Sports. So many people love them or hate them, but they go on regardless.

Recently I’ve been getting back into sports and I’ve enjoyed it plenty. It helps when my teams/people do well, but this year we’ve had a bit of a rocky start. It’s tough, but the heartbreaking and frustrating moments are just as important to the fan journey.

For background, I’m Australian, so there are a few different sports that you kind of have to follow like the NRL and AFL. Last year three of my teams won, making our city the most successful by far, which was great. This year, we’ve had a slower start…to put it lightly. Cricket is another of these ‘must watch’ sports, and after dominating the Ashes 4-1, I was pretty happy about that—like everyone else in Australia. Nothing brings us together like ‘smacking the Poms’ (sorry to any English readers for the reminder).

Then there is my beloved tennis, which had an interesting start to the year. I am usually a Jannik Sinner fan, so I was pretty shocked and sad to see him lose the semi-final to Djokovic at the Australian Open, but I was glad to see Alcaraz win his seventh slam (completing the career Grand Slam!). Jannik has not had the best start to the year by any means, so I’m hoping he can turn it around and win Roland Garros, completing the Career Grand Slam too. On the women’s side, it was awesome to see Elena Rybakina get her second slam after an incredible run, I hope her form continues!

Finally—now tread lightly, because I’m still devastated—Formula 1 has had an incredibly interesting start to the year too. After an epic 2025, we welcomed entirely new cars and regulations for 2026. Well, ‘welcomed’ might be generous, because hometown hero Oscar Piastri crashed before he could even compete in the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. Like every other Australian watching, I could hardly believe it. I screamed, I cried and then watched the race in stunned silence. I was a Mercedes fan last year, so it was cool to see them lead the pack, after an exciting race but man. Oscar is no stranger to struggling at the cursed Aus GP, but this was too much.

Supporting these people as they compete at the highest level is as fun as it is crushing at times, and that is the beauty of sports. When our teams do well, it’s euphoric, and when they fail, it’s devastating. There’s an added layer of pressure in sports-mad Australia too, where even the most minute failure or lack of domination is simply not good enough.

Still, I love the experience of sports. I love being able to connect with all sorts of people as we support the same teams and players, or clash (all in good humour!) over the rivalries.

As a writer, I’m also inclined to look deeper. Sports provide great entertainment and talking points for all, but its also an epic contest when you think about it, a microcosm for life in many ways. From one-on-one contests like tennis, to city club teams competing like in football, or international competitions like cricket, the battle is heated because it is important. Players compete for glory, to prove their skills, and to appease the crowds who come to watch. Rivalries grow heated as history is written, patterns are created, upheld and then upended, and personalities become larger than life. Australia vs England, India vs Pakistan, Prost vs Senna, Roger vs Rafa, Borg vs McEnroe, Evert vs Navratilova, Venus vs Serena, Slater vs Irons, Hamilton vs Verstappen, Maroons vs Blues, Collingwood vs keeping their teeth—it’s incredible to witness these epic rivalries rise, and continue or fall away as other epic battles overtake them.

Sports unite us as much as they pit us against others, and they inspire us to be bigger and better than we are. When I think of sports and these larger-than-life athletes, I think of their sportsmanship as much as their incredible accomplishments.

The famous moment Andrew Flintoff comforted Brett Lee after Australia’s lost the second test in the Ashes in 2005 is still a defining moment in cricket and sporting history. I think of the Blues team in State of Origin 2025 all rallying around Cam Munster after the Maroons won, only days after he lost his father. I think of Jannik Sinner going to hug Carlos Alcaraz after their epic final at Roland Garros 2025 where he lost after five hours of incredible play. I think of all the incredible female athletes at the Winter Olympics all cheering for one another on the podiums, and the figure skating girls cheering for one another. Tennis is rife with moments of good sportsmanship as players surrender points because of missed or bad calls.

Sports can also help define nations, bringing them together and influencing the culture. In Australia, we value the underdog because of our history as a colonial outpost of Britain and thus celebrated like crazy when Stephen Bradbury won our first ever medal at the Winter Olympics in 2002. Our ‘never say die’ attitude is shown in Lleyton Hewitt, Ash Barty, and Alex De Minaur’s relentless fight. Our ruthless competitiveness comes out every time our cricketers step out in those baggy greens, regardless of our opponent or how hopeless the scoreline looks. I can’t speak to every country, but I’m sure there’s something in it for everyone.

Now, this isn’t to say we should deify these players, and I’m not going to deny there have been plenty of bad sportsmanship moments too. I mean, life is always full of both good and bad moments.

Still, sports aren’t going anywhere, and I don’t want them to. The bitter losses make the victories that much sweeter. Supporting your favourite teams and players brings you new community, and someone to live through vicariously. Sports teaches us about ourselves as much as others, and can help us grow as people, whether we play them or not.