A friend of mine who leads the league in cynicism likes to argue that the popularity of professional sports is only sustainable because of the massive interest-boosting crutches of gambling and fantasy sports.
He is right to a very limited degree. Yes, those things may be why you find yourself riveted to a west coast Padres game at 1:03 a.m., or still watching a 31-3 NFL game on TV in the fourth quarter.
Those things are not the foundation of our love of competition, though. They are not why we fell in love with sports, or why the love is beyond-question enduring.