Introduction
Sports are not merely games. They are rituals, stories, and spectacles that shape culture, politics, and identity. Michael Serazio’s The Power of Sports: Media and Spectacle in American Culture reveals how the playing field has become one of the strongest stages for propaganda, commerce, and distraction. Sports do not simply entertain—they condition minds, normalize power, and pacify populations.
Throughout history, rulers have known the value of entertainment in keeping their subjects distracted. Ancient Rome perfected this through the gladiator games, filling the Coliseum with spectacle while the empire rotted from within. Today’s stadiums, with fireworks, anthems, and larger-than-life athletes, play the same role. Still keeping us distracted. Little has changed. As Orwell observed in 1984, “Football, beer, and above all, gambling filled up the horizon of their minds. To keep them in control was not difficult.”
Ritual and the New Religion of Fandom
In an age when religion is declining as a unifying force in the West, sports have stepped into its role. Stadiums function as temples. Game days become liturgies. Fans wear jerseys like vestments, chant team hymns, and gather in communal worship of their heroes. Loyalty to a team is not simply casual entertainment—it becomes a source of meaning, a binding identity.
This ritualistic function of sports has always been politically useful. In Rome, the Coliseum distracted the masses from corruption and economic decline. Today, Super Bowl Sunday eclipses civic reflection. Bread and circuses still rule.
Media, Journalism, and Manufactured Reality
Sports journalism no longer exists to report truth but to amplify spectacle. Serazio shows how reporters now function less as watchdogs and more as hype men. When athletes bypass traditional media with direct-to-fan social media, journalists double down on narrative crafting—spinning stories of rivalries, redemption, and drama to keep eyes glued.
This curated reality trains the mind to confuse entertainment with truth. It is the same formula used in politics and propaganda: emphasize spectacle, minimize critical thought. Whether it’s a quarterback or a politician, image eclipses reality.
Commerce and the Fan as Consumer
In the modern era, fandom has fused with consumerism. Sports are no longer simply watched; they are bought. Jerseys, betting apps, fantasy leagues, merchandise, and streaming packages ensure that allegiance is expressed through purchase. To be a “true fan” is to spend.
This transformation mirrors what we have traced in our mark-of-the-beast analysis: participation becomes conditional on membership. Just as Costco demands a card to enter, sports demand merchandise and subscriptions to belong. The system conditions people to conflate identity with consumption.
Masculinity, Gender, and Social Norms
Sports also enforce cultural scripts. Men are taught that toughness, aggression, and obedience to authority are marks of manhood. The locker room becomes a boot camp of hierarchy. Women in sports—whether athletes or journalists—are judged primarily by appearance, not skill. These dynamics reinforce societal hierarchies, making the stadium a training ground for cultural norms as much as competition.
Politics and Patriotism in the Arena
Perhaps the most insidious role of sports is how they intertwine with politics. Every game begins with rituals of nationalism: the anthem, military flyovers, flags the size of fields. These spectacles normalize patriotism-as-performance while silencing dissent. When Colin Kaepernick knelt, the backlash revealed the true function of these rituals: not unity, but conformity.
Sports become cover for militarism, corporate power, and state propaganda. Fans think they are escaping politics, but in reality they are participating in a theater of loyalty.
A Mirror of Society
Sports are not separate from culture—they are a mirror of it. Race, class, gender, politics, and economics all play out in the arena. From the exploitation of poor athletes to the corporate monopolies behind billion-dollar leagues, the system reflects the same injustices we see outside the stadium.
But the mirror is distorted. It flatters power, glamorizes consumption, and diverts attention. Fandom is not freedom—it is a script written by others, acted out by masses who believe they are simply cheering for a game.
Conclusion: Why This Matters
Serazio’s work reminds us that sports are not just entertainment. They are a system of distraction, consumption, and indoctrination. They saturate the conscious mind with endless news, highlights, and hype. They train the subconscious through rituals, chants, and repetition. And they mold the unconscious by embedding archetypes—heroism, patriotism, masculinity—so deeply that they feel natural and unquestionable.
The Roman Coliseum kept citizens entertained while their empire declined. Today’s stadiums play the same role, but with more sophisticated tools—television, algorithms, betting apps, and corporate branding. If we do not recognize the spectacle for what it is, we will continue to mistake manipulation for meaning.
The power of sports is not on the field. It is in the way it controls the crowd.
