Super Bowl, Olympics + World Cup Mania

*This post was originally published on my substack newsletter, and with all seriousness in regards to the World Cup in North America in June, I would suggest international travelers to attend games in Canada and Mexico over the U.S. right now for safety reasons.

While the world is grappling with political chaos - and needs our attention and human empathy more than ever - we have several massive global sporting events arriving imminently. As someone who loves competitive sports, and regularly sheds a tear for people who triumph over all odds, world sport - by way of the upcoming World Cup, Milan Winter Olympics, and to an extent, the Super Bowel (for the Bad Bunny halftime show, obvs) - arriving at the right time. After years marked by political volatility, cultural fragmentation, economic anxiety, and a relentless news cycle that rarely lets anyone breathe, the calendar of upcoming global sporting events feels less like entertainment and more like collective oxygen. The Super Bowl, FIFA World Cup and Milan–Cortina Winter Olympics aren’t just dates on a schedule - they’re shared moments of focus in a distracted world, and reminders of what it feels like to look up together.

But first, let’s enjoy this wonderful teaser for Bad Bunny x NFL celebrating inclusive togetherness.

A Rare Global Language We Still Share

Sport remains one of the last truly global languages. You don’t need to agree on politics, borders, or beliefs to understand a goal, a finish line, or a podium moment. As the World Cup approaches - staged across continents, cultures, and time zones - it carries the familiar promise of temporary unity. For a few weeks, conversations soften. Strangers talk to each other again. Cities feel electric.

The Milan Winter Olympics bring something slightly different, but just as necessary: beauty, precision, and craft. Winter sport has a particular elegance - the quiet before a downhill run, the geometry of figure skating, the poetry of endurance. Set against Italy’s design-forward sensibility and deep cultural history, Milan–Cortina feels poised to deliver an Olympics that is as visually compelling as it is emotionally resonant. At a time when so much feels overstimulated and disposable, global sport still asks us to sit, watch, and feel.

Paris Changed the Narrative — and the Camera Angle

What I’m most excited about this next era of global sport, though, has less to do with medals and more to do with media. The Paris Olympics quietly marked a turning point. Yes, the events were extraordinary, but what truly broke through was the explosion of athlete-made content. For the first time at this scale, audiences weren’t just watching sport; they were inside it.

Athletes documented early mornings, nervous rituals, dorm-room boredom, heartbreak, humor, and joy — all without filters imposed by broadcasters or brands. TikToks from the Olympic Village, raw Instagram captions after losses, casual GRWM videos before finals — this content didn’t dilute the spectacle. It deepened it. It worked because it was human and often hilarious - like we all shared a universal meme language, holding endless pop culture references across borders. And audiences responded. Engagement soared. Athletes became storytellers, not just subjects. The distance between viewer and competitor collapsed in real time.

READ MY PREVIOUS POST ON THE The Social Olympics IN PARIS

Why Athlete-Led Storytelling Is the Future

As we head toward the World Cup and Milan, I’m hoping — and expecting — even more athlete-driven media. Not polished sponsorship scripts or overly produced “behind the scenes” packages, but real perspective. Real voice. Real ownership. This shift matters culturally. It challenges who controls narratives in sport. It redistributes power. It allows athletes — particularly women, athletes of color, and those outside traditional media favorites — to define their own stories rather than be reduced to soundbites. In an era obsessed with authenticity (and increasingly skeptical of institutions), athlete-made content isn’t a trend. It’s an evolution.

Sport as a Reset Button

There’s a reason we keep returning to these moments, no matter how cynical we become about everything else. Sport offers something rare: stakes without cruelty, drama without despair, competition without permanent loss. Even defeat, in sport, is survivable — and often beautiful.

The upcoming World Cup and Milan Olympics feel like more than events. They feel like punctuation marks. A chance to reset our attention, re-center our values, and remember what excellence, dedication, and collective experience look like when they’re not mediated by outrage. If Paris showed us anything, it’s that the future of global sport isn’t just about who wins — it’s about who gets to tell the story, and how close we’re willing to let them bring us. And honestly? I can’t wait to watch.