In more ways than you realize,sports and moviesare the exact same thing.
In both cases though, each exists to let people experience collective emotions.
Obviously, there are lots of people who love them both.
There’s a reason why sports movies, like Rudy, are so great.Image: Sony
Why dont people who love The Neverending Story enjoy an actual neverending story?
Most movies or shows can be enjoyed without preparation or context.
Everything is there for youno assembly required.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes vs. the Ravens last month.Photo: Patrick Smith (Getty Images)
Sports, however, are very rarely like that.
You wouldnt just jump into the middle of a season of Lost without seeing the episodes before it.
No one flips to the center of a book and starts there.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.Photo: Ezra Shaw (Getty Images)
Everything depends on context.
What is at stake?
What did it take to get there?
RIP Carl Weathers. Thank you for all the great sports movie memories.Image: MGM
What decisions were made in the offseason that are paying off now?
What has happened during the season that changed this particular game?
Sports are just like a long movie.
One thats best when you embrace the full story.
For some examples, lets turn to this weeks big game, Super Bowl LVIII.
Thats the first thing right there.
This is the 58th one of these.
And three years before that too.
They are the reigning, defending champions.
Taylor Swift didnt do that.
The Chiefs were already very good.
Thanks in large part to Kelce, yes, but also to their quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
How good is Mahomes?
A few years ago he signed a contract worth over $500 million.
On the opposite side are the San Francisco 49ers.
However, while being consistently decent for basically forever, they havent won a championship in 30 years.
They got close recently though.
So theres bad blood right there.
Oh, and remember how Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes makes $500 million?
Well the 49ers quarterback, Brock Purdy makes… significantly less.
About $496 million less to be more specific.
To explain that, again, you need a little context, and Purdys starts with the NFL draft.
(I never said appreciating sports was easy by the way.
In fact, often times its complicated.
But I digress.)
The draft is a huge part of any major narrative in American sports.
Its when young players, usually from college, are selected by teams in the professional league.
Of course, the best playersor more specifically, the players teams believe will be the bestgo first.
So, in theory, the lower you get in the draft, the worse the players are.
This, however, is not a tried and true system.
Like some guy named Tom Brady who was drafted 199th overall, after six other quarterbacks.
Which brings us back to Purdy.
In 2022, the 49ers quarterback was drafted 262nd in the NFL Draft out of… 262.
He was the last person drafted.
A position so infamous, its come to be known as Mr.
So now, if Mr.
Irrelevant beats the $500 million defending champion, thats epic.
Its David beating Goliath, Rocky beating Apollo, the Rebels beating the Empire.
The Hollywood script writes itself, and its even got a built-in title.
(I was thinking Mr.
Irrelevant but Purdy Good works too.)
How can you love storytelling and not find those stories captivating?
How can you not be curious about how those stories come to a close?
A new draft class, a new training camp, season 59 begins.
And stories like this exist on every team, in every game, in every sport.
Now imagine investing in a team of your choosing, be it the hometown underdogs or the mega-franchise champions.
Whos playing this week?
How do their opponents stack up?
Did anyone get injured?
Can we actually win the championship?
Its all just good old-fashioned storytelling, being played out every single week.
But, instead of reading lines, the stars play between them.
Imagine its the long action set piece that forwards the story.
How a victory, like a great movie, can make you feel pure bliss.
How a loss, like a bad movie, can ruin your day.
Sports, like movies and TV, are all about emotional investment in a story you cant control.
You just have to buy in.
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