This week we’re talking about sports celebrity, open secrets, and what people are willing to ignore in the name of loyal fandom. Join us for some conversational tailgating as we discuss Netflix’s Untold: The Fall of Favre (2025). A small town hero who became a football legend in his own time, Brett Favre is known by most for his time as a superstar quarterback in the NFL. Sports media personality Jenn Sterger alleges, though, that she knew him as a dude who unsolicitedly sexted her. Meanwhile, the state of Mississippi knows him as the sports star who diverted millions of dollars from welfare funds for use in pet projects. Spoiler alert: a story about a charismatic leader is yet again a story about abuses of power. In such a story, which elements get what amount of time/attention and why? What boundaries get drawn around which kinds of behavior? And what’s with the impulse to compare sports and religion? Listen in for thoughts from two of your biggest fans.

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Production assistance from the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama.

Theme music produced with Udio.