These days, during the Coronavirus pandemic, regardless of the new guidelines set forth, even non-sports fans would consume televised, “fan-less” sports events simply because it’s a distraction from the new-normal confusion. But for the regular sports fans, like maybe you and me, one is left to wonder: do we even matter anymore in terms of us fans affecting a game’s outcome? The short answer may be yes: ratings generate substantial profit for the games, but there’s a whole lot more to it. One can argue that there is another answer.
If we pose the same question to non-sports fans, they would promptly argue and say, “No way.” but with a bit of thought the real answer from them would be “can’t hear you through the TV.” According to waitbutwhy.com, which dives into big questions like these, “to non-sports fans, caring about sports makes no sense,” which is true and is why to see both sides of the story, we must plunge into the head of a non-sports fan when they see sports fans’ eyes glued to their television sets. Their view of sports fans is that it’s pointless since most of the time it ends in heartbreak for the team you're rooting for; once they finally win, you watch some videos , celebrate for a few days, and that’s it; they move on with nothing changing their lives.
The case for sports fans still having value even during these uncertain times is through social media. Fans can post reactions, opinions, and even interact with fans of their kind as they virtually root for the outcome to sway their way in that night’s game. Today, with everyone being stuck at home, everyone would be glued to the television sets, willing on their favorite teams and players from home. Not only can it be fun for the whole family, and create some unique “Bonding moments”, but it may also attract non-sports fans who could be caught up in the situation that is this virus, as they can sit back and be distraction-free by focusing on these thrilling and dramatic sporting events.
For the five weeks, “The Last Dance”, a documentary about the Micheal Jordan-led-Bulls, specifically the 1998 season which was the final season of their 8-year-long dynasty, captivated everyone around the country, attracting 5.648 million viewers per week! Some may scoff at that notion saying “Of course it attracted that many viewers, what else did people have to watch?” Well, considering that it was 10 episodes long, I would say an extremely good amount of those people thoroughly enjoyed witnessing the inside story of the greatest player in NBA history, Micheal Jordan, while also taking a look at the lives of the people around him and how they came together on the court to achieve 6 championships in 8 seasons (Two three-peats).
But when you think about it, don’t you think there was some added motivation by the guys behind the scenes to make this project the best documentary anyone has ever seen? We even have the director going on air and essentially saying that he wanted to make it as “relatable as possible” to the general public knowing that everyone was going to be watching and wanting to impress them, not letting them down. which Jason Heir and his team did, which is why he’s a national celebrity, big-time performer with the whole world watching.
But how does this relate to sports coming back and fans still mattering to the sports community? Well, we see in the past that when the stakes are high, players rise up to the challenge and achieve greatness. No, I don’t mean the playoffs, but what I do mean are regular-season games giving way to some record-breaking performances because of the nationally televised games like “Wednesday Night Hockey”; Sunday, Monday, and Thursday Night Football throughout the NFL season; and “Sunday Night Baseball” for all you MLB fans out there while the NBA consists of “Weekly basketball on TNT and ESPN.. Players and teams seem to rise to the occasion with an example being the Montreal Canadiens . On the surface the Canadians were one of the worst teams in hockey, this season only posting 31 victories, and were one of the worst teams in hockey, only making the postesason due to extended 24 team playoff-format. But in nationally televised hockey, this past season during “Hockey Night in Canada”, against the likes of championship-contenders such as Toronto Maple Leafs and the Calgary Flames, MTL is a whooping 11-7, showing that when the TV stakes get high, and they know the country is watching, they will soar.
So to wrap it up, I feel that sports fans matter even more during this pandemic because it shows the value of what they mean to the players and the sports community as a whole.
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