I grew up in a sports-minimal household. This is in part because I grew up in a television-minimal household; no cable until I was twelve, etc. etc. I once famously asked my mother why they advertised cars on television, since grown ups didn't watch it. 

I also didn't play sports. I recognize now that it was because I was introduced to them wrong: elementary school PE involved running laps and playing on teams, two things I hate to this day. I did rotations through dance and gymnastics and ice skating lessons; I stanned Michelle Kwan and the Magnificent Seven, but team sports-- men's sports-- little to no interest. My brother and I did go through a brief baseball phase in elementary school, but I think we liked hearing Vin Scully tell stories more than the game. 

Anyway, fast forward twenty-plus years, and I start watching the Dodgers again. At first it's because I need a schedule to anchor my freelance days, and something that isn't emotionally taxing to engage with. (LOL! It has become so emotionally taxing!!) Then it's... I don't know. I get to know the rhythms of the game, the names of the guys on the field. The names of their wives. I get obsessed, like I do, with the details. How MLB players never know what day of the week it is. What it's like to be a woman in their orbit. The transition from One Direction to LAD is more straightforward than you might think, actually. Both groups of men are prodigies who know their time in the spotlight is limited, and whose bodies are their jobs. Who are strange and intense and live strange, intense lives. Who are regularly fantasized about, but rarely, in any meaningful way, seen. 

All of that goes into the podcast that Sarah and I are making together, called On the Bleachers. It was spurred by our in-house discussions of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift's relationship, and we talk plenty about the particulars of pop stardom and the NFL's sweaty embrace. But it's also, hopefully, about the meaning we make out of sports, and how if you, too, are just coming to them, you can find a way in on your own terms. You can find episodes on Spotify or your preferred podcatcher. Give it a listen! Let us know what you think!

+ speaking of podcasts, I interviewed Molly Lambert and Heather Li about making theirs for Descript