The reason I love watching sports is the element of story. If you look at the draft coverage of most major networks -they generally offer a brief snippet of the player’s acumen on the field followed by a five-minute piece about the player’s personal life; who they are, where they came from, and if there is any sense of an obstacle they had to overcome or a tragedy in their past, you might find yourself welling up as you listen.
Players and fans alike love stories. It can give the whole season a sense of grandeur that goes beyond grown-ups dressing in the same colored clothes and putting a ball into a hoop.