Part 1: The Sports Family
When I was in 5th grade, a classmate that I had a minor crush on invited the entire class to his house for a Super Bowl party (if anyone’s counting, this was 2011, the Packers defeated the Steelers 31-25). Naturally, knowing nothing and caring very little about football, I went to the party because 1) basically the whole class was going 2) the host had a sick house with snacks and video games 3) my other, more significant crush was there.
I, along with most of the other girls, was most engaged with socializing, eating cheese puffs, and occasionally chuckling at the commercials. I swear to god I thought those young boys were completely faking both their understanding of American football and their emphatic love of the game. To this day I still think men are liars.
But more than that, I now realize that to be young and enjoy sports is to be socialized into a “Sports Family,” or have a parent who is putting the game on and explaining it to you/holding you hostage. This happens a lot more to young boys for the same reasons girls get Barbies and boys get action figures. Or it’s a father trying to connect with his son through the path of least resistance. I get it–it’s a generational thing, a social thing, a masculine thing–it’s essentially the baseline male bonding experience. Not to disregard the fans who aren’t straight men, but it’s undeniable that sports are integrated into straight guy culture.
I didn’t grow up in a Sports Family, because my parents are Intellectuals; They were otherwise busy enough that they could not be bothered to care about professional sports. As an adult, I can appreciate their priorities while also enjoying the Joy of Discovery surrounding pro sports now.
I have to add here that I did actually participate in sports growing up (swim, soccer, cross country, and track & field–not all at once though) and my parents were extremely supportive and encouraging. I remember them cheering me on at a track meet where I was sure I was coming in last in a 300m hurdle race. I basically walked over the last hurdle. Except, after briskly walking across the finish line, I turned and there was a girl behind me. I’m so sorry girl, that was a terrible race for all of us.
My parents were happy to be there, and they were unaffected when I quit track shortly after.
You have to acknowledge how powerful of a community-builder sports are to the straight man. Men need not talk about their feelings with their friends, they can watch sports! Men need not to worry about perceived masculinity among their peers, love sports! Men need not think of discussion topics for other men, discuss sports! I joke, but tell me I’m wrong. Truthfully, I’m happy that they have a social crutch to turn to, considering the harm that the patriarchy has done to their psyches and ability to connect with other men meaningfully.
Just to be clear, I reject looking down on the men who enjoy sports earnestly and completely. I know plenty of sports enjoyers who are capable of emotional depth, but it’s still interesting how ubiquitous it is with the culture as a whole. But at the end of the day, what else can you bond with your father over? I do look down on sports betters though. Get a grip.
Part 2: I’m a Fan Now?
At the end of the day, it’s about how you sell a story. Real Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, RuPaul’s Drag Race, the NFL. They’re all entertainment! The history of the team, the drama between the coaches and owners and players, the fabricated high stakes. You have superstars, underdogs, and a huge stage on which to perform. I started enjoying sports when I began to appreciate the theatricality of it all. There’s also a comically high amount of butt-slapping and innuendos from the commentators. Yes I do like to laugh.
The general indifference I had surrounding professional sports faded throughout the past year. It helps if you have a close friend or partner that wants to put the game on, and you don’t have a great counter offer, so you’ll start by watching against your will. A local team to root for doesn’t hurt. The games can start to feel interesting as you recognize the players and feel invested in the season–I must emphasize how much having someone who is excited to tell you the rules and team drama helps. But god, why didn’t anyone tell me about baseball?
Reasons to love baseball:
- New rule changes that make the game go much faster
- Players from diverse backgrounds with diverse bodies
- Short plays make it great for multitasking (you can do crochet or crafts without missing much)
- THE MARINERSSS Ψ Ψ Ψ
- Latino representation, nay excellence
I, like the rest of Seattle, was buzzing with excitement about the Mariners 2025 season when they got so close to playing in the World Series, but ended up instead jumpstarting the city’s seasonal depression. In all fairness, it was an amazing season, and I enjoyed the ride enough to buy team merch. So in the end I got a hat to rep my home team and I feel like a winner. Isn’t that what sports are all about?
And yet, when I feel the sting of my team losing, I inevitably think to myself: “Why the hell do I do this to myself? I feel worse than I did a couple hours ago before watching the game. Who did this to me?” And then I remember the joy of winning and try to forgive myself for becoming a fan. I can see why people are upping the stakes with gambling, but losing is bad enough without also losing half your rent.
I’m thrilled about the increasing popularity of women’s sports because I too, am a simple woman who loves seeing other women do cool stuff. Admittedly, I haven’t gotten into it so much outside of watching a few Storm games. This is an open invitation if you’re a women’s sports fan and want to watch a game with me so you can tell me who’s dating or why I should love your favorite players, I’m game.
Part 3: The Ethical Dilemma
Can’t we enjoy anything these days without thinking about moral principles??
Well, maybe you can…
But seriously, I’m coming at this as a new fan, a consumer of the product, and it’s never a bad thing to reflect on what you consume.
I can’t really get into American Football because I wince seeing those players smack into each other so hard. Not to mention the commercial breaks every 5 goddamn seconds. But knowing how dangerous it is, it feels like watching young men slam their heads onto an anvil. I won’t go much further about football, although many people have already chimed in on the matter. This article lays out the “football = bad” argument pretty well.
At this point, I simply tire of being sold to. All these sports organizations, all the team ownership structures, all the media and coverage that is dedicated to this single entertainment category. It’s easy to see how these systems funnel your attention and money into the pockets of billionaires and media empires.
Is it surprising that 25 of the 30 NBA teams are owned by billionaires (Source: Tax Fairness Report 2025)? And they know well that fans are ready to lay down life and limb to participate. And it’s not much better on the side of women’s sports; the WNBA structure is strange (read more here) but all you need to know is that it’s also funded by billionaires and private equity.
The most sinister part of it all to me is that sports are idealistic. They represent equal opportunity, “rags to riches” storylines. They provide hope and scholarships to poor people and kids that have limited access to higher education otherwise. The story of sports is about building yourself up to greatness and all you need is a dream and a work ethic. But does that really happen? Or does it reinforce the idea that a bad situation is caused by a lack of effort or talent, instead of systemic issues? I want all the players to be able to make a comfortable living doing their jobs, being entertainers. Even the richest players can’t touch the wealth of the owners.
Who in your life enjoys sports? Its appeal transcends class, racial, and gender divides. We have heroes of every kind, and we can see ourselves in anyone if we look hard enough. And yet, we’ve created a monster of one-percenters that hold it all in their clenched-fists. How many of those billionaires do you think are women? How many of them are black? The fans and the players, that’s where the diversity is. But getting to the top of the pyramid, that isn’t for us.
It’s all just a spectacle to keep you complacent. They feed us the entertainment so we may experience joy for 3 hours and get up the next week to work for 40. I recommend reading Chain-Gang All Stars to explore further the idea of spectacle disengaging the public politically, essentially quelling them into submission. That book also has a lot to say about profit-driven prison systems, racial injustices, etc. but it also surrounds sports and our relationship with black bodies used for sport, which is an interesting concept articulated better by black authors and thinkers.
Also, there is a ridiculous and borderline dystopian amount of advertising. Oh, I’m busy watching the Prime Video broadcast of the Lakers playing in crypto.com Arena and getting ads for FanDuel and Ozempic… Where did we go wrong as a species that we let these huge corporations buy and sell so unabashedly it’s become background noise?
So, can you still enjoy sports in good faith? With a clear conscience? I am many things, including a hedonist and a fan, so yes–I will keep watching. But it doesn’t always feel good. We are all consumers of the world, of media. And as consumers, it’s always a good idea to challenge your biases, be skeptical of what is normal, and be more mindful about where you spend your dollars and your attention.
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