I was listening to ESPN radio with Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann when the discussion suddenly turned on a political note. Each accused the other of being more liberal than the other. Mr. Patrick refuted it by saying that he “watches more Fox news.” Mr. Olbermann wanted not to be “thrown under the liberal bus.” Was their condemnation of being liberal an outcrop of their conservative values? Were they afraid of being associated with any form of liberalism? Either way, these two are certainly good at wrecking the myth of the “liberal media.”

It always strikes me as odd when politics noses its way into a topic of conversation that doesn’t seem to foster debate of that type. It might just be my dreamy ideology in play, but I’ve always wanted sports to be separate from the political arena. Sports are where people of all types can make connections, share ideas and get to know one another. The political climate in this country these days is clearly not conducive to making connections; the arguments have a polarizing effect instead.

Unfortunately, sports will never remain outside the influence of political rhetoric. Championship teams will continue visits to the White House, athletes will voice their political opinions on the national stage, and our national anthem may always be included in pre-game rituals no matter how many Carlos Delgados chose to make a silent protest. And sports casters and other personalities will continue to demonize the term “liberal,” despite the munificent connotation (I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather have a liberal helping of gravy on my mashed potatoes than a conservative one).

No matter my stance on the issues, sports may also be inherently conservative. The millionaires and billionaires who play and run the game all benefit from the policies of the current administration, and many have also expressed their allegiance to the conservative agenda. Curt Schilling spoke openly about his support for Bush right after winning the World Series in 2004. The lifeblood of football flows from the South, where high school football a focal point every week for the multitude of small towns scattered throughout the middle states. Rudy Giuliani sits in the front row of Yankee Stadium, although he stands for ‘God Bless America’ during the seventh inning stretch. NASCAR anyone? It would actually be an amazing stroke of genius if MLS, Major League Soccer, were to market itself as the ‘conservative sport’ with ‘traditional family values’ in an attempt to attract a larger audience. And while there are many examples of liberal influence in sports (most noticeably in New England), they seem so few and far between when compared to their conservative rivals.

But the downside is that our heroes who performed so valiantly for our team can suddenly look a lot less appealing by vocalizing their political beliefs, whether liberal, conservative or other. Or a fairly innocuous broadcast can suddenly turn odious by allowing prevailing politics to enter the fray. As the saying goes, the personal is political, and while sports can offer a great amount of personal identity, politics have become vehemently personal in today’s climate. Hence it almost seems like a personal attack when a cherished athlete believes in the exact opposite political ideology that we believe in.

This injection of politics into mainstream athletics can be tough to take, since we use sports as a diversion to escape, among other things, the hostile politics in our country. But just as the power is in your hands to try and make a change in the political landscape, the dial is very handy in making a change of radio station. Don’t let those liberal/conservative sportscasters/athletes get to you. As I found out, something else is always on.