What I Learned at the Super Bowl | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: This informational nugget was sent to me by Ben Shapiro, who represents the Daily Wire, and since this is one of the most topical news events, it should be published on BCN.

    Yesterday, I went to the Super Bowl with Daily Wire President Caleb Robinson, CEO Jeremy Boreing, and my dad. It was an amazing experience. The energy in the stadium was astonishing - from the tens of thousands of people pouring from the subzero temperatures into Minnesota's glorious US Bank Stadium, to the supreme technical presentation of the event itself, to the terrific game, the event was an awe-inspiring display. But it was more than that. It was a moment of unity in a culture of polarization. Eagles fans and Patriots fans sat side-by-side, and cheered opposing teams, and everybody essentially got along.

    More than that, the loudest cheers of the night came not for the actual game but for the National Anthem - everybody, including the players, stood, despite the Left spending two years deifying players for kneeling - as well as a presentation featuring Medal of Honor winners.

    Another major ovation came later in the game when the NFL showed a video honoring the Air Force; yet another ovation came when individual veterans were asked to stand and be honored.

    Then, after the game, Eagles coach Doug Pederson thanked Jesus, Eagles backup quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles held his baby and thanked God, and the crowd cheered.

    These displays are important and useful. It's those displays that unify us, that make us all feel like we're part of the same team, even when we're rooting for different teams. Sports, as a form of play-acted conflict, are a great way to remind us that most of the conflicts we experience in this country are somewhat artificial. Yes, there are real political questions that divide us. But in the freest, most prosperous country in the history of mankind, there's far more than unites us than divides us.

    After the game, we all stumbled out into the freezing cold, attempting to rush to the blue line back to the Mall of America. A bunch of us ended up waiting in a glass booth; most of those inside were Patriots fans. But there was no feeling of anger or upset, no feeling of serious disappointment. Everyone was excited to have watched a historic game with a bunch of other people united in their love of sport and pride in the country.

    The late night hosts went back to bashing President Trump in homogenous fashion; a Black Lives Matter group shut down the Minnesota light rail; President Trump went back to Twitter to attack "Little Adam Schiff" over his opposition to a Congressional memo; the city of Philadelphia set itself on fire.

    The usual stuff.

    But here's what I learned: when the game ends, we're all out in the cold together, so we'd better stick together.

    That doesn't mean our conflicts disappear or that they don't matter. They do matter, deeply. How we define ourselves as a collective helps determine whether we ought to stand together as brothers rather than enemies.

    But for now - even now! - when the stuff hits the fan, Americans are far more the crowd at the Super Bowl than the audience for Jimmy Kimmel. We're together in this thing. Love matters. Patriotism matters. America matters.