Athletic Support: The ‘game’ is over, let’s shake hands
eli.cranor@gmail.com


Dear Athletic Support: I’m sending this question to you exactly eight days before the election. I can’t help but wonder what role sports will play during these challenging times. A part of me feels like maybe they matter now more than ever. Like we need a distraction from all the craziness, and there’s nothing purer than athletics. It’s all so clear cut. There are winners and losers and scoreboards that display the outcome in numbers that cannot be manipulated. In a world of fake news, maybe we all just need some REAL sports. Even as I say all of this, though, I can’t help but feel like maybe sports don’t matter as much right now. My son’s playing what will probably be his last season of football (he’s a senior). And my daughter’s wrapping up her first year of school-sanctioned volleyball. Despite these milestones, I’m having trouble caring about their athletic careers like I would’ve in days gone past. I realize this is a heavier question than the ones people normally send in, but these are heavy times. I’m not sure what the world will look like by the time this question makes it to your desk; I just hope I’m still around to read your answer.

— Heavier Than Normal


Dear Heavier: Thank you, so much, for sending in such a thoughtful question. By nature of my publishing schedule, I’m also writing blind here. There’s no way for me to tell who’s won the election or what the world will look like on this particular Sunday, but I think you’re right…

We need sports.

Now, more than ever.

And this need goes deeper than just winning and losing. Sports have the power to bring us together. They’re the perfect metaphor for what our country so desperately needs right now. The beauty of sports is that most people realize it’s just a game. When the lights go off and the bleachers clear out, people go back to being friends.

Or at least that’s the way it should work. After the game is over, there shouldn’t be any hard feelings. That’s why we teach our kids to line up in the middle of the field or the court and shake hands afterwards.

Whether or not your candidate won the election should not matter at this point. That particular game is over, and despite what the news is telling you — we’re all on the same team.

Let me repeat that: WE’RE ALL ON THE SAME TEAM.

And we need to start acting like it. We must come together like never before. Imagine if this really were some sort of sporting event. How would America fare as a team? All the infighting and bashing that we do to each other? We’d never win a game!

My hope — my prayer — is that we’ll take a page from the youth-sports playbook, realize the election is over, and all line up at midfield, ready to shake hands and put the past behind us.


Eli Cranor is a former professional quarterback and coach turned award-winning author. Please use the “Contact” page at elicranor.com to send in questions for “Athletic Support.”


Outside of athletics, kids’ brains are also at risk. Who knows what sort of impact virtual learning will have on their cognition and critical thinking skills. In this regard, I offer one simple tool — a good book! And luckily, I know just the book for kids struggling with the shift to virtual learning:

BOOKS MAKE BRAINZ TASTE BAD! Okay, you caught me… I’m the author of this book. It was published last week and awarded a #1 New Release ranking on Amazon. BMBTB deals directly with the same topic covered in this column, except in a much more lighthearted, kid-friendly way (zombie teachers and brain-munching screens!) If you end up purchasing this book for your children or grandchildren, I only have one final suggestion — ask them to read it while standing up! Eli Cranor's new book Books Make Brainz Taste Bad has just been released. ZOMBIES HATE BOOKS! Especially the zombie teachers at Haven Middle School. That's why they're using VR headsets to fry kids' brainz. Luckily, Dash Storey knows how to save his classmates from the zombie teachers—BOOKS! They make brainz taste bad! "Eli Cranor has an almost unbeatable advantage. He can remember how it felt to think like a twelve-year-old and he can see the very same events like the adult he is. Don't try to resist this book!" - Jack Butler, Pulitzer-Prize nominated author

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• ACL injuries on the rise in youth sports
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• Daughter rolls ankle: Time to walk it off?
• College football cancelled but my son’s still playing
• Shift to virtual learning causing lag in young athletes
• What you look for, you will find
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• Left behind
• Travel ball leads to constipation
• Collegiate sports for fun or money?
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• With sports gone, son’s grades tanking
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