I don't know that I agree with the premise that sports ARE a religion, but I definitely agree that they are extremely similar to religion! And in so many ways! ⁠
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I appreciated how each chapter related an aspect of religion to sports through both analogy and specific stories that illustrate the argument. For example, both religion and sports have pilgrimages, rituals, hymns, tribes...the list goes on! ⁠
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This book is clearly something the author has been cultivating and thinking about for years, if not decades. Chopra shares personal stories beginning from childhood, and Joe Levin helps put them to print. It is well-written and a good read for any sports fan!

Chopra breaks down the religion of sports into nine sections: baptism, true believers, myths, transcendence, moral codes, pilgrimage, reformation, tribes, and afterlife. In each, he focuses on a few athletes, some diehard fans, and sprinkle of anecdotal stories of his own life.

I found some stories more inspirational than others (loved the Simone Biles section), and while there is a certain reverence held toward these athletes or teams, I did feel it missed something. I expected more depth than I got. This may be because I already knew most of these stories, but I think it really came from not being able to connect emotionally to them as there isn’t enough time in a chapter to create that. Chopra has many documentaries about athletes and I’m willing to bet that with the use of visual and audio aid, those tap into the missing emotions.