What is theme music in sports trying to say? The Olympic Hymn is a tune about the brotherhood of nations, the NBA track on ESPN has a trap beat, and the NFL opening songs on FOX and CBS are percussive and aggressive. Listen closely to the sounds of the game and you'll begin to understand the myth of certain sports, and what sports TV is trying to sell.

On the first episode of Sidelines, Professor Jeffery Segrave (Skidmore College) discusses the role of music in sports. Through analyzing a handful of sports television themes, we can begin to understand how songs shape athletic events... and even define certain sports.

Robert Paylor suffered a spinal cord injury in the 2017 collegiate rugby championship that left him unable to move anything below his neck. Now, he walks with an assisted device and works as a motivational speaker.

Today on Sidelines, Paylor recounts an athletic injury that left his body paralyzed and his mind searching for a new purpose.

For years, I’ve heard the Reverend J. Donald Waring preach about baseball. He’s used the game as a metaphor enough to make me wonder if there’s a story behind the sermons. In today's show, Don discusses who has influenced his preaching and why he thinks God “must” be a Mets fan.

Throughout his life and Presidency, Theodore Roosevelt spoke about the virtues of a “strenuous life.” That strenuous life, Professor Ryan Swanson argues, was “very tied to physical activity.”

Swanson, author of The Strenuous Life: Theodore Roosevelt and the Making of the American Athlete, tells a sports story of an asthmatic, unathletic child who turned into a physical fitness evangelist and the 26th President of the United States. Oh, and he played a role in preserving the sport of football.

Molly is part of a quickly growing demographic of NFL fans… Swifties. After a Super Bowl season with her Chiefs and some time on the road with The Eras Tour, Molly reflects on how Swifties and sports fans have more in common than they think.

NYT -- How Often Is Taylor Swift Actually Shown at N.F.L. Games?

Studies show that exercise can help decrease feelings of fear and anxiety. So, in an experiment on myself, I run alongside the things that scare me with someone who doesn't.

Writer and former New York Times sports columnist, Robert Lipsyte, talks about the politics of sports—and the sport of politics—ahead of the 2024 US election.