Someone asked me the other day why I loved sports so much, what about it drives me to love it so much? Well, I didn’t have an answer. I’ve been thinking about it for about two weeks now and I came up with some answers.

1. Distraction. There’s many ways that sports are distracting. Talking about sports can avoid the general small talk conversations. Watching sports can distract you from what’s really going on in your world and take you to a totally different one. Playing a sport can help clear your mind.

2. Belief. Sports give you something to believe in, whether it is a certain player, a certain team, or a whole sport. The chemistry of teams when playing can be a second family to most. Following a team can make you feel part of the family -- inclusion and insight.

3. Community. What’s better than sitting around a bar/restaurant all unified by one simple thing? A game on TV that everyone is cheering, crying, and feeling all types of emotion for. Ever been to a small football town on a Friday night? It’s the coolest thing -- it’s basically Dillon, Texas in "Friday Night Lights", not a store is open because everyone is uniting down at the field.

4. Calming. At least for me, sports provide an outlet for me, like I mentioned earlier in the distraction section. But by calming, I mean more than distraction, watching sports is my way to relax. I won’t lie, sometimes I get so relaxed, I fall asleep.

Sure, I’ve seen sports tear apart crowds, but have you ever watched the World Cup? Seeing countries come together over a sport, over a team, over the chance to have something bigger than themselves. It’s truly amazing to see.