Since I was raised with the concept that if you are interested in something, do it, rather than watching others do it. As a result, I have never developed an interest in watching sports. However, since I do have activities that I take a real interest in, I can certainly understand the issues for people who have an interest in sports.
I do believe that sports has gained far more prominence in our (US) culture than (in my personal opinion), it should. It seems to generate huge amounts of money for those colleges and universities that host teams. I know that in our university system, coaches get paid far more than professors do, and the sports departments are first to get available money. The argument is that it is the college sports that attracts alumni money, so give them what they need to attract that money.
Fortunately, I went to a university that did not host sports teams, and therefore the school's focus was on education.
As with anything in life, there can be too much of a good thing, and sports seems to have reached that point in our culture. I don't bother to watch local commercial news because it is mostly ads and sports, with a brief moment of news. If two people are talking and one indicates that s/he is from another area in the country, you will most certainly hear "Go <insert name of that local team>". It all seems rather silly to me, and it wouldn't if sports was just another part of the fabric of our culture rather than dominating it.
So just maybe, sports will take a more normal place in our culture after the COVID-19 situation has been dealt with through whatever medical means comes to pass. I don't want to see sports go away, but instead be treated with a more reasonable hand.
Just so that it doesn't seem that I am picking on sports, here is a question to ponder: Why is it that those who play the part of front line workers (cops, firefighters, doctors, nurses, etc.) in movies, make so much more money than those they are portraying?
You see, these weird things are happening all over, and not just in sports.
Tony