The Freedom 250 Grand Prix in America’s capital is a historic spectacle. It is a feat of American patriotism that can only be rivaled by UFC 250 earlier this year.
It featured the most scenic and picturesque views, flyovers from every branch of the military, President Donald Trump driving the race course in The Beast for a ceremonial lap, American flags and music all over the streets of Washington, D.C. I spoke with fans about their experience and it told me one thing: This is how sports should be.
“I think it’s really unique,” an IndyCar fan told me on the National Mall. “Being at the [United States] Captiol for the 250[th birthday] and racing, it doesn’t get too much better than that.”
Many of the fans attending felt the same thing: An overwhelming sense of pride in America.
“I feel like there’s a lot of controversy on both [political] sides, but there’s a lot of pride [in America],” that same fan told me.
If any of you readers have followed my work for OutKick or online, you know I cover a lot of political and cultural controversies. I’ve covered the WNBA heavily over the last month in the wake of Sophie Cunningham’s comments on wanting women’s sports to remain female, so it’s refreshing to come to a sporting event that isn’t pushing any sort of divisive politics. The fans I spoke to, echoed how refreshing that is.
A fan that traveled from out of town told me, “In motorsports, everyone comes together and they just enjoy the sport. You don’t see that in other American sports.”
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Almost every fan I spoke with told me they felt a sense of gratitude and patriotism attending an event that was in the heart of the nation’s capitol, which celebrated our short, but rich history, as well as our military, without injecting uneccessary political divisiveness.
“It just makes you feel so proud [to be an American] and happy. I love this city… It’s beautiful,” a father attending the race with his adult son from Florida told me.
When I asked him about how President Trump and the city were able to put this race together in such a short amount of time, he said, “Americans can do anything.”
Amen, my brother in stars and stripes.
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When asked about how the Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser showed support for this race, essentially laying down her arms and instead, linking arms with those on the other side of the political aisle, a fan told me, “I don’t like to over politicize things. We should just enjoy what is cool and leave politics out of it.”
Another fan said, “They (Democrats and Republicans) should come together for such an event. It’s celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, everyone should celebrate that when you’re an American.”
It’s too bad other sports leagues, teams, media, and players use their games, broadcasts, and events to divide fans on political lines. Maybe they should take notes from the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, because it’s refreshing to attend a sporting event that isn’t politically preaching at you.