What is fun about watching grown men kick around a ball? Or watching women hit balls over a net? Or watching men throw a ball around and run to the end of the field? Why are sports important in our culture?
As someone who aspires to find a job within the sports industry, sports have become a part of my everyday life. In one of my classes, I was recently asked why sports are such a significant aspect of our culture. It's a loaded question. Sundays in the fall are dedicated to football, but why? Why is that the norm? It is an interesting concept because people don't think about why sports are so prominent, but they'll spend hours watching a game like it is no big deal. It is easy to say that you like sports, but it is harder to explain why because you just do, and always have, and always will.
Pride starts at a young age and sparks dreams of working for their favorite team. Kids grow up wearing T-shirts supporting their favorite teams. They make official jerseys for newborns. The love for a specific team(s) is passed on through generations. Pride fuels the popularity of sports.This pride is usually obvious. After a Titans win (rare, but they have happened in the past) or a Predators win, Nashville is covered in fans wearing their teams gear, glorifying their team's success. Whether your team is good or bad, you still love them. For example, the cursed Chicago Cubs find glory in their failures.
If you go to a sporting event and the person next to you is cheering for the other team, they become the enemy. All the people cheering for your team become your family. The arena or stadium becomes a big community. Sports bring people together. It is an amazing phenomenon. When you're at a football game and your team scores, all the fans around you raise their arms for high fives, and before you know it, you've given 27 strangers high fives.
Every fan has experienced the games that invoke a roller coaster of emotions. The nail biting ends of a football game where your team is down my two and enter field goal range with 20 seconds left and you become so stressed out that you almost want to close your eyes and not watch or you thrive in the moment and suffer the post-game sadness after a stressful end. Mississippi State scored 14 points in less than two minutes against Troy, but until after halftime, it looked like Troy could have had a chance to pull through with an upset. Games are stressful, so why do we put ourselves through it? Just for the love of the sport. The idea of eustress is interesting. Eustress is defined as stress that is deemed healthful or giving one the feeling of fulfillment. For example, when your team has a big lead in an important game as the clock dwindles down, you still get nervous, but it is weirdly a good stress due to the lead and possible win within reach. We literally get enjoyment out of the stress.
Tailgating is an obvious part of pre-game ritual. What would a Mississippi State football game be without thousands of people packed in the Junction? Tailgating and football go hand-in-hand. It's a bunch of fans bunched together with personal tents that they build and decorate with pride. They all have grills and tables full of snacks and coolers and the fancy ones even have TVs. Tailgating usually lasts longer than the actual game because the most dedicated fans start first thing in the morning all the way until kickoff. 
Also, let's not forget that sports give grown men the chance to dress however they want without being judged -- face paint, body paint, crazy hats, masks, and interesting outfits in general.
There is so much the goes into a sporting event other than just the game. Yes, the game is important, but so are all the other aspects.
