Sports and the power of the modern day storyteller

In 2009, a pair of middle-aged men set off to test the limits of storytelling. 

The duo, Rob Walker and Joshua Glen, ran around pond shops and thrift stores across New York to collect 100 items that you and I would best describe as “Junk.”; collecting pens, broken tires, ugly dolls, and bottle caps. Next, they posted each item on eBay and hired writers from major editorials to devise compelling stories for each object’s description.

In all, the collection had a value of around $100. After one week on eBay, the “junk” sold for a combined total of $3,612.

“Walker and Glenn’s idea was that the emotional value that comes from attaching a story to an everyday object is so strong that it can be measured in terms of objective, actual value. In other words, you can put a price tag on the value that a story creates by appealing to potential buyers on an emotional level.” -Keith Browning, LinkedIn.

Lesson learned: people live for stories

This may come as a surprise, but sports are no different⚽️

Many of the greatest stories ever told are based in fantasy worlds or ones different to our own: Lord of the rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars, or The Dark Knight are just a few. They detail vast societies, spectacular characters, multiple storylines, and ancient factions we can feel a part of. 

In the same way books or movies have this ability to provide narratives in people's lives, I believe sports accomplish this very same thing; letting us belong to other realities outside of standard everyday life.

Think about it.

Every sports league is its own world filled with stories: there are legends of players, ongoing rivalries, super teams, and constantly shifting dynamics in every competition. No matter what team you support, be it bottom of the NBA - Houston Rockets - or Premier League champions Manchester City, every club has a history.

Every new match is an opportunity for a twist in the plot; whenever unranked A&M beats #1 Alabama, the story is David and Goliath. Whenever 1.1 billion people tune in yearly as India faces Pakistan in their famous derby, the El Classico of Cricket, it's a story of Batman vs. Superman. And last year, whenever Lionel Messi led Argentina for the last time to finally win a World Cup; it's a story of destiny.

Each individual season forms its own anthology: filled with many episodes that have their own moments and plot twists which connect to the larger narrative; it’s the modern 1001 nights, except this tale truly never ends. 

I think that's why people often become frustrated or bored watching a one-off game of basketball, cricket, hockey, or really anything; without understanding the larger narrative of the season, the match becomes meaningless. It’s the equivalent of starting to read The Half-Blood Prince (book five) without knowledge of the past five entries at Hogwarts.

So if this fundamental aspect about sports (stories) is so obvious, then why is it not promoted more often?

Well it’s only been in recent years that we’ve finally began to see content coming out of Hollywood to start telling these stories.

Shows like “Drive to Survive”, and other sports documentaries of its kind have exploded the popularity of their respective brands by crafting storylines.

Streaming services from Netflix to Apple TV are throwing millions of dollars at new shows like “Welcome to Wrexham” or “Ted lasso": content that exposes the human personalities behind the wheel, cleats or ownership of a sports season into easily digestible content. And so far it’s not just working…this content is exploding the popularity of even the most obscure competitions.

“In 2016, Formula One was a struggling racing organization in desperate need of a cash infusion…by 2022, the US fandom had grown 33%, with 53% of *all* fans pointing to "Drive to Survive" as inspiration, per Morning Consult.

Now, every sport is chasing a DTS-style bump.

NASCAR has Race for the Championship.

Tennis has Break Point.

The PGA has Full Swing.

IndyCar's 100 Days to Indy debuted last week.

All of them are trying for the same winning formula: tell human stories; build a content empire.” - Adam Ryan, Twitter

By telling the stories behind each of these competitions the producers are able to capture the minds of audiences who may have cared less about watching cars race around a track or a golfer hit a hole in one. It has truly reinvented the way to market any live event.

This is all cool right? The infusion of storylines into sports; but I think there is something far more important than just entertainment that can be taken away from all this: the power of the modern day storyteller.📖

It seems that no matter if it’s selling junk on ebay or convincing millions to watch cars loop around a track, forming narratives are often our most influential tool. It’s how hitler convinced an entire nation that the entire semitic race were demons. It’s how CEOs and presidents often communicate to have their ideas remembered. And it's why billions of people stare at a ball ping pong around a field for a group of players they've never met to score imaginary points.

If you want to be a listened to, find stories. I promise if they’re good, you will have a hold on just about anyone.

“Tell me the facts and I’ll learn. Tell me the truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.” - Native American proverb