Chris, I really appreciate the thoughtful response. First, I have to tell you that I realize this reads like a rant, so it’s almost hyper in spots. I went with it because it’s how I was feeling. However, I actually agree with the larger points you make here. I HATE our polarization and I’m not advocating it, although it may seem that way in spots. What I’m saying is trying to keep politics out of this specific soccer situation is naive because even something as seemingly simple as a sneaker style has become political.

I truly don’t want everything to be political. It may come off that way here, but I was not being literal so much as writing it with an ‘eye roll’ and a ‘shrug.’ The paragraph where I list all the things that have become political is meant to spark the realization that it now runs the gamut from clothing to real, honest-to-God humanitarian crises and invasion of privacy.

Again, thanks for reading and commenting.