Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Can a touchdown create community?

Can a touchdown create community?
Free Images : nfl, national, football, league, logo, icon, sport ...

Every year, on Super Bowl Sunday, Americans come together.

For one day, under the banner of a football game, the divisions that so often define our daily lives fade into the background. Our polling shows that three-quarters of liberals and conservatives alike plan to watch this year’s pro football championship game.


More importantly, a striking 76% of Democrats and 75% of Republicans say these events deepen community ties that, on other days, feel fractured if not entirely broken. And this does not just happen in the confines of our homes or families – 73% of Liberals and 71% of Conservatives agree that such occasions help them feel connected to people nationwide.

We don’t just watch a football game; we share a collective experience. We gather with friends and family, cheer for our favorite teams, laugh at the commercials, and marvel at the halftime show. For a few hours, the divisions that so often define our daily lives fade into the background.

So, what if we carried that spirit beyond Sunday night?

In the aftermath of November’s razor-thin election results, we seem to be constantly told that we’re divided. The headlines declare it, politicians exploit it, and social media algorithms thrive on it. And after hearing it long enough, we start to believe it. We pull away from neighbors, disengage from our communities, and lose the sense of connection that binds us together.

Many Americans feel disconnected from their neighbors and even from members of their own families, our polling shows. Less than half of us—48%—are proud to be associated with our local communities, and just 61% take pride in our country. One in two adults is estranged from a close relative, often over political differences.

And yet—there’s a big but —we still love to play. Sports remain one of the few places where Americans come together across all differences. From preschool soccer games to senior go leagues, from neighborhood pickleball matches to pickup basketball, from ultra-marathoners to Special Olympics Unified Teams—play remains an essential part of who we are.

This truth is hiding in plain sight every Super Bowl Sunday. We know that it isn’t all about rooting for the Chiefs or the Eagles. In fact, only 31% of people watch because they care about the outcome. It’s more than just a game—it’s a national ritual that reminds us what we share.

Of the 100 most-watched television broadcasts in the U.S. last year, 72 were NFL games, with the Super Bowl easily topping that list. The 2024 Super Bowl was the most-watched telecast in U.S. history—nearly 124 million people tuned in—it nearly doubled the viewing audience of the next-biggest broadcast of the year, the September presidential debate, which drew an audience of 67 million.

What a striking contrast between what brings us together and what pulls us apart. It’s more than just a game—it’s a national ritual that reminds us what we share. We may root for different teams, but we all show up for the drama of competition, the artistry of performers, and the joy of being together. We celebrate community. We celebrate creativity. We celebrate the best of the American spirit.

The challenge is finding ways to sustain this unity beyond a single night. Organizations like the Special Olympics Unified Teams seek athletes and volunteers of all ability levels. Do you like flag football? There’s a rec league for you. Prefer bowling? A team is waiting to welcome you. From soccer to skating, softball to basketball, the only requirement is a willingness to play.

Not into sports? There are countless other ways to build community. Love to serve? Lions Clubs welcome new members. Want to mentor young people? Police Athletic Leagues are always forming. Looking to get in shape? Walking clubs offer a simple, free way to connect.

Super Bowl Sunday is a reminder that America’s divisions aren’t the whole story. Of course, we have differences—sometimes painful ones. But in a democracy, we bring our passions to the public square to build the future we believe in. And here’s the key: hatred doesn’t advance any cause except hatred itself. No one wants to live in a country defined by contempt.

Super Bowl Sunday offers us a lesson on how to beat it—with the simplest of tools: play together. Compete with respect. Treat one another with dignity. Believe in something bigger than ourselves. That’s the American spirit. And it’s not just for game day—it’s for every day.

Tim Shriver is chairman of the board of Special Olympics, a global sports movement to end discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities.

Will Johnson is chief executive of The Harris Poll, one of the world’s leading public-opinion r esearch firm.

Read More

Two speech bubbles overlapping.

Recent data shows that Americans view members of the opposing political party overly negatively, leading people to avoid political discourse with those who hold different views.

Getty Images, Richard Drury

How To Motivate Americans’ Conversations Across Politics

Introduction

A large body of research shows that Americans hold overly negative distortions of those across the political spectrum. These misperceptions—often referred to as "Perception Gaps"—make civil discourse harder, since few Americans are eager to engage with people they believe are ideologically extreme, interpersonally hostile, or even threatening or inferior. When potential disagreement feels deeply uncomfortable or dangerous, conversations are unlikely to begin.

Correcting these distortions can help reduce barriers to productive dialogue, making Americans more open to political conversations.

Keep ReadingShow less
Divided American flag

Rev. Dr. F. Willis Johnson writes on the serious impacts of "othering" marginalized populations and how, together, we must push back to create a more inclusive and humane society.

Jorge Villalba/Getty Images

New Rules of the Game: Weaponization of Othering

By now, you have probably seen the viral video. Taylor Townsend—Black, bold, unbothered—walks off the court after a bruising match against her white European opponent, Jelena Ostapenko. The post-match glances were sharper than a backhand slice. Next came the unsportsmanlike commentary—about her body, her "attitude," and a not-so-veiled speculation about whether she belonged at this level. To understand America in the Trump Redux era, one only needs to study this exchange.

Ostapenko vs. Townsend is a microcosm of something much bigger: the way anti-democratic, vengeful politics—modeled from the White House on down—have bled into every corner of public life, including sports. Turning “othering” into the new national pastime. Divisive politics has a profound impact on marginalized groups. Neither Ostapenko nor Donald Trump invented this playbook, yet Trump and his sycophants are working to master it. Fueled by a sense of grievance, revenge, and an insatiable appetite for division, he—like Ostapenko—has normalized once somewhat closeted attitudes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hand blocking someone speaking

The Third Way has recently released a memo stating that the “stampede away from the Democratic Party” is partly a result of the language and rhetoric it uses.

Westend61/Getty Images

To Protect Democracy, Democrats Should Pay Attention to the Third Way’s List of ‘Offensive’ Words

More than fifty years ago, comedian George Carlin delivered a monologue entitled Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.” It was a tribute to the legendary Lenny Bruce, whose “nine dirty words” performance led to his arrest and his banning from many places.

His seven words were “p—, f—, c—, c———, m———–, and t—.”

Keep ReadingShow less