Sports in the United States are valued beyond our work, school, and other events. They are a positive distraction to most of life's humdrum. Instead of worrying about work the next day people stay wide awake and watch championship games. Even before the final game of the season fans invest their time in listening to statistics on the radio, by participating in fantasy football, or just gathering weekly to watch each contender compete.
They also have a heavy influence on our economy. Companies pour thousands, if not millions, of dollars into the sports industry for advertising and promoting their products either during these televised events or on the very field itself. If your family follows sports you know that each week during a few months you'll get together and prepare greasy food galore no matter what diet you were supposed to stick to. But beyond the food, the increasingly bizarre advertisements, and the loyalty what do people who don't follow sports get out of this weekly tradition?
As someone who has been doing this for quite a while with both friends and family, I still haven't made any sort of investment in the teams or brushed up on the statistics behind the game for gambling either. So why do I still go? Even if it's only for a few hours, everyone calms down a little and stops worrying about what going on beyond that particular channel. Strangely enough, you go along with this calm and are just being there.
You're beside family and friends you don't' see as often as you want to and this is one more excuse to see them in person. Even if you may not be able to make every game, everyone you go to gives you an opportunity to see them. You go home with this positivity for having just been around them and that makes you want to go back even if your schedule doesn't allow it. It also doesn't hurt that you get sent home with something delicious as you make your way to the car.
To conclude, sports does much of the same things other forms of media does for those who are huge supporters of it. Just like "Game of Thrones," it provides a specific time for fanatics to gather to watch but unlike any tv show, sports permeates America culture to the point of no return.
Much like the Greeks, we gather in mass to watch what essentially is pure aggression given the form of strategy and 'sportsmanship' or rules. We'll probably never stop having some sort of event to assist us in forgetting for just a while, but we shouldn't live life purely for the sake of making it to game day. For those of us who know what moderation is, enjoy your time with others and keep moving forward.
