How important are sports right now?

With this country about to head into a war against Iraq, how is it that some of us talk more about college basketball than the conflicts that surround us?

Sports is often escapism, especially from the perspective of fans and reporters. No matter how important the events of the world are, you’re more likely to find me watching basketball on ESPN than the latest on a potential war on CNN.

I have no idea whether this is good or bad. The only thing I know for sure is that it takes a great deal to stop the games around us.

Baseball and football halted for a week after September 11th. It seemed, for a moment, that this country, and for that matter the world, had put priorities in proper perspective.

But there was no stoppage of play in January of 1991, when the Gulf War started. The Super Bowl went on as scheduled, and the sports went on without interruption.

Baseball did not stop in either of the two world wars either. Players such as Bob Feller and Ted Williams served in the armed forces, but replacement players filled the void, and the seasons were not halted.

If war begins, will the games stop?

I doubt it.

There is too much to be lost, in many areas. A cynical person may argue that money will rule, and the games won’t be stopped because owners stand to lose too much money. Again, there is more to it.

In 1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked, baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis gave control of the sport over to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Had the president felt that the games should have been stopped, they would have been. But Roosevelt felt the country would be best suited by keeping baseball going.

Sometimes, sports can help in times of tragedy. No matter how serious a conflict, life cannot be grave at all times. Sometimes something like sports can help to provide a distraction in times of crisis.

I suspect war will not halt the sports around us. Whether it is to provide escapism, or simply an economic decision, sports will go on during war.

There are benefits and drawbacks to whatever decision is made, and sensitive issues that will be taken into account. Players in all sports may have loved ones at risk, and trying to stay focused on a game with so much going on will be difficult for them.

At the same time, the rest of the country may need the break from the emotional nature of war. In all likelihood, sports will keep going, providing a momentary distraction from a difficult time.

Whether good or bad, the games will continue.