With divisive statements coming from Washington, D.C., it can be easy to become caught up in debating and anger. Suddenly, a normal day is turned chaotic as one’s best friend gets upset or one’s teacher brings up politics. However, in the normal ebb and flow of political discourse, there exists a universal mediator, something that serves as a deterrent from controversy and anger: sports.

At Central, hundreds of students partake in athletics and hundreds more crowd around the television to watch athletic events. During a game at Central, politics and debates can take a back seat, leaving room for people to unite and get lost in the action of the game.

Emily Rodgers, a senior water polo player, experiences this.

“I love being with my team because we are all so different, but we come together under one common goal: to succeed and have fun while doing it,” Rodgers said.

This sentiment permeates to other sports at Central.

“Being on a team, you don’t care who [someone is] or what they believe in or support,” Wesley Sprague, a senior soccer player, said. “They are your teammates and you all have one goal: to win.” However, this goal is not the only thing that brings teammates together. Team bonding activities like pasta parties or sleep overs also help connect different people.

“Something the [water] polo girls do is wear Crocs, and it’s just something silly we can all do together,” Rodgers said.

Sophomore Bender Russo, a swimmer and water polo player, recognizes the kindness that comes between teams due to sports.

“[Sports help you] make friends from other schools,” Russo said. “[Sports] keep me from saying other schools are mean [or judging them harshly]. I even like Naperville North [thanks to water polo].”

On a larger scale, national sports attract millions of diverse people on a daily basis.

“For both the Super Bowl and the World Series, people took the opportunity to root for the [same] team,” Deb Cramer, a special education aid, said. “The two major sports [football and baseball] bring all kinds of people together.”

From Central to the United States, athletic events serve as common ground for people of different beliefs, race, religion and language to unite. Many of Central’s athletes and sports fans relate to this sentiment, especially in a time of political polarization.

“Sports are a way to bring people together and [make them] all focus on one thing,” junior gymnast Keagan Timmons said. “There are two teams, but everyone is cheering for something good, and they’re all happy and not worried about politics. It’s just a lot of fun.”