Illustration by Andrew Rae | The New York Times
It’s no secret that affordability is a big concern in the United States. The prices of eggs, coffee, and even candy bars have been going up, up, up—and the same is true of seats and even hot dogs at a baseball game. According to Joon Lee, the price of being a sports fan now is—brace yourself—$4,785. Lee is a sports journalist whose work has appeared on ESPN, Bleacher Report, and YouTube, as well as in the Boston Globe and the New York Times, where this piece was first published in 2025. He says his goal is “to make sports media feel alive again.” Read on to see what he has to say about the price of being a sports fan; fair warning: it’s no longer as simple as “Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack.”
Read it here.
- Joon Lee begins with sports in the good old days: “You turned on the TV, flipped to the game and cheered or booed—with your family, your neighborhood, your city.” Being a fan, he says, “was community.” And then he shifts abruptly, with a startling statement, that “This community is dying.” What reasons and evidence does he provide to support that claim? Do you think he’s made a strong case—and if not, why not?
- This is an opinion piece, and Lee makes his opinions clear. How well does he do at acknowledging opinions other than his own? And how even-handed are his descriptions of the past and the present? Pay attention to the language he uses –saying, for example, that he now has to “fork over” $19.99 a month to stream Boston-Yankees games. Why not simply say “pay”? And look at how he compares the past with the present, saying that the leagues no longer act like “caretakers” and now think like “asset managers.” Reread his text focusing closely on the words he chooses. How does his language affect his tone—and the way you understand and think about his argument?
- LET’S TALK. Lee focuses a lot on money: What it costs to stream a game, much less go to one. What the leagues are paid to air their games. How much private equity firms pay to own a team. Yet he never mentions the astronomical salaries that players are paid. Get together with a couple other students to research how much professional athletes are paid, and discuss whether you think that’s a factor in the high cost of being a fan. Consider as well Lee’s title: $4,785. That’s How Much It Costs to Be a Sports Fan Now. He doesn’t say where he got that number, but do you think it’s accurate? And do you think it’s a good title for this piece? If not, what would be a better title?
- AND NOW WRITE. The New York Times would like to hear what you think about this article. Do you agree with what Joon says? Disagree? Both agree and disagree? Whatever it is, be sure to cite examples from his essay to support what you say. Write a letter to the editor saying what you think and why. If you wish to, send it to letters@nytimes.com.
LetsTalkLibrary 