strategy & analytics, FOX SPORTS author of fans have more friends
venice ca usa
Joined April 2009
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The @Pontifex gets it!
Fans have more friends!
The gravity of this moment doesn’t originate in the box score or the championship banner.
It has nothing to do with 27 outs,
clutch hitting, or the technical
brilliance of a double play
The gravity comes from the relationships that the team helped structure over decades.
The team acted as the trellis upon which these relationships grew.
That’s why our teams matter; that’s why sports matter. It’s the people we share it with that gives it the meaning.
The goal should be to make a meaningful number of games available at a time that suits kids under 12...
Fandom is a learned behavior that requires repetition over time... and that behavior is stickiest when in the context of family bonding rituals...
But family bonding rituals rarely happen after 9PM!
ben valenta retweeted
Always try not to get too excited about preseason highlights but… I mean…. xitter.cf/MindOfBron/status/2108…
ben valenta retweeted
"Sports might be the last remaining American cultural institution that spans our political divides," write Todd Rogers, Audrey Feldman and Ben Valenta.
nyti.ms/4i5750k
Although the positive case for fandom is rarely made, our research has shown clearly and consistently that fandom has a net positive effect on individuals and communities.
ben valenta retweeted
Fascinating piece in today’s NYT co-authored by my colleague @ben_valenta on how fandom acts as an antidote to hyper-partisanship.
This work is part of an exciting partnership among Harvard, Fox Sports and MLB to explore how fandom benefits us all.
nytimes.com/2026/10/03/opini…
ben valenta retweeted
I will push back on every aspect of this. Teams needn’t cost “thousands of dollars” and usually don’t. Families become closer spending time together each weekend. And learning how to be all in on something will absolutely create a skill that carries over into adulthood.
Travel sports are the biggest, most obvious scam in the world. Oh you'll charge me thousands of dollars to wake up at 4am to drive my kid 90 minutes away to play a sport that will ruin our family weekends and have zero impact on their adult life? Pass.
xitter.cf/NYMag/status/209186092…
ben valenta retweeted
Asking if soccer will ever really be popular in the U.S. has become like asking if Americans will ever eat sushi. Once exotic things now completely mainstream.
The few people still having this debate are old, irrelevant and stuck on a question that was answered years ago.
Great piece from @arthurbrooks about the power of fandom to facilitate friendship. @Todd_Rogers_ and @DSikorjak make appearances, too!
New Yorkers poured into the streets after the Knicks’ title run, embracing strangers in shared joy. Social science suggests that instinct is good for us—and for the country, writes Arthur Brooks. thefp.com/p/arthur-brooks-th…
ben valenta retweeted
Nothing brings people together like Sports. First NBA champ in more than 50 years and the city goes nuts.
Although the positive case for fandom is rarely made, our research has shown clearly and consistently that fandom has a net positive effect on individuals and communities.
And we therefore argue that increasing the number of sports fans and deepening their engagement will have a positive impact on society at large.
ben valenta retweeted
It’s been one weekend but so far the World Cup is following the pattern of every previous World Cup and Olympics: tons of negative stories about infrastructure, costs, people not buying tickets etc and then it starts and it’s amazing
