The human interest of sports

Photo courtesy of Unsplash.

On July 17, 2024, at 14 years and 293 days old, Cavan Sullivan became the youngest player to debut for Major Leage Soccer. Appearing for the Philadelphia Union, Sullivan broke the previous record held by D.C. United’s Freddy Adu by 13 days.

That is the big headline.

In examples like this, the focus of the story often shifts to the game itself. How will Sullivan keep up with players twice his age? Will he be strong enough, fast enough, experienced enough? The conversation homes in on his expectations and the performance he puts up on the field.

However, that is only part of the story.

What often gets overlooked are the stories that exist off of the field. It’s certainly important to report on Sullivan’s playing abilities, but good journalism should cover the human interest aspect as well. What does it look like to be 14 and suddenly playing professional soccer? How is he planning on continuing his education while balancing his new full-time job? What happens to his friendships and day to day routines as he begins traveling nationally for matches?

These are the kinds of questions that shift a sports story into something more human.

It is easy to focus on milestones and statistics because they are clear and measurable. A reporter can watch a one-to-two-hour match and have everything they need to be able to report on it. One thing statistics don’t do is tell stories of who people are.

Human interest stories in sports create space for that. They dig beyond what happened on the field and look at what players do off the field. They tell the story of a person’s entirety, not just their job as an athlete. This is especially important in atypical moments, like how Naomi Osaka drew the strength to step away from major tournaments to prioritize her mental health or what inspired LeBron James to open the I PROMISE School for at-risk students in Akron, Ohio.

In the case of Cavin Sullivan, the most interesting part of the story might not be how a 14-year-old performs against professional players; rather, it might be how he balances being both a professional athlete and a teenager at the same time.

Not every sports story has to center around sports itself. Sometimes, the more meaningful story is what is happening on the perimeter of sports.