Times are strange on Capitol Hill. The House of Representatives has been without a speaker for two weeks, as Republicans have successfully layered atop their usual partisan divisions with Democrats some unusually acute divisions within their own conference.

Maybe a baseball game, a soccer match, or a quick jog could help sort things out. Or so I argued in an article for the latest issue of the Washington Examiner. I surveyed three D.C.-area public sporting events in which members of Congress (and others) participate annually: the Congressional Baseball Game, the ACLI Capital Challenge three-mile race (in which National Review participated last year), and the Congressional Soccer Match, and spoke to members of Congress who gladly participate in each. “Those involved with these events think these athletic happenings might be an important way not just to relax partisan tensions but also to help bring about a healthier nation,” I wrote.

Organizers and participants attest to the power of these and other similar events to form friendships inside Congress and to model fitness to the nation at large. It’s not surprising that sports can have this power. As I wrote earlier this year for Law & Liberty, “the appeal of athletics arises from their apolitical nature.” These D.C.-area events have considerable merit, even — perhaps especially — when members of Congress participate. If nothing else, they provide a politics-free space for members to congregate and enjoy themselves. And they seem like a better use of Congress’s time than whatever it’s doing right now.