life.
I always believed that, because it made far too much sense. Life is difficult. Adversity and hard times do not care about race or age or gender. Health issues can hit the rich just like they hit the poor. It’s not hard at all for families to fall behind on the rent or mortgage or the bills.
But then there is the ball game, whether it’s baseball, football or whatever. Those few precious hours where we drive to stadiums or camp out in front of the TV to either celebrate or blame, cheer or jeer.
It is in that short amount of time we are a part of something bigger, something that allows our mind to forget about life’s troubles. We are entertained and so we forget, so to speak.
All of it is true, hard to argue against it. For the longest time, I simply took the notion of sports being a great escape at face value.
That was until this past weekend, as the WVU baseball team was making its captivating run through the Morgantown Regional of the NCAA tournament. You already know what happened. WVU outfielder Paul Schoenfeld hit a dramatic two-run home run in the ninth inning against Kentucky on Sunday night to beat the Wildcats, 11-9. There was a rare balk call just before that tied the game.
A day later, Kentucky seemingly had returned the favor by hitting two home runs in the eighth inning to tie the game. The heroics still fell to the Mountaineers, as Armani Guzman’s base hit in the 10th inning won the game, 6-5, for the regional title.
That was the escape, quite possibly the all-time Harry Houdini of escapes where it concerns WVU athletics.
It was in the minutes that followed that, for the first time in 30 years as a journalist, sports had become so much more than just an escape. Sports was a unifier. Sports was the engine that spread some harmony.
Now, I’m not going to waste your time with my own political views, but anyone with a pulse can make the assessment that we are a divided country. We are a divided people, and have been so for a number of years now.
Following Guzman’s base hit Monday night, the moment anyone stepped out of that press box, they felt the vibration. They felt something that they knew instantly was extending well beyond the borders of Kendrick Family Ballpark.
An older gentleman was seen standing in the concourse wiping a tear from his cheek, as some 5,000 fans – including those up on the hill behind the stadium – had wrapped together arms and hands on shoulders in signing, celebrating and swaying back and forth in unison.
There were Republicans among those masses, Democrats, too. It didn’t matter, not at that moment. This wasn’t just an escape from everyday life. This was a community, and for that matter, an entire state that proved in those moments that it is very possible to set our differences aside and unite. In those moments, just maybe we are not quite as divided as perceived.
Those realizations were likely shared across state lines. There were certainly other pockets of the country celebrating college baseball games on Sunday or Monday. Certainly there are millions celebrating the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Playoffs. In about two months, pro and college football will bring that same type of national enthusiasm.
We can celebrate as one, whether that’s at the local sports bar, watering hole or inside stadiums. In those moments, we don’t see political affiliations. We absolutely do not care about political affiliations.
It is the joy of sports that gives us that defining moment. It is the joy of sports that, yes, gives us a great escape from the hardships of everyday life, but what struck me on that Monday evening, is that sports can provide us so much more.
Sports can provide this country hope.
