How Athletes Watched The NFL

Plus, We Remember Kobe + Gigi

January 27, 2025

…Or at least a Madison Keys stan. He showed love for the American after she upset Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open this weekend. 

College students majoring in sports? It’s more likely than you think, thanks to David Hollander, a professor at NYU, and his big plans to implement the coursework. You’ve probably read his book, by the way. 

Your fav just became a model slash baller when Candace Parker walked in Adidas’ Y-3 Paris Fashion Week show. Also on the runway for Y-3 was former Liverpool FC and France cult hero Djibril Cissé.

Brick by brick, BMXer Nigel Sylvester is releasing a collab with Jordan that symbolizes the hashtag grind associated with New York City, and the show was sick. 

Mbappe is scary good again, and the whole world should be on notice. 

Your mom…is basically a world-class runner. The two roles share many commonalities, and lots of world-class athletes are doing both. 

@dojacat

@tacobell can choke fr #tacobellpartner

Some say America is experiencing what scientists (writing is a science, ok?) are calling “Football Fatigue.” That topic is up for debate—especially for professional athletes, who seem to be the biggest superfans of us all. 

The world’s biggest Eagles fan, Jalen Brunson, warned all of Philly that his teammate and best friend Josh Hart, who is the world’s biggest Commanders fan, would be at the game—saying booing was encouraged. Josh left before the 4th, as Jalen will have us know).

The World’s Most Gifted Hater, aka Kevin Durant, is also a huge Washington fan. We’re hoping this cinematic masterpiece has hit the NBA Commanders Fans group chat (the one that probably only exists in our dreams). 

Dawn Staley watched on her gigantic iPad, dripping in Eagles green. We’re thinking Phoenix Mercury teammates Kahleah Copper and Natasha Cloud are probably still celebrating today. And legend has it, Paul George is still stuck in the Eagles fans’ traffic. 

When it came to the team some are calling “America’s Team,” Kyle Brandt trained to take Mahomes on in a montage à la Rocky. And despite being in Australia for some of the playoffs, tennis pro Jessie Pegula has been a devout part of #BillsMafia. Honorable mention for Matty Matheson, who is not a professional athlete, but is a pro at food, and also loves his Bills. The aforementioned Josh Hart briefly joined the bandwagon. And even Travis Kelce himself is a Josh Allen guy. 

On the Chiefs side, we assume Caitlin Clark was cheering on her favorite team (although we didn’t get the broadcast celly shots we deserved), and we have confirmed from sources (namely the Chiefs' Instagram account) that MLB star Bobby I-Hit-Better-Than-You Witt was on the sidelines rooting for his KC brethren.

And now that the stage has been set, this video of Eagles alum/Travis’ Brother, Jason Kelce, has us wondering if beer is thicker than blood.

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Five years ago, the whole world was reminded, the hard way, just how precious life is. This past Sunday was the anniversary of Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s passing, and it was more apparent than ever just how big a mark they left on basketball.

Kobe and Gigi have been memorialized in more ways than we can even include here. It’s hard to bop around the city of LA without seeing one of the heartfelt and beautiful murals dedicated to them. Vanessa Bryant has curated a book of all the art created to pay homage to them. Fans and reporters visited the statue of the father and daughter at Crypto.com Arena. The WNBA paid homage to Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester—Gianna’s teammates, who lost their lives. We’re even calling it The Year Of The Mamba. 

So much was taken from hoops fans that day, but it’s comforting to remember the legacy they left behind for us. 

Do the same workout class as Midge Purce, Trevor Baptiste, and some of your other fav athletes. 

Friends in the Bay, if you haven’t been to the Get In The Game exhibition, now’s your MOMA’nt. You have until February 18, but if you’re like us, you’ll blink, and it will be February 17th, and you’ll think, “Oh no! How did this happen?! I still haven’t been to that exhibit I really wanted to go to!” So, plan accordingly. 

Lovers of the Immaculate Grids (or if you just like to get together with your gender-neutral dudes and “name a guy,”) let us put you on. These Sporcle Logic Puzzles are fun for the whole fam. 

NYers, watch some movies and discover how sports “influence and reflect societal attitudes and behaviors, and the rituals, traditions, and social dynamics associated with them” at the Queens Library tonight.

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