Building Communities Through Sports: Inclusivity, Access, and Impact
Sports have always been prominent in my life. I grew up on Louisiana State University’s campus attending their American football, basketball, baseball, and soccer games, I played sports as a kid, I am a massive hockey fan, and I have even worked for the Denver Broncos NFL team. As a result, I have seen just how important sports are to the community. In Louisiana the entire community would show up for a football game, whether they had tickets or not. Even in Denver, with a football team that hadn’t made playoffs in 10 years, the stadium is sold out for every game. What do sports look like to you? Are they just entertainment? Or are they more?
Community
Working for the Denver Broncos has allowed me to understand just how deeply ingrained they are in the community. They have so many different initiatives I could talk about forever, but I do want to highlight two and talk about the impact they have on the community.
22% of Colorado’s population is Latino and the Broncos have an entire game dedicated to that part of the community. As the Broncos attempt to further integrate into the community they have realized they cannot do it without dedicating some of those attempts towards the Latino population. The Vamos Broncos game is huge. There are specific inflatables for it, the stadium is decorated a specific way, and they even bring in luchadores that wrestle before game. The community turnout is absolutely massive; there is a significantly larger portion of Latinos at that game both inside the stadium and at any of the watch parties set up throughout the city. Vamos Broncos is personally my favorite game of the season because of the joy that comes with a smaller percentage of the population being recognized.
The other initiative I would like to highlight is the Broncos All in, All Covered Initiative. This was the Broncos’ largest philanthropic investment in history and was a massive step forward when it comes to talent development in Denver. Through the Broncos All in, All Covered Initiative over 15,000 football helmets were purchased and distributed to every high school in the state. Through this massive investment the Broncos highlighted the importance of supporting football at all levels. On top of providing the helmets, there is a wall in Broncos stadium with one from each high school. The community reception of the helmets was phenomenal, and although it does not touch the entire community, it makes the kids at smaller schools who dream of playing pro feel seen.
I recognize that the Denver Broncos are on a different scale, however, it highlights the importance of community engagement for sports teams. Additionally, it is important to note how essential the city is for all of this. The city of Denver has a stadium called All-City Stadium where the 7v7 tournament took place but also has a track and tennis courts, and the city owns the stadium the Broncos play in. Without the support of the city, the Denver Broncos would not have a stadium to play in. Can you imagine not having a spot to watch your favorite team play?
Health
Without public spaces to try out a sport, practice, or even just mess around with friends, it becomes increasingly difficult to be introduced to a sport and participate in it at a low cost. Sports can provide physical health benefits but can also provide a multitude of other benefits like psychosocial and personal development as well as less alcohol consumption. 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week can lead to a 40% drop in poor mental health days and up to a 32% lower chance of anxiety symptoms (“Exercise and Stress”). Whether this comes from spontaneous participation like joining a pickup basketball game or jumping into a sand volleyball match, or organized participation like a club team or league, sports can improve your health. When was the last time you played a game for fun with friends?
I personally play volleyball, and I have for the last 9 years. I’ve participated at all levels, I played high school, club high school, college high school, and my fair share of pickup games. I find that being part of a team and participating in a sport calms me down and tends to make me happier, regardless of whether I am playing in my school’s gymnasium or in a public park.
For everyone asking how they are supposed to get involved or find places to participate, my first recommendation is to google it. Leagues are likely to have websites and pickup games probably have Facebook pages. From there, it depends on your situation, if you are a university student there are probably leagues at school. At my home university in Denver, we call them intramural leagues, and they play once a week for fun. There are also adult leagues in Denver, a very popular one is called VOLO, and they also meet once a week to play for fun. If you’re looking for pickup games, go to a park or a gym and don’t be afraid to ask to join. I know when I ask to jump into a game of volleyball, I usually don’t regret it.