Sportsish Breaks Down An All-Beyoncé Christmas

…And Oz Pearlman has been bending NFL minds ever since. The go-to TV mentalist in sports has performed everywhere from Hard Knocks to Schefter’s 50th birthday in his pursuit of dominating the sports landscape.

Whew, football fashion had a year. From Arsenal to Real Madrid, the major European clubs put their stamp on a beautiful collab collection. We’re still hoping Inter Milan drops its incredible tracksuit with Nike x One Block Down.

There’s another Flagg that flies proudly in hoops. Ace Flagg has followed his famous brother, Cooper, all his life, but he’s looking to make a name for himself at Maine.

You’ll never see Ernie Johnson on a Pickleball Court. He’ll stick to golf and biking to avoid a torn Achilles, and whatever Italian restaurant Mike Fratello recommends.

This most opulent sports wedding of 2024 involved a badminton star and her wealthy tech husband. PV Sindhu brought her three-day, Bridgerton-inspired vision to life at a luxurious Indian resort.

It goes without saying that Christmas Day ‘24 was a legendary day in sports… and then Beyoncé performed. We turn over the reins, as we like to do, to a creator and writer who inspires us – and is just as obsessed with sports culture – Lily Shimbashi, founder of Sportsish. Lily, what caught your eye on this sports day? Take it away! 

A football game broke out at a Beyoncé concert, but it was the concert that meant something.

Netflix’s NFL Christmas games saw records broken by Taylor Swift’s boyfriend in the afternoon, and an award-worthy performance from the queen herself at night. Stick with me as I recap yesterday’s holiday NFL games through Beyoncé song titles, a method that I like to call sportsish. 

The Chiefs traveled to Pittsburgh, and in my world, that means that Ciara’s husband was playing Taylor’s boyfriend. However, neither of the iconic WAGs were spotted at the game and although the football was excellent, their presence is in fact Irreplaceable. 

Alas, Baby Boy Travis Kelce had himself a day in the record books. His QB, Patrick Mahomes truly put the team in Formation on a bum ankle. It all felt like Deja Vu because, for the fourth time in the Mahomes era, the Chiefs clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed. And as it turns out, he did it all for Brittany. Way to put your Love On Top, Pat. Ring The Alarm because that Three-Peat doesn’t seem so far off after that Chiefs performance.

Fast-forward to the evening game, when MVP candidate Lamar Jackson and his Baltimore Ravens traveled to Houston. Unfortunately, Texas Hold ‘Em doesn’t apply here because the Texans did not, in fact, hold the Ravens back at all. Lamar Jackson made sure to say, “I was here,” with a dominant performance, and despite vowing otherwise, he stayed in the locker room at halftime.

These were the hors d'oeuvres for the main course – 15 minutes of pure joy from Queen Bey herself. From surprise guests (hi Blue Ivy!), to white horses, to a January tease (tour maybe?), the Texas-inspired performance left me giddy. But maybe most notably of all, it left me feeling hopeful.

It’s no secret the NFL, and sports in general, have been at the forefront of a surge of new female fans. According to the Wasserman Collective, nearly 700 million women are now sports fans, and half of these women developed their fandom in the last five years. Investing in a Beyoncé performance outside of the Super Bowl would not be something the NFL of five years ago would have done. But in my eyes, they did it today because they prioritize their female fans. They’re listening, which they’re smart to. Because Who Run the World? (Girls).

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Just five years ago, I watched a baby-faced boy named Joe Burrow win the Heisman Trophy by the largest margin of victory in award history. His speech, with shoutouts to his hometown and teammates and coaches, was given in between vulnerable, audible sobs. I was enthralled by the humble Ohio kid who was soon selected first overall by the Cincinnati Bengals. Turns out, I wasn’t the only one. 

Half a decade later, Joe Burrow’s phenomenon reaches far outside the football field and straight onto my TikTok algorithm. The Cincinnati Bengals’ quarterback is the subject of thirst trap edits, has walked in Paris Fashion Week, and is a frequent topic on gossip sites. Whether it was a backless suit on the runway or his preseason bleached blonde buzz cut, he’s frequently, as the kids say, breaking the internet.

As the CEO of a sports media business, I try not to let biases show. But it seems I may be doing a bad job because OffBall has also tracked the year for Joe Burrow and came to me because of my “massive Joe Burrow fandom.” 

And they’re right, of course. But I seem to wonder, is there anyone who is not a massive Joe Burrow fan? 

We’ve all seen the side-by-side comparisons of Joe and Home Alone’s Kevin McAllister, a running joke among the NFL’s fan base. But I happen to think the similarities go deeper than the big blue eyes and scruffy blonde hair. Like we did with Kevin throughout the nineties, we’re watching Joe grow up right before our eyes. Kevin is wickedly smart, Joe is too. Did you see this play? Kevin made silly choices, Joe does too. How about this outfit a few weeks back? Have you heard about that 2.9 million dollar Batmobile purchase? 

But at their core, it’s their quirky innocence that wins us over. Joe may dress a little bougier and have a few more Instagram followers, but in his post-game interviews, some of which have been filled with frustration this year, I can see that kid from Ohio, who just wants to be great. And I too, want that for him. 

Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals.