How today’s teenagers are engaging with pro sports

Teenagers don’t seem to care about sports anymore— at least live sports.

TV viewership for sports is dropping; many kids and teens have never attended a live sporting event.

Social media has changed the landscape of team interaction by creating short-form content of the biggest highlight reels and teams taking part in trending dances and videos, including players in the clips.

Teenagers interact more with players and teams on social media rather than watching sports on TV.

“I like to just catch highlights on social media, I like to watch them with my father.” said junior Max Iliff

However, this has helped to engage younger audiences in sports in new ways.

More athletes are becoming influencers and content creators than ever before.

2024 US Open winner and current LIV Tour pro Bryson DeChambeau has taken his golf talents to YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.

On YouTube, he brings athletes and celebrities on his “Break 50” series. DeChambeau and the guest play a best-ball round of golf while trying to shoot under 50.

Some of his notable guests have included Tom Brady, John Daly, and former President Donald Trump.

But how does this have any effect?

In an Instagram video, SportsBall breaks down DeChambeau’s hole-in-one challenge’s effect on his social media presence.

Views on the daily video series averaged around 4.7 million, and DeChambeau gained, on average, 21,000 followers from each video, totaling an increase of 320,000.

His social media popularity has carried into his professional career. At many tournaments he plays in, teens attend and follow eagerly to meet him and get an autograph.

DeChambeau’s virality has given golf new life; other influencers are doing similar for their respective sports.

Local influencer group The Hockey Guys started making content as college hockey teammates in late 2020.

“When we first started, we honestly were doing it for fun during Covid. We noticed when people started engaging, commenting, and following us, it was because there was no one else doing that much in the hockey space specifically,” said Austin Friesen, a member of The Hockey Guys.

Now, their audience has grown to over 1.5 million followers on TikTok.

“A lot of our videos reached an audience that had nothing to do with the hockey world, and so just from hearing feedback from our fans and in the comments section, and the DMS, all that stuff, we really brought the sport to people that otherwise would have never seen it, and I think we brought it to them in a way where they could connect with it,” said Johnny Pace, who is also a member of The Hockey Guys.

In their early days, The Hockey Guys mainly focused on hockey. However, since they have grown their platform, they have worked with NASCAR, the NFL, the 3M Open, the NHL, the PWHL, and many more.

Their expansion of sports content has led their fans to new sports they may not have previously been interested in.

“I think [the partnership with NASCAR] brought new exposure to different eyes that may not [have seen NASCAR], just like we did with hockey,” said Friesen.

But it’s not just the influencers.

Teams and leagues are stepping up their content. What used to be feeds flooded with highlights have become a mix of behind-the-scenes footage, players participating in trends, and a sprinkle of highlights.

University of Minnesota professor Kevin King believes social media is a powerful tool for teams to connect with teens.

“If you want to get eyes on a game or you want to get younger generations interested, [teens] on their phones. They’re on apps, and they’re taking pictures or doing live streams. That’s where they are, so [teams] have to meet [teens] where they are.” said King

Many teams have used this to their advantage, inviting popular creators to games and events.

The MLB helps to foster its online community with the MLB Creator Class, inviting creators of all types to MLB events to connect with new audiences.

Whether it’s food, fashion, gaming, or more, the MLB is open to showcasing new sides of baseball with every creator.

Likewise, the NHL invites creators and celebrities to games and special events such as All-Star Weekend or the Winter Classic and hosts events for creators to create content with each other and fans.

As the social media sports scene expands, teams are taking a more specific approach. They aim to give fans a new perspective on players, coaches, and staff. A team’s page consists of a mix of trending dances, challenges, and even behind-the-scenes looks at players’ lives behind their sport.

Netflix and other streaming platforms like Prime Video have taken similar approaches.

Following the widely successful “Formula 1: Drive To Survive”, Netflix has produced an increasing number of sports docuseries that show behind-the-scenes footage of all aspects of different sports.

Prime Video has done the same, starting with the “All or Nothing” series, which followed many different teams, from the NHL, NFL, and Premier League, to many more, including college football and national teams.

Videogames are also on the rise amongst teens.

“I think when you look at esports, it has tapped into that younger demographic and younger audience.” Said, Professor King

EA Sports has been around for a long time, but their games, such as Madden, FIFA, and NHL, have recently become popular.

Other franchises like NBA 2K, produced by Visual Concepts, have also skyrocketed in popularity.

These video games allow teens to engage in sports by playing as their favorite team or building a new one with real players.

“I’ve played since NBA 2K16 and just played it for fun but learned about set plays and how the general game works but now that I know about the rules and more advanced skills, I’m able to do better in the game and take moves and play styles and replicate them in real life,” said junior Eirik Howland.

This year marks the first year since 2013 that EA has released a college football game. Since its release, ABC has seen their best ratings in the past 15 years. Showing a large correlation between video games and their real life counterparts.

Along with everything else, teams are engaging with fans off the screen.

Though theme nights have been around for ages, teams have started using specific theme nights that attract fans, such as the Tucson Roadrunners Swiftie night, the LA Dodgers’ infamous Shohei Ohtani and Decoy bobblehead giveaway, and the Minnesota Twins Bark at the Park. Various teams are also hosting concerts during or after their games.

These theme nights connect the sport to the larger pop culture scene and community and help to engage all types of fans.

Although TV viewership may be down, teens engage with sports more than ever through nontraditional ways. Whether through social media, video games, or pop culture interaction, sports aren’t a dying art yet.