The eerie similarity between politics and sports

Of delusion, partisanship and Nazem Kadri

Your perception of Nazem Kadri likely depends entirely upon your team allegiance. We shouldn't view politics in the same way.  File photo

I’m a huge Nazem Kadri fan.

Ever since he was drafted by my Leafs in 2009, I’ve cheered for him. The issue with Kadri is that he sometimes crosses the line with his reckless play. If you ask me or any other Leafs fan, they’ll tell you Kadri isn’t a malicious player, he just makes questionable decisions at times. Ask any loyal follower of any other Canadian team, however, and they’ll be singing a different tune.

The beauty of sports is that you’re allowed to have these completely biased opinions. That type of delusion is actually celebrated and passionate fans are held in high regard. Anybody that plays for your favourite team is “one of us,” and anyone who plays for your rival is your enemy.

As traditional logic is thrown out the window when sports feelings are involved, guys like Nazem Kadri are easily forgiven. The problem is that this sports mentality has shifted into politics. People pick and choose what to believe based on which way they lean. We live in an age in which credible news is easily accessible everywhere, and despite this, people will still stick only to publications that cater to their ideologies.

By doing this, nobody’s learning anything. Nobody challenges themselves by seeking out and respecting another point of view. Everything that my people say is the whole truth, and anything the other side says is “fake news.”

Right now, with all that’s going on in the world, we have the moral obligation of trying to be as informed as possible. The partisan nature of staying true to your own beliefs without challenging them starts a vicious cycle that’s hard to break.

There’s nothing wrong with leaning one way or the other. It’s just that, as people, we won’t be able to grow if we don’t truly look at important issues from all sides.

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Posted: Jan 9 2018 1:16 pm
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