This is part of a larger issue that college football (and sports in general) will have to deal with. Gen Z has a very significant drop (i.e. 20%) in their fandom, compared to previous generations:
The results reveal a somewhat troubling trend: Generation Z males (those born between 1990 and 2010) “seem to be increasingly indifferent and negative to traditional sports,” Lewis and Wang write in their report. “Generation Z’s relative lack of passion for sports and other categories is troubling for fandom-based businesses and a curiosity for those interested in the state of American society.”
While only 23 percent of Generation Z defined themselves as “avid sports fans,” 42 percent of Millennials did, along with 33 percent of Gen Xers and 31 percent of Baby Boomers.
Perhaps even more revealing is the percentage of respondents who considered themselves “anti-sports fans”—a startling 27 percent of Generation Z tagged themselves as “anti-sports” compared to 7 percent of Millennials, 5 percent of Gen X, and 6 percent of Baby Boomers.
There are lots of reasons for this that we can discuss, but I’m curious how much of this information is being taken in consideration in the current rush for the horde of treasure that are renewed TV contracts.
Looks about right from an unscientific standpoint. The bigger question that should’ve been asked was how many have participated in a sport/multiple sports. I believe one may find these kids simply never had that exposure to athletics. Playing the games and/or participating in a sport can develop an appreciation for them.
I wonder if it’s related to hyper-specialization in 1 sport earlier and so that turns off other kids from trying out several sports (or getting cut because there are specialists already or club team favorites of the coaches). Maybe esports or phone video games have replaced some interest.
We’ve seen new basketball arenas lower capacity from 15k to closer to 10k with more luxury boxes - there just aren’t that many that want to be crammed in when they can watch it at home, so it has to be a differentiated experience.
Lastly, unscientifically, it seems attention spans have shortened. Maybe it’s phone use. Maybe it’s more interesting to hold your phone up and record rather than just watch and enjoy. Maybe football games and their endless commercial breaks taking game experiences to 3.5-4 hours is way too long. I know my teenagers (tail end of Gen Z/iGen) can’t do anything for longer than an hour, maybe 2. Movies in theaters are too long (too much time away from phone!). Paying a bunch to visit a great art gallery or exhibit and after an hour, they have their pictures and are done. Dances (even homecoming, prom)? Bored and leaving after an hour or hour and a half (which I hate because I expected them to stay and know what they are doing).
Seriously. Kids say that they’re bored. “I’m bored”
I tell them… you’ve got a trampoline in the backyard, you’ve got a basketball hoop (with a net!) next to the (concrete!) driveway, video games, and you can watch just about any movie any time you want…if you’re bored I’ll find something for you to do.
I heard today that college football viewer ratings are up 12.5% since 2018. That bubble will likely burst at somepoint, but college and NFL football are as popular as they’ve ever been.
My two boys were born in 2006 and 2008. The 18-year-old aged out of comp soccer this past spring, and the 16-year-old plays competitive rugby; both are fanatics about their sports and follow their professional teams religiously. This past year, they’ve wanted to see their NFL, MLB, and NBA teams play, and I’m grateful I have the ability/means to share those experiences with them.
I personally think the lack of interest is due to the outrageous cost of some of these sports in the youth leagues. At one point my daughter and both boys were playing comp soccer, city baseball/softball, and one wanted to try volleyball. If a kid’s parent can’t afford the fees associated with all of these youth sports, the kids don’t have the opportunity to get out there and experience or learn to love these games.
Out of all of these sports, the cheapest yearly cost has been Rugby, it’s $450 total for the year in state and club fees. They only need soccer/rugby boots, and a mouth guard. The uniforms are provided by the club.
That’s an excellent point. When I was a child, everyone had PT. Now, I can see how in some ways, that model marginalized kids who were left out or had no other options. Many of these kids skipped activities to avoid being bullied or being marginalized.
What if a myriad of alternative activities - outside of school - became a way that “gym” becomes another goal? With many more options, outside of school’s ability and budgets to structure? As an example: I was a upper level athlete, but, also late in development and smaller for my size as a school boy. What if my Judo and sailing experiences counted as “gym”? Because in both experiences, I had to learn teamwork, personal responsibility, progression of skills, communication, application of math, physics, meditation etc…
We seem to have gone from mandatory - and to some - opressive measurements based indocrination type programs i.e. “gym” classes while abandoning any notion of athleticism, self worth, nutrition sense of community, belonging, persiverance and leadership skills which are easly found and nescessary in other milieus.
This is the Priciple of Kurt Hahn, an eminent scholar and proponent of education to have 1/3 “study/academics” 1/3 “athletics” and 1/3 “nature”. Basically the basis of Outward Bound and many adventure type programs. In short; if one is in a challenging environment, almost everyone has something to personally learn and also something to contribute. this inspires children - and adults - to engage in situations outside of our own expetcations and knowlege - only to realize another understanding of themselves and each other.
Kurt Hahn wrote very little in his life and believed that his ideas were not original, that his ideas were
drawn from many other great thinkers. It was the “living” of ideas, of experiencing and implementing
them oneself, that was so important to him. Nevertheless, his words are very inspiring.
“I regard it as the foremost task of education to insure the survival of these qualities: an enterprising
curiosity, an undefeatable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self denial, and above all,
compassion.”
“I am referring to the published statistics on the rise of juvenile crime. For one age group the crime rate
has in one year risen by 56 percent. For this state of affairs people blame the lack of parental control and
leniency of the Law—the established educational system of the country is hardly ever held responsible.
But some of us educators feel that we ought to say, nostra culpa, nostra maxima culpa, ours is the guilt,
ours the greatest guilt.”
“ . . .an eminent man challenged me to explain what sailing in a schooner could do for international
education. In reply, I said we had at that moment the application before us for a future king of an Arab
country to enter Gordonstoun. I happened to have at the school some Jews…If the Arab and one of
these Jews were to go out sailing on our schooner. . .perhaps in a Northeasterly gale, and if they were
become thoroughly seasick together, I would have done something for international education.”
“I was once present at a meeting presided over by Doctor Carl Reinhardt. One schoolmaster made the
remark, ‘I have no faith in this boy.’ Dr. Reinhardt said to him, ‘Then you have no right to educate
him.’ What he meant was that each boy or girl entrusted to our care had a self worthy of realization and
a self capable of serving a purpose which goes beyond his or her personal happiness. ‘Grow to be what
you are’ was the motto of his life’s work.”
“I welcome this occasion to register my indebtedness to Dr. Zimmerman to whom I owe the
watchword ‘training through the body, not training of the body.’ He agreed with Plato ‘Let us build up
physical fitness for the sake of the soul.’ He considered it less important to develop the innate strength
in a boy than to make him overcome his innate weakness. ‘Your disability is your opportunity’ he used
to say to a boy who thought that certain standards were out of his reach. He was radiant when he
succeeded in defeating a boy’s defeatism, but not more radiant than the boy himself who had learned a
great lesson.”
“The passion for rescue releases the highest dynamic of the human soul.”
“Expeditions can greatly contribute towards building strength of character. Joseph Conrad in Lord Jim
tells us that it is necessary for a youth to experience events which 'reveal the inner worth of the man; the
edge of his temper; the fibre of his stuff; the quality of his resistance; the secret truth of his pretences,
not only to himself but others.”
“Education must enable young people to effect what they have recognized to be right, despite hardships,
despite dangers, despite inner skepticism, despite boredom, and despite mockery from the world. . . .”
I grew up in the 60s/70s where in our neighborhood we spent afternoons after school shooting hoops, playing touch football, playing baseball, etc. Kids today have video games, phones, 100 channels of garbage on the TV, etc. I doubt if my grandson (right now across the hall from my home office in the room he seldom leaves and likely playing an online game) has ever put on a baseball glove.
There is a sea change happening in cognition and social interaction and the impact on sports and any kind of team activity is massive in all areas and. It just sports. Yes some kids still play some sports but engagement is way down.
Australia has the right of it. But the forces of $$ and the desire for instant gratification and cat videos is winning.
My oldest (15) was pretty athletic, but she went the band/theater/music route instead of sports.
My twins (11) have now tried soccer, baseball, basketball, football, tennis, and swimming and haven’t been interested in sticking with any of them for more than a year. They typically start out all excited about it, then are “meh” by the end of the year. Granted, neither of them has much athletic ability, but they simply aren’t interested. We pretty much had to force them to finish both football and baseball last year. They’ll watch football with me, but have zero interest in actually playing.
It’s a tough spot because I want them to gain the benefits of being on a team but I’m not going to force them to do something they don’t enjoy at all.