I have to admit to everyone that sports has been the farthest thing from my mind during these past several months as Barack Obama ascended on his improbable path to becoming the 44th president of the United States.
In recent weeks, we’ve had the World Series, the opening of the National Basketball Association regular season as well as the National Football League getting into full swing. Locally, we have the high school state playoffs getting underway. Lots of good sports stuff to engage in.
You know what? I have been pretty oblivious to all of it, because I have been a Obamaniac. If you asked me about any of those sports happenings, I wouldn’t be able to tell you too much because my life has been immersed in politics, politics and more politics.
The phenomenon of Barack Obama and this historic election has turned me into a political junkie of the highest order. I just can’t get enough of it. LeBron and Kobe and even my man Tim Duncan will have to wait on the back burner for a minute. Yes, Earl the basketball junkie is all about what’s going on in the political arena instead of what’s happening in the basketball arena. Who would have thought that was possible? But, this stuff is just too good and I did not want to miss any of it.
I watch all of the shows with political pundits, then I go to my computer and try to read as many of the political websites as I can. It has become a 24-7 obsession for me. I’m up at 5 a.m. every morning to watch “Morning Joe” and end up on my computer in the wee hours of the night reading from such websites as Politico.com, Huffingtonpost, Salon.com, Realclearpolitics as well as all of the political op-eds from the Washington Post and New York Times and so many others.
I’m telling you, this is really crazy stuff. When I arrive at work every morning, I spent at least 10 minutes a day in the office of our publisher, Donald M. Suggs, to talk politics and the state of the race, getting the benefit of all of his experience and wisdom in the political arena.
The culmination of my newfound obsession with politics came last week when I cast a ballot in a political election for the first time in my life. At 43 years old, Earl Austin Jr. voted for Barack Obama, our new president. When I got back to my car, I just sat there and started crying. I did not realize how emotional it would be to do something like this, but this man has touched me and inspired me in a way that I thought would be never possible.
The cool thing about this is that I know that I am not alone. My story is being shared by God knows how many people across the country. It reflects how special an individual Barack Obama is and how he touches people all over the world.
Of all of the things that Obama has been able to accomplish during his historic run to the White House, the most underrated aspect of his candidacy is that he has brought millions of people to the political process for the first time. Now, people like me, and millions of others, will continue to become better educated and more engaged in what is going on in politics; not only nationally, but locally and regionally as well.
At the conclusion of his last rally in Virginia on Monday night, Obama got the crowd of 90,000 going with his “Fire Up! Ready to Go!” cheer. I jumped up out of my seat right along with the people on television. I was ready to go.
And so is Barack Obama, who’s ready to go change our nation. In the words of the great gospel recording artist Donald Lawrence, “I heard the spirit say, it’s your time. The wait is over. Walk into your season.”
Barack Obama, walk into your season.