Watching college and professional sporting events is something that people dearly love.
Whether you're right up close to the action or up in the nosebleed seats, the excitement that exists when so many people are invested in something that many feel is worth the price of admission.
Sometimes, though, the best moments are not between the lines, but in the stands. When funny, interesting, or odd things happen in the field of play, the cameras are liable to catch fans emoting with genuine authenticity.
Whether it's baseball, football, or another sport, it is these types of fan reactions that add a little extra happiness to an otherwise already fun way to spend your time.
Often, when networks return from advertisements for new cars and a multi-position ladder, broadcasters will focus on fan activity.
In one spectacular moment at a Minnesota Gophers hockey game, the Kiss Cam spotlighted a young couple on Valentine's Day, only for the man to hold up a sign with an arrow pointing to the woman, and read "my sister."
A resounding laugh was shared by sports fans from coast to coast. Of course, the cameras catch other things, too.
Celebrity Antics
Celebrities often show up at their favorite events, settling courtside or up in luxury boxes. On occasion, these folks make such a spectacle of themselves that the cameras can't help but hone in on them.
Drake, Spike Lee, Jack Nicholson, and scores of others sit courtside to cheer on their favorite basketball teams. All could be considered investments in the outcome of the matches.
Jack Nicholson's behavior during a 2003 playoff game became so belligerent that the referee issued the home team, Jack's own Lakers, a technical foul.
Drake has been known to celebrate both highlight real dunks by Scotty Barnes as well as missed free throws by the opposition.
In one memorable game, when Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a critical free throw, the camera caught Drake moving up and down the court as if he was some exalted combination of coach and dancer.
Spike Lee has had numerous exchanges with players opposing his Knicks over the years.
A memorable moment was when Reggie Miller, after listening to Lee squawk all game long, buried a three-pointer, looked right at Lee, and put his hands to his throat to gesticulate a choke motion.
Miller got the last laugh there.
Kids' Antics
The wow factor is never quite as true as when it is a young person who is experiencing it.
In a classic CBS Sports clip, a young boy who is attending his first soccer match marvels at the spectacular vista that opened before him when he emerged from the concourse.
It is clear to viewers that his little brain is processing information that he didn't know existed and that is sending him toward sensory overload and rendering him speechless.
At the ballpark, when a big leaguer hits a home run, lots of people close in to try to catch the ball. Occasionally, a dad will jump into the fray to try to get a ball for his son or daughter.
On those occasions when he actually catches it or when a classy fan gives the ball to a nearby child, a light begins to shine in that child's eye that speaks to novelty and ownership.
In one memorable clip, a young boy ended up with the game ball, only to turn around and give it to a teenage girl who was sitting behind him.
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Sports are fun and a huge part of society. They help people to put things into perspective.
When fans experience genuine reactions to cool things that happen during games, and when they are caught on camera, the experience is improved for everybody.
