There was a point in my life where I actually felt a little guilty about how much I cared about sports
I spent SO much time watching them
Then somehow built a career around getting other people to care about them too lol
For a while it felt trendy to point out how ridiculous that was
“Imagine if we cared this much about science or art or education instead of grown men throwing a ball around!!”
But the older I get the more I think that completely misses what sports actually do
Kids who play sports are more likely to stay active as adults
They have better mental health, self esteem and social connectedness
They learn how to compete, lose, work with other people, be coached, practice something they suck at and keep showing up
And I think the massive commercial machine around sports is actually a huge part of what makes that possible
Kids want to shoot hoops because they watch Steph Curry
They want to play soccer because the World Cup feels like the most important thing on earth for a month
The packed stadiums, shoe deals, TV contracts, brands, highlights and billions of dollars make being an athlete aspirational
Which gets more kids playing sports
Which is objectively a VERY good thing
I used to wonder if spending my life helping make sports an even bigger deal was actually contributing anything meaningful to the world
I don’t really wonder that anymore
Sports fucking rule