ABSTRACT
Everyman has always wondered where he came from, where he is going, who is in charge. We should consider just what sporting events mean to working-class people everywhere, as they go off to the stadium, spread out in a long line from pavement to pavement, eyes bright, yelling snatches of pop tunes. Everyman (as John Bunyan called his Christian pilgrim) has become Everyfan. While “liberal religions” decline, fundamentalism and the “religious right” flourish throughout the world. Powerful movements are affecting not only religion, but politics and public opinion. Sports fill the vacuum left by organized religion and sports fans (short for “fanatics”) become pilgrims in our new crusades. Popular culture wedded deep-felt needs and a new secular religion was born. The Olympic games had their roots in religion. All societies have religion, and religion has always been popular. The substance of culture is religion and the form of religion is culture.
