"But as tempting as it is to just shut your brain off, sports are always layered with meaning, and their influence extends far beyond their emotional appeal. For the ardent fan and the casual watcher alike, digging into the transformative trends behind the games-such as the rise of gambling, the increasing "sportswashing" of unethical policies and illiberal governments, and the labor-management battles between athletes and the powers that bankroll them-is a valuable pastime of its own."
"college football and the NFL are in full swing; the WNBA's season wraps up just as the NBA and NHL begin playing; and soccer matches continue in all corners of all nations, all of the time. These months practically beg you to get lost in the excitement of a game-winning drive, the pathos of a missed layup at the buzzer, or the euphoria of a championship team spraying champagne all over the clubhouse."
Fall brings peak activity across major sports—baseball playoffs and the World Series, college football and the NFL, the WNBA closing as the NBA and NHL begin, and continuous global soccer—producing dramatic, emotional moments for fans. Sporting spectacle coexists with significant social dynamics, including the expansion of gambling, the use of sports to sanitize unethical governments ("sportswashing"), and escalating labor-management conflicts involving athletes and financial backers. Historically Black colleges and universities sustain a distinctive, improvisational football culture that has recently gained national prominence as former NFL stars accept coaching roles at HBCUs and reshape the broader sports landscape.
Read at The Atlantic
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