To me, the pro sports franchises seem to be something that men can bond over, a universal touchpoint that nearly all American men have in common and which will provide a source of conversation and identity when men meet other men. It's a common denominator. I've always been amazed how powerful and universal that is. When any previously unacquainted men get put together in a social situation any one of them can bring up the latest NFL or NBA draft pick and immediately all the other men will be able to chime in intelligently on the subject. That's how I've always seen the purpose of pro sports.

I don't think that necessarily contradicts anything else you have said. I agree in principle that as long as anyone is living through the actions of their heroes they won't be able to become the hero of their own lives. People can live vicariously through athletes, musicians, Hollywood actors who have been installed as the Gods of our American Pantheon and whose lives, like the lives of the Gods for the ancient Greeks, provide us with endless second hand entertainment.

While I have admired various athletes over the years for their performances, I have never been a fan of any given team. The idea that I should automatically identify with a particular sports team because by an accident of birth I live in their geographic area has always seemed false and arbitrary to me. I used to upset people in High School when I told them I didn't give a damn whether our football team won its games or went to the championships. "Where's your school spirit?" they would ask. "Why should I care about some football team just because my parents happened to have moved to a particular school district? It's completely random."