SOPA Soap Box: Bill Would Negatively Impact Football Fans

Rarely in the political arena does an issue generate widespread solidarity, as discussed in this week’s piece Setting The Record Straight on Tebow’s College Career. Defeating the House of Representative’s Stop Online Piracy Act and Senate’s PROTECT-IP Act is one such rarity. Odds are you have attempted accessing Wikipedia today, only to find it blacked out. Across the Fansided Network, we are sporting Stop Censorship banners.

The fate of these bills may seem trivial to you as a football fan, but oh contraire. The internet has changed countless dynamics in sport, one of which I examined in the wake of Robert Griffin III’s Heisman win and Ronnie Ramos fleshed out in greater detail here. Another profound internet impact is how the web has changed the manner in which we enjoy sports.

Facebook, Twitter, blogs like this one have made our laptops a sports bar. Each Saturday is like a convergence of friends, taking in all the action, reacting with each other and not missing a moment. When the internet was becoming more of a daily facet in American life during the mid-1990s, it was touted as a tool for making our world just a little bit smaller. More connected. And indeed, how many game days have you missed a great moment or big play that like-minded individuals helped you live by capturing on a video?

SOPA and PIPA would end such connectivity under the guise of stopping piracy. But did a blog allowing you to see Andrew Luck throwing an incredible touchdown pass while you were watching Sammy Watkins run back a kick keep your eyes from Disney Corporation’s content — or, more significantly, its advertisers? No.

Media conglomerates are insistent on protecting their assets and keeping those who spend dollars happy — as they should be. It’s their job to produce then protect their content. And indeed, piracy is a problem in this vast otherworld we call the internet. However, the net SOPA and PIPA casts meant for the sharks of piracy will lead to the extinction of harmless guppies whose only intent is informing others, and that’s a key term: informing.

Information Super Highway was the moniker media used describing the web through its burgeoning years. The web has allowed millions — no, billions — to share information. That information may be as ludicrous as the Texas Tech bell ringer, or as important as detailing the Iranian riots. No reasonable SOPA/PIPA protesters are asking lawmakers to let the internet exist as a Wild West state, because there are elements that need cleaning. That aforementioned net being thrown over the (formerly capital-N) net must be narrowed so as not to stop the flow of important information.

Fighting these bills is a cause internet users can rally around regardless of political stripe or interests. Because really, what kind of world would this be if every college football fan couldn’t share in moments like this?