Add Feedback | Send this Article | Published 4/11/03

Graphic By: Matt Witherow

"I do not believe the war will have an immediate impact on sports, but if the war continues to surge on, then it could play a major factor down the road," said Bern. Although he may not think that it will have a sudden impact, the War has already caused complications in the sports industry.

Last week NCAA officials were debating on whether or not to postpone the tournament. Along with the NCAA, Major League Baseball cancelled an opening day game that was scheduled to take place in Japan between the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners due to the brink of war.

"To separate those players and others from their organizations and their families at this time would be unsettling as well as unfair," said Bud Selig, the commissioner of the MLB.

At a time of crisis like this, some people believe the safety and security of athletes as well as our nation is the first priority. Dave Krieger of the "Rocky Mountain News" believes that the NCAA was right to question whether or not they should proceed with the tournament. However, he disagreed with the result of continuing the tournament.

"There are times when sports should step aside," said Kreiger.

Even though we are in a state of war, there is no reason to put everything to a halt. The same questions were raised when the 9/11 terrorist attacks took place. Everyone felt that the nation's security was the most important issue. Although there is some truth to in that statement, I believe that we need to continue on with our everyday lives and not let this war have a great affect on us. We stand as a proud nation with the finest military protecting us. The best we can do is to keep America thriving until our soldiers return home.

Also, there are recent studies that have proved that the war might be a little more important than sports. According to an article in the Hartford Courant, television ratings for the first evening of NCAA Tournament coverage dropped more than 20 percent from last year. The Hartford Courant also pointed out that cable networks experienced an increase of 444 percent compared to the same day and time of last year. The cable network CBS, who has a contract with the NCAA to show tournament games, may transfer some games to other cable channels owned by Viacom, its parent company. When the games are shown on CBS, the cable network will not hesitate to interrupt games to bring live and important updates of the War. With coverage like that, you cannot help but notice how important this war is to most Americans.

Although totally unrelated to sports, the entertainment industry also felt a slight blow to their schedule when it came to the Academy Awards. Executive producers of ABC felt it would be wise to postpone the show until March 23. However, due to the recent threat of terrorist attacks, the Academy Awards went on without the beloved red carpet.

I believe that we must continue on with our everyday lives, and let the men who swore to protect us fulfill their duties. Sports and entertainment give people a chance to escape reality and lose themselves in movies or important sporting events. It allows you to take your mind off of the brutality of war and allows you to think of other things that may not be more important but a lot more entertaining to watch.

Sports and entertainment makes America great, and at times like this, it is needed the most. Let us continue our lives the way they were before we invaded Iraq; let us continue to yell at our television sets when we watch sports, even though we know that the referees cannot hear a word of what we are saying.