Perhaps this might bother some of the blog’s readers who hail from the United States, but I’m a diehard New England Patriots fan when it comes to American football. Today my favorite team played against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but for some reason, the game took place in Wembley Stadium – in London, England! I was surprised to see them there, but it was easy to see the merits of playing a game overseas. It’s almost as though the sports team, when in another country, acts as an ambassador. In that regard, sports seem to me like one of those instances where politics can be set aside, and people can join together for some good-natured competition. (Think of how almost every country in the world enjoys soccer, for example.)

Since sports have the ability to break down political and cultural barriers, I thought today that Esperanto could be right at home with them. There are already bilingual announcers for games in which the competitors (and thus their home audiences) speak different languages. However, this might exclude viewers from countries not directly involved with the game at hand, because they do not speak the language announced. Esperanto, if used for sportscasting, could help assuage this problem.

Of course, there’s something to be said of the symbolism of using Esperanto for sportscasting. Esperanto is supposed to help unite the world; sports have come about as close to doing so as anything seen thus far. Combining the two would speak volumes, no?