I think mass spectator sports really are a late-empire pre-collapse phenomenon. Bread and circuses. They are peripheral before empire, and unviable after collapse.
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Haven't human societies been participating in competitive sports, both actively and by spectating, consistently since pre history? I could imagine a correlation to amount of conflict around the globe, but I don't see how Empire factors into it.
Not at mass scales, no. That requires stadiums and hot dog stands and other big decadent city infrastructure. Not talking about village cricket game sponsored by local pizza joint.
Yeah, but overall population growth must factor into that as well. And that growing population is becoming urbanized at a faster rate around the world, greater density could drive wider popularity of specific sports/leagues.