Jul 8, 2022
Sports have been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. Playing competitive sports was the best part of my childhood, and I watched cricket and football so much that I still plan my days around them.
There's something fascinating about how emotionally invested we are with the teams we support. No matter how much pain they bring, we are always looking forward to the next game and endlessly hope for a trophy for decades.
Despite the fact that life has no meaning and has no grand purpose, supporting a sports team allows us to feel alive, gives us a sense of belonging, a sense of purpose. Just like religion and patriotism, it makes us feel like we are a part of something greater than ourselves. We find inspiration in sport each day, and there is nothing more powerful to bring people together from different backgrounds and ages than sport. As a result, it eventually becomes an integral part of our identity.
Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp summed it up best when he said,
“When you start supporting a football club, you don’t support it because of the trophies, or a player, or history, you support it because you found yourself somewhere there; found a place where you belong.”
It's human nature to get sucked into in such identity games, subconsciously we are constantly seeking meaning and identity in everything we do. If we connect this to the world of NFTs, there is no other reasonable explanation for people paying millions for a JPEG of a monkey or a flower. As cool as it seems to collect digital assets, blockchain could revolutionise offline experiences in any sport with its real-world utility. Through this, clubs and players can take their identity and relationship with their fans to new levels as well as onboard the masses into the metaverse. Unlike any other industry, sports have developed the closest relationship with fans and can now provide fans with personalised experiences using technology to enhance their relationship and give it even more meaning.
