Sports are weird.

If you think about it, the concept of 22 men running up and down a field in armor smashing into each other to try to get into a big patch of grass is a bit… peculiar. If you get into the grass patch enough and stop the other team from getting into it, you win the game. Win enough games, and you get a trophy. Then the next year, you start over again.

Explaining sports to someone who has never heard of them before could make you sound insane, and in truth, those involved in sports, fans or athletes, are a tad insane. What else will make you want to pull your hair out one minute and run around your room screaming the next? Nothing.

Sports can dictate the emotions of fans for the rest of the day, and this obsession starts from a young age. Some of my earliest memories include big sporting events. I vividly remember my whole house freaking out when Magglio Ordoñez hit a walk off homerun in the ALCS in 2006, and I remember the feeling that came along with it. Pure joy.

Memories and obsession don’t just include fans. Athletes dedicate their lives to the sport they play, and many just can’t walk away. Some former pro and college athletes spend the rest of their lives as scouts, coaches, or front office members because they love sports so much. In most cases, the love of the game from athletes is stronger than from fans.

Wayne Gretzky once said, “Listen, everything I have in my life is because of the NHL and because of hockey, and I love the game and I loved every minute of being a player, I loved coaching, I loved being involved in the NHL.” What some may call a silly little game means everything to those involved, and that’s the true magic of sports.

There’s something amazing about how a game brings people together. When a team wins a title, the whole city bands together and has a giant parade, shutting down roads and schools. In those parades, you see the players waving at fans and thanking them repeatedly. Those fans feel connected to the athletes, and vice versa. Nothing else is as strangely captivating like sports.
Sports are fascinating.