UNITED STATES OF FOOTBALL

Being a pro football fan can be good for you and for those around you. As a new NFL season begins, you don't have to know the difference between a cover-four and a Tampa-2 defense to put on a hat, make a friend at the shop, and build a new family tradition. In an era marked by epidemics of loneliness and political distrust, sports fandom is one simple and universally accessible medicine.

- TODD ROGERS AND AUDREY FELDMAN

Eagles fans cheer as their team takes on the Cowboys in Philadelphia on Sept. 4

We've seen it firsthand. Todd once spotted someone in a Philadelphia Eagles hat at a local shop and instinctively shouted “Go Birds!” The reply came back instantly: “Go Birds!” A few minutes later, Todd had invited his new friend George and his son to his family’s weekly watch parties. They showed up with cheesesteaks, and by the end of the season, more of George’s family had joined.

These stories aren’t unusual. More than 70% of Americans consider themselves football fans. Over a third think Super Bowl Sunday should be a national holiday, and half say the Monday after should be a paid day off. The NFL isn’t just the most-watched entertainment in America—it is one of the country’s last unifying institutions. On any given Sunday, tens of millions of Americans tune in, creating a shared national ritual that cuts across differences. For those who care about social connection and civic life, fandom is a surprisingly powerful path to both.

Decades of research show that fans have wider friendship networks, stronger feelings of belonging, and less alienation. Ben Valenta and David Sikorjak called their book