Hi, {{first_name | friend}}!
It’s certainly an exciting time to be a sports fan—I can only assume, as my primary form of sports viewing involves yapping while enjoying a hot dog and a beer at a Seattle Mariners baseball game as the actual baseball unfolds somewhere in the background.
Between the Knicks' history-making playoff win and the World Cup happening now on U.S. soil, sports have infiltrated the feeds of even those of us who have never willingly turned on a game. And the hype online is translating into IRL entertainment.
I, someone who has never watched a full basketball game—including the one year I played in third grade—sat down to watch the second half of the Knicks vs. Spurs Game 5 on Saturday. After being inundated by both feel-good vibes of grown men crying on my TikTok feed and the endless celebrity storylines—including the Knicks single-handedly restoring the relationship between Kylie Jenner and Jordyn Woods (IYKYK)—the FOMO was real.
Credit: Sports Illustrated | Nature is healing: Jenner and Woods at MSG cheering on the Knicks
And that’s not all. Heated Rivalry got me to buy tickets to a Kraken NHL game, and after my dad had us watch the latest season of Formula 1: Drive to Survive on a family trip, I'm now exchanging texts with my sister that read, "George got pole!!"
Plus, let's not forget that Taylor Swift dating Travis Kelce brought millions of new viewers to the NFL. I’ve now watched the Super Bowl just as intently as I watch the commercials and halftime show. (Granted, I watched via the Nickelodeon stream, but it counts!)
Credit: Today Show | Taylor Swift at her first Chiefs game in 2023
None of this happened because we (my fellow pop culture-obsessed non-sports fans and I) suddenly became interested in offensive formations and race strategy. It happened because we got invested in juicy storylines. What makes sports exciting at its core isn't that different from what makes reality TV so irresistible. It's rivalries, underdogs, redemption arcs, villains, heroes, shocking trades, public feuds, and comeback seasons.
So if when you hear “the big game" you think Amanda vs. Ciara on the reunion battles of Summer House, this list is for you. Below are the 5-star docs and shows that will be your entry into a whole new fandom, starting with the Netflix doc Brad Pitt and I binged in one sitting. Go sports!
The sports docuseries made for reality TV fans
Formula 1: Drive to Survive
The same thing that gets me invested in reality shows is the thing that got me invested in Formula 1: I want to know who's feuding, who's having a comeback season, who's on the verge of getting fired, and who's making terrible decisions under pressure. Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive delivers all that and more.
Stars, they’re just like us!
It’s even what allegedly got Brad Pitt, the star and producer of the Oscar-winning F1: The Movie, into the sport thanks to a recommendation from his famous bud, Dax Shepard. Shepard regales the tale on The Red Flags podcast:
