While I’m not a fan of sports to begin with, I truly loathe sports culture.

When I speak of sports culture, I’m not referring to people who enjoy watching sports, rooting for their teams and then going home; I’m talking about the broader context of sports in society and those fans who take it too far.

Sports, and the athletes who play them, are so elevated in our society that many of these athletes become untouchable, even at the college level. Jameis Winston, the number one draft pick and former FSU quarterback, was accused of rape, but he walked away without a scratch. But Megan, if there wasn’t any proof, there wasn’t any proof, and he can’t be arrested. Fair enough, but the police search that followed was laughably incompetent. Winston’s teammate, Chris Casher, reportedly took a video of part of the assault, but it was deleted. He refused two police interview requests. This wasn’t the first crime Winston was accused of.

Winston signed a four-year $23.35 million deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That’s a ridiculous salary, even for someone who isn’t almost certainly a rapist.

Winston is not a rarity; any Google search with “NFL players accused of crimes” brings up tons of horrific results. The fact that these crimes are being committed isn’t nearly as terrifying as the fact that they repeatedly get pushed under the rug. While this is a problem for all celebrities, athletes seem to get even more leeway than their equally famous peers.

The obsession with sports isn’t limited to the players either. In big games, whether their teams win or lose, “fans” are prone to rioting. Many news sources will say that “fans took the streets…” but make no mistake, these are riots, complete with looters and people committing acts of vandalism.

Fans who stay at home aren’t immune to fanaticism. While he hardly watches football at all anymore, my dad used to spend the entire weekend watching games, both college and professional. Judging from all the yelling at the TV, I don’t think it was even fun for him (he was a Lions fan); it was a compulsion. Compared to many, he was pretty mild. I have an uncle who made us pray a Hail Mary during the Thanksgiving Day game a few years ago, and it was not even slightly in jest. I’ve been to Michigan vs. Michigan State game viewings where Michigan fans told me – again, without joking – that they wished Mark Dantonio would drop dead.

What I truly don’t understand is how this sort of behavior is so ingrained into our society's idea of "normal." Middle-aged men who paint their face and scream obscenities in bars during a game will complain about how teenage girls are “so over-dramatic,” without even questioning their own behavior. They’ll make fun of kids who obsess over geeky things but it never even crosses their mind to think about their own obsessions. Somewhere along the line, sports became elevated above all other pop culture, so while people complain about young girls plastering their walls in One Direction posters, no one questions the people who have Fathead life-size wall posters of their favorite players or who buy season tickets to their favorite professional team.

I’m a Notre Dame student, and while I love my school, I couldn’t care less about our sports teams. I respect that they work very hard, and that football brings in a lot of money, and while I’m happy if they win, I don’t really care if they don’t. My pride in my school isn’t centered around our teams’ records. There’s no problem with being proud of our teams, but the fact that when relatives and friends ask how “the team’s doing” and I don’t show any enthusiasm seems to warrant them telling me I have no school spirit is highly indicative of how we expect people to treat sports.

I’m not trying to say that sports are stupid or worthless, only that they’re blown out of proportion. I prefer to watch my classmates in plays or concerts, while others prefer to watch them compete on the field/court/ice/whatever. It should be as simple as that, but it’s not. If someone says they don’t go to the Glee Club’s concerts, that’s fine, but as soon as I say I’m not buying football tickets this year, people make it their duty to convince me that I have to if I want to support my school.

While I don’t like to watch sports, I think they’re a good thing. They help to build a community and invoke pride within it. But they shouldn’t be the end-all be-all and they shouldn’t be used to put some people above others.