Thanks to Illinois’ loss to Ohio State last weekend, President Barack Obama is going to be re-elected.

That statement was a bit overdramatic, but some people genuinely think it’s true. There’s even studies to prove it.

Gregory Korte of the USA Today wrote an article that discusses how college football wins by a favored team could boost the incumbent’s presidential vote. The effect could be 1 or 2 percentage points in the county surrounding the college. So, it would only really make a difference in swing states.

The article focuses on how the Illinois-Ohio State game was particularly important because the Buckeyes’ win was projected to raise Obama’s vote by approximately 2.5 percent in Franklin County. This is because a win puts voters in a better mood, and therefore, they are more likely to see the incumbent in a brighter light.

USA Today also published a list of well-known NBA players and coaches and what campaigns they donated money to, stating how the front-office staff is balanced between Obama and Mitt Romney, while the players and coaches seem to favor Obama.

I’ve seen tweets and Facebook posts in which people say they will vote for whoever stops the NHL lockout. Yes, I believe and hope those are jokes.

According to an article in the Sports Business Journal by Bill King and John Ourand, political campaigns were investing large sums of money into airtime on local sports networks, specifically in swing states. The article says how the majority of slots were bought during NFL games, the Olympics and college football games.

The fact that these theories and efforts may prove successful seem ridiculous to me. Sports should not have any influence over election results. 

Sports stands alone as a game and adventure that brings people together. Corrupting the sporting world with politics and letting that distract from the purity and beauty of the game rips it apart.

It is undeniable how sports and politics are intertwined, but you can argue that for anything. It must be respected that political figures endorse major sporting events and that sports can do wonders for building national pride, like the “Miracle on Ice.”

However, it is when the politics begin to overwhelm the essence of sport that trouble brews. Nothing depresses me more than thinking about the 1936 Olympic Games, which were dubbed “Hitler’s Olympics.” The games took place in Germany, and the Nazis exploited the Olympics to portray a peaceful Germany and attempt to build Aryan superiority. It’s also disheartening to remember how the U.S. team boycotted in 1980 to protest the Soviet War in Afghanistan. The Olympics are designed to build unity, yet politics can break through any foundations.

The focus in sports should remain on talent and coaching, on fans and team spirit and on building individuals with a lifelong love for the game. This should be kept separate from politics. Although winning or losing a game may mess with your mindset, it is important to focus on the political matters on hand and what the future of the world will be.

There will be more lockouts. There will be sports scandals. There will be corruption among officials, players and coaches. Maybe these issues will improve based on a country’s economic position, but they are not of enough value to be used as a deciding factor in any vote.

There are more important political issues at hand than wondering if a president will lead the country to an Olympic bid, do anything to stop the NHL lockout or increase athletic funding.

The focus needs to be on a president’s concrete campaign, not influenced by an entirely separate realm.

Use sports as an escape, instead of another catalyst to make an excuse for political decisions.