More Than A Game (Formerly Why Sports Matter)

In a world that often feels fragmented, the arena of competition offers something unexpected: a profound sense of connection and meaning. More Than A Game, formerly known as Why Sports Matter, explores this deep intersection. Hosted by Varun Soni, the Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life at the University of Southern California, this limited-run series from Religion of Sports moves beyond scores and statistics to examine how the rituals, communities, and personal transformations within athletics mirror spiritual journeys. Each episode uses specific stories and voices from the sports world as a lens to understand larger human questions about identity, purpose, and collective belonging. The conversations in this podcast delve into how the passion and pain, the discipline and devotion found on fields and courts can provide tangible wisdom for navigating modern life's chaos and its potential for personal awakening. It’s not about celebrating wins and losses, but about listening for the deeper narratives that sports reveal about who we are and how we come together. You’ll hear thoughtful dialogue that reframes athletic experience as a source of insight, asking what happens when we view these shared cultural moments through a more contemplative framework. This is a series for anyone who has ever felt a stir of something larger in the grandstand or while watching a solitary athlete strive for greatness, and wondered about the source of that feeling. The podcast makes the case that the world of play is, in fact, a rich and complex text waiting to be read for lessons that resonate far beyond the final whistle.