Are Sports the Modern Pantheon?

Have sports become the modern pantheon?

This was a question that arose between a friend and I a few weeks ago. We were discussing the fervor that surrounds the modern sporting industry and what exactly that fervor communicates to us about the current cultural moment. We both noted that sports fans typically do the following: pour forth a stupid amount of money into team merchandise, spend copious amounts of hours watching games, and picking pointless fights with those who cheer on other teams. In other words, people tithe their money, time, and physical wellbeing to their respective sports teams. What all does this demonstrate but that there is a religious fervor surrounding the sports industry? If you find it hard to accept this conclusion, then take for example what happened in Paris last week. 

Last week riots erupted in Paris that left two dead and nearly two-hundred injured. These riots were not caused by an unjust piece of legislation being passed. They were not caused by an instance of government brutality. Nor were they caused by the immigration crisis happening in France. No, rather these riots were caused by the winning of a championship. Yep, you heard me right: a deadly riot erupted because a soccer team won a game. The winning of a mere game unleashed such a religious fervor that an entire city was engulfed in chaos for a few days. This does not make sense unless we recognize that there are religious undertones associated with sports. 

A conclusion that I have arrived at is that sports have become the modern pantheon where modern gods battle it out. In ancient Greece, for example, each city had its lineup of gods that were expected to go forth and battle the lineup of other gods of other cities. The Greeks, as well as other civilizations, took these battles of the gods quite personally. They poured forth their time, money, and physical well-being to ensure that their gods had the support they needed in order to win against the other divine teams. These matches, after all, involved life or death. If a divine team lost, then their respective city of representation lost as well (whether in warfare, economic standoffs, or political power). There was much fervor to be observed in the people watching these divine battles, similar to the fervor observed today in sports. 

Who are athletes to us moderns other than modern day equivalent gods? We view NFL football stars as if they are demigods walking amongst us: they are larger than life and possess physical power that far exceeds anything us mere mortals could ever hope of achieving. These modern-day demigods are the representatives of our respective cities. They are the ones who we send out to fight against the demigods of other cities as we spectate. But although we passively spectate such divine battles happening on the field, we have much religiously invested: our money, our time, and our well-being. If our team wins, then that makes us winners. But if our team loses, then that makes us losers. Life and death, to some extent, is always invested in these brawls of the titans. In Paris that was made explicitly apparent.

Have sports become the modern pantheon? I believe that this question can be answered if we consider how ancient deities were viewed by commoners as compared to how modern sports teams are viewed by commoners today. The similarities, in their substance, are remarkably clear.