share in sorrow or glory as the day decides. sports is our great teacher. offering us lessons that guide us from a young age for the rest of our lives. lessons about courage and grit, the importance of team work and diligence. how to play like a champion, even in a loss. sports has been at the center of american understanding about race, immigration, religion, and meritocracy. the baseball playoffs begin tonight and from jackie robinson to sandy koufax to clementy, children learned what it mean to be a good american watch these figures give their all in the field of play. so why is it that sports today seems to be a place of division not unity? something used to break us further apart not bring us together? when did competition become such a bad thing? 20 years ago after 9/11 getting back to sports was incredibly important it wasn t just a sign that america was going to continue. it was a sign that we were confident and unafraid. eight years ago tears turned to