One of the staples in American culture is the admiration for sports. Whether if someone is cheering on the players for their favorite team or screaming at the referee for a bad call, the average American engages in sports one way or another. The Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bulls, the New York Yankees…You name it. If it’s a sport, then there is an audience for it. Yet I wonder if sports are too intense?
By intense, I mean both intense due to the behavior of the respective fans, and intense due to the accidents that occur due to participating in sports. Regardless of how you look at the equation, the very nature of sports and the athletic culture in America is… A lot to say, at least.
First, many sports can be very dangerous to play and even have the potential to cause severe bodily harm to the players. According to a study done by physics professor Timothy Gay, “a defensive back’s mass combined with his speed — on average, 4.56 seconds for the 40-yard dash — can produce up to 1600 pounds of tackling force.” And players are taking hit after hit after hit before the game has even concluded! With the knowledge of the amount of force applied during football and the fact that many players are being subjected to this amount of force while they play, it is no secret that players can sustain a severe injury. Is it ever that serious to hit someone that hard?
And don’t even get me started on the fans. First, a lot of sports fans possess extreme admiration for their respective favored teams that border an unhealthy obsession. Perhaps the prime example of this behavior can be seen in Eagles fans. Let’s face it, when it comes to the Eagles, people from Philadelphia are very protective of the team. Just last year, in 2024, after the Eagles won the Super Bowl, the fans immediately took to the streets of Philadelphia to celebrate the victorious win against the Kansas City Chiefs. And if you think they celebrated with a parade and friendly gatherings, well, you would be mistaken.
Instead, fans ran amok in the streets for lack of a better word. Climbing polls, looting gas stations, and flipping over cars, one would think that the world was ending! But nope, just a couple thousand people celebrating their team winning the Super Bowl… Could you imagine what would happen if they lost?
