It is no secret I am a huge sports fan; I have written 20+ columns on different sports in the past two years of writing for the opinion section. Even though leagues, teams and players frustrated me beyond belief, I always find myself sitting in front of my TV watching a game or a race at the end of the day, because sports are romantic.
In 2023, 70% of Americans watched live sports, and 57% watched on a weekly basis. Over half of the population watches sports, and if you wonder why, it is because of the thrill of watching a live sport. People watch sports because it is fun, provides an escape and the aesthetics of the game. Most of all, though, they come back and continue because of how it makes them feel.
Romance or romantic in this sense isn’t about blind devotion. It is the heartbreak and joy that your sports team gives you while watching. Caring so deeply about something that has no real consequence in your life, but choosing to care anyway. A box score can tell you who won, but it can’t give you the comeback story or the collapse the team had. It is about knowing that sports don’t operate just on statistics. The numbers can’t tell you the full journey of an athlete defying the odds.
Players leave teams, seasons collapse and yet year after year, fans return, not because it is sensible, but because of loyalty. A team stops being a collection of athletes and becomes a part of someone's identity. Everyone remembers where they were when that big play happened, and it stitched itself into their lives. I will forever remember New Year's Day when the Ohio State University lost the Peach Bowl at Midnight to Georgia in 2022.
A purely analytical approach to sports takes away the romance. Think about March Madness, millions of people tune into college basketball, despite not watching it all season, purely because of the fun of filling out a bracket and the hope of predicting an upset. Looking at sports as just statistics takes away the joy of a last-second miracle. Romance allows for magic. It allows for the hope that a bottom team will pull off the win against the top team.
There is the loud romance of a city breaking a years-long drought, like the Sabres making the NHL playoffs for the first time in 14 years. Or watching an underdog not play by the rules and pull off an unseen upset. There is also the quiet romance of a veteran player sticking with the team they were drafted to, not because of money or success, but to see out what they started. Shoutout, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, for never leaving the city of Pittsburgh.
The moments and the story of the athletes make sports worth watching. The numbers are important, sure, but the game wouldn’t be as entertaining if there weren’t the passion and the love from the fans; if there wasn’t an underdog to root for.
Being romantic about sports doesn’t mean you ignore reality; your team can still suck, and you can have hope for it. It just means allowing room for the meaning behind the scores. It is recognizing that it isn’t just about who wins, but how it feels to care. The heartbreak and the hope make sports romantic.
Cassie is a senior studying communications at Ohio University. Please note the views expressed in this column do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk to Cassie? Email her at cb086021@ohio.edu.
