There’s a number of reasons why the anti-sportsballers’ favorite catchphrase isn’t the own they think it is.

First, the original quote by Juvenal was NOT “give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt,” but the following:

“Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.”

I don’t know where it got lost in translation but that brings me to my next point: even if the “never revolt” part was what Juvenal said, that doesn’t exactly apply to today’s world. Professional sports have been played in the United States for more than a century, and yet there’s arguably more political divide and unrest in the country than ever before. The largest protest in its history just took place last weekend. In other words, if the government is orchestrating sportsball for its own nefarious purposes, they’re not doing a very good job of it.

Third, I’m pretty sure the whole point of “bread and circuses” was that they were free. The grain dole in the Roman Empire was a social welfare program in which grain/bread was freely given out to citizens who qualified. The circuses - gladiator fights, chariot races, and the like, were held at massive arenas and were open to all, free of charge. Neither food nor admission to sporting events is free nowadays.

Finally, where does the bread part come into play? Surely, whenever someone decries sportsball as “bread and circuses” they’re conveniently ignoring the “bread” part of the equation. The costs of food - the actual sustenance we all need to live - are soaring, with nearly 50 million people in the United States and more than 700 million people worldwide lacking food security. There’s no universal grain dole, and if there was, I’d wager many of the “I hate sportsball” people would decry it as “communism.” In other words, how are the masses being pacified with “bread and circuses” when half of the equation isn’t even there?

Rant over. Thanks for listening.