What do Beyonce and Sports have in common? A lot more than you’d think…
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In a recent interview with People, Mike Huckabee called President Barrack Obama and First Lady Michelle, “excellent and exemplary parents in many ways.” The possible 2016 presidential hopeful – and apparent parenting expert – had one exception, however: the fact that they allow Sasha and Malia to listen to Beyonce, the singer whose lyrics, according to Huckabee are “obnoxious and toxic poison.”
Why is this news?
Because everyone loves Beyonce!
The near-universal love for Beyonce’s stands very much in stark contrast to the way people feel about sports. For many, the stereotypical masculinity characteristics that described sports and its athletes decades ago still prevent people from embracing the overwhelming good qualities.
Little did you know, however, that if you like Beyonce, you’re probably a sports fan.
Here are 5 reasons why a Beyonce fan is a sports fan.
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1. Sasha Fierce:
I Am…Sasha Fierce was released in 2008 and gave us hits like “Single Ladies,” “If I Were A Boy” and “Halo.” It was the album that separated Beyonce from the rest of the bunch into a class unto herself.
But who is Sasha Fierce?
“I have someone else that takes over when it’s time for me to work and when I’m on stage, this alter ego that I’ve created that kind of protects me and who I really am.”
You know who else takes over when it’s time to go to work? Athletes. It’s called their game face or the killer instinct. When the game is at its zenith, every premium athlete is Sasha Fierce, or well, Samuel Fierce.
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2. Beyonce’s Unparalleled Focus:
Now watch this clip. Ok, now watch it again. Maybe just one more time?
Now let’s analyze.
We all feel for Michelle Williams .Every man has wondered how women can dance in high heels, let alone walk in them, and Williams’ tumble is what most men would do if placed in the same situation.
In the sports world, we call this a blooper. It happens in every game, but only the greats can make a play successful when a blooper is committed.
Now watch Kelly Rowland. The stumble causes her to pause, look down at her fallen teammate take a few seconds to decide whether to help or continue. That hesitation can be costly.
But now, look at Beyonce. When Williams falls, she glances out of the corner of her eye, but does not miss a step. She starts swerving and singing as if Williams’ fall was part of their entrance. SHE DOES NOT MISS A BEAT.
Her focus is something explicitly needed to succeed in sports. Nothing ever goes right in the world of athletics and you need the ability to stay focused and rise above it. In every sport, you have to rely on your teammates to win the championship game, but ultimately the game is one of individuals playing together. If one falters, you must pick up the slack, and in the terms of Bey, keep dancing.
Now watch it again…
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3. Beyonce’s Songs:
Beyonce has a huge library of hits.
I will avoid the obvious comparison between her hits and collisions in sports. I’d rather have you glimpse at the similarities between the meanings of her songs and the hubris of sports. Here are some of the highlights:
Survivor
Beyonce said this song was a defining moment in the career of Destiny’s Child. Bey and Destiny’s Child received a lot of criticism early in their career and this was a way to “write them out of the negativity,” as she put it.
Time and again, athletes are asked to rise from adversity, whether its socioeconomic or merely on the field of play. A defining moment for an athlete can make the player, or break them. There is no in between.
Crazy in Love
A song about a woman so in love she has lost all sense of herself, she is crazy in love.
Such a description would characterize almost every sports fan. Every year we all share the same hope that it’s our team’s year. It doesn’t matter what history says, we are crazy in love with our teams. Sometimes even “drunk in love.”
Irreplaceable
The hard truth of relationships is knowing when its time to move on and having the strength and courage to realize there’s someone better for you.
The same can be said for athletes and management. Time and time again, team execs scuttle popular players because they deem them no longer an asset. Imagine a 60-year-old white male saying, “To the left, to the left…” You’re welcome.
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4. Beyonce’s Showmanship:
Queen B is the Undisputed Champion of the Live Performance. To steal a sports cliché, she leaves it all out there on the stage night after night. Her routines, her performances, her stage presence are second to none.
Watching sports can leave you with the same feeling as a good Beyonce show, overwhelmingly satisfied. Strip down the nuances of sports, the machismo that sometimes spills over to intolerable levels and the bad publicity that sometimes follows the game and what you are left with is a symphony of grace, power and beauty. Elite individuals with superhuman talents are performing choreography only few can duplicate in the manner in which it is performed.
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5. The Universal Language of Beyonce:
Plato once said, “Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.”
Not to be outdone, Madonna said, “Music, makes the people come together.”
Two people listening to “Single Ladies” on opposite sides of the world can feel the same thing. It doesn’t matter what language you speak, the language of Beyonce is universal.
In that sense, so are sports. Google the “Christmas Truce.” Enemies in World War I stopped fighting, laid down their arms to play a game of soccer. Once the game was over, they resumed trying to literally kill each other. Sports can transcend religion, culture, language and socioeconomic barriers. Events like the Olympics and World Cup help to portray the universal language of sports.
So instead of saying, “No, No, No, No” to sports, you should really be saying, “yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Whether you want to believe it or not, if you like Beyonce, you’re a sports fan . . . . And now you know.
Beyonce and Sports. In the words of the Queen herself, “We be all night, love, love!”
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Photo Credit: Arno Mayorga/Flickr
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