“The primary function of sports is to provide advertisers a way to sell beer and unhealthy stuff to losers who go to sports bars and pretend they have friends.”
OK, that’s definitely an ouch! But, it does hint at the importance of advertising, which is widely ignored in economic theory. Economists like to talk about consumers (and investors) making informed decisions in their own self-interet and ignore the fact that consumers will NOT always act in their own self-interest, because of advertising.