Yesterday morning I went to a bar where I half-ass watched the Penn State football team lose in the Peach Bowl. I used to be an avid Penn State football fan. I was born in State College, and I’ve been going to the games ever since I could walk. The rituals and routines around Penn State Saturdays have played an over-sized role in my life. As a kid, I didn’t play fall sports because of PSU football. For most of my life (up until five or six years ago), all fall activities were scheduled around the Penn State football schedule.
I have a lot of good… I’m trying to think of the word here, because memories isn’t quite accurate… good associations with Penn State, State College, football, fall weather, and family rituals. I loved going out to breakfast on game day. I loved the feel of fall and walking across campus. I loved the energy of the place in the hour or so before a big game. Because of the atmosphere or outcome of the game, I can remember a handful of specific games, but not nearly as many games (or details) as some of the die-hard fans.
All of that has changed. I don’t care about PSU football nearly as much as I used to. I still own season tickets. When I can get to a game, I go, but even when I was living there, I didn’t go to all of the games. Living on the west coast, I don’t expect to go to any games next season. I didn’t go to any when I lived in Memphis.
There wasn’t any one big thing that changed my feelings about PSU football – just a series of things that chipped away at my enthusiasm. One year, my wife and I got into a heated argument with my father. She stopped going to the games after that. When I got divorced, I started doing other things on the weekends: hikes, live shows, and spending time with people I was dating. A few years ago (I guess five now) my brother and my dad had a falling out. They haven’t spoken since, and the “family” aspect of the family rituals broke down. My brother’s family still goes to the games, but now they do their own thing. That same year, just after their falling out, I had a serious break-up with a woman I was seeing, and I wanted to focus on the relationship instead of going to the games. Then there was the year when I was living in Memphis followed by a pandemic year.
But those are all just events that de-emphasized PSU football in my life. There’s also been a change in my attitude towards the sport (and sports in general). Having worked in the nonprofit sector for as long as I have, I struggle to reconcile the amount of money and time we (Americans) spend on sports. Cities give massive tax breaks to build stadiums (teams still leave). We have dozens of TV channels dedicated to 24/7 sports and betting on sports has seen tremendous growth. Just yesterday, as I was watching some of the Penn State pregame, the commentators all added whether they thought team x would beat the spread. Prior to betting becoming so widely accepted, those things were not talked about on TV, now pro teams are being sponsored by the gambling industry.
These are just a few examples of how sports culture is a major part of American culture. At times, it feels like it’s the predominant part of our culture. It’s estimated that sports betting hit $7.5 billion in 2022. The NFL had revenue of $18 billion in 2022. The LA Dodgers just signed a ten-year contract with a player for $700 million. A 30-second ad for the Super Bowl can cost over $6 million. According to one source, it’s estimated that sports related revenue in America is around $520 billion. By comparison, another source estimates it would cost about $20 billion to end homelessness in America. Let’s be very clear on what matters most to Americans.
But my subtle souring on PSU football goes beyond the obvious issues with where our country’s misguided priorities lie. The game itself, or more specifically, the rules governing college football have changed considerably over the past few years. Those changes have focused much more attention on the economic aspect of the sport as opposed to the educational opportunity and character development being provided. Players are now allowed to transfer from school to school with greater ease, they’re allowed to skip bowl games in favor of pursuing their NFL career, and they’re allowed to earn money from endorsements.
From an individual economic perspective, these are all good things. People should be able to pursue their own economic self-interests. But from a collectivist (and perhaps holistic well-being) point of view, it feels like a disaster. I’m part of that generation who was raised to believe sports were a way of teaching sportsmanship, team-building, work ethic, and how to win and lose. Under these new rules, gone are the notions of team (or community) above self. Gone are any pretenses about the importance of student education. Gone is the concept that there’s a benefit to putting in one’s time and paying one’s dues… or more accurately, we once again make clear our preference for immediacy and our adoration of celebrity.
As someone who almost always sides with the producers of goods (workers as opposed to owners), college players being able to earn money and have agency over their career is an admittedly strange thing to take issue with. I can only say, I liked the game the way it used to be. I liked the idea that kids learned to be a part of a team and suffer the highs and lows of the sport together. It was never pure, but it seemed to have more legitimacy and go beyond the mercenary pursuit of fame, money, and individual agendas. And with that much money in the “system” it was bound to change. For me, I suppose the thing is that I don’t want to care enough to argue the merits of one system over another. It’s a game, and a violent one at that.
My interest in sports has been fading for years. While I appreciate the camaraderie of shared interest in the home team, I’ve become much more aware of what else I could be doing with my time and money. Sometimes I wish we had spent less time at the alter of PSU football and more time pursing just about anything else.