When tropes in fiction become reality
By Emma Djukic, February 11 2025—
The sports romance genre has exploded in popularity–with BookTok playing a major role in its rise. F1 sports romances, which were virtually unheard of just a few years ago, have gained significant traction, alongside a wave of new stories across various athletic settings. The combination of romance and sports creates a high-stakes environment that enhances drama and tension, offering exciting tropes and archetypes that readers find irresistible. But with this new wave of readership, one has to wonder—what impact does this portrayal have on real-life athletics and athletes? Is the growing fascination with these fictionalized versions of sports stars as positive as it seems?
One of the most persistent tropes in sports romance is the stereotypical “jock” character—physically dominant, emotionally unavailable, and completely focused on his career until love intervenes. While this dynamic makes for an engaging story, it reinforces outdated notions of masculinity, presenting athletes as one-dimensional figures rather than complex individuals. The portrayal often suggests that athletes must either be cold and arrogant or in need of “saving” by a romantic partner, ignoring the reality that many athletes are introspective, emotionally intelligent and multifaceted individuals with interests beyond their sport. Athletes are strong and work incredibly hard for mastery over their sport but the genre does them a disservice by presenting them as uninterested in anything else.
The problem extends beyond fiction. As sports romance gains popularity, the distinction between storytelling and reality begins to blur, leading to troubling consequences for real-life athletes. Alex Wennberg, a player for the Seattle Kraken, found himself at the center of a BookTok controversy that deeply affected his personal life. He became a fascination for BookTok in 2023, and what started as some fun trends featuring him in cool edits quickly spiraled into something more akin to sexual harassment. He is a husband and a father, and the treatment of his character and relationship with his wife was put up for public debate online with no consent.
The fictionalized ideals that readers consumed in books were projected onto him, demonstrating how media narratives can impact real individuals. Similarly, F1 drivers are frequently thirst-trapped on social media, sometimes even by their teams, in an attempt to increase engagement. While this may attract new eyes to the sport, it raises the question of whether objectifying athletes in this manner is truly beneficial. The prevalence of fanfiction featuring F1 drivers on the site Archive of our Own (AO3)—over 44,000 individual works and counting—further complicates the conversation. These athletes are often treated more as characters than as real people. Like with Wennberg, many drivers are married and have families but the fanfiction strips them of that, reducing them to caricatures of themselves.
The appeal of sports fiction is understandable. The fast-paced nature of these stories offers an easy escape, filled with drama, passion and triumph. But as boundaries between fiction and reality become increasingly blurred, and the court of public opinion grows more ruthless, it is worth considering whether the glorification of these tropes is doing more harm than good. The perception of athletes is shifting, shaped by idealized portrayals that often fail to capture the challenges and pressures they face.
What can be done to address this issue? While the consequences are far-reaching, simply ceasing the publication of romance novels or regulating their content is neither feasible nor effective. This phenomenon appears to stem from a broader societal shift—one in which public figures gradually lose their right to privacy and a degree of personal autonomy. We witness this regularly with celebrities—who are relentlessly pursued—and influencers—who face pressure to lay bare their entire lives online. While these challenges are significant in their own right, sports introduce a unique dimension: the cultural narratives and perceptions surrounding them influence the experiences of all athletes, from professionals to aspiring youngsters, not just those in the spotlight.
Sports fiction has the power to influence how audiences perceive athletes and sports culture as a whole. While the romance genre thrives on familiar tropes, it is worth questioning whether those tropes are worth perpetuating when they so often distort reality. Perhaps by embracing more thoughtful character development and avoiding reductive stereotypes, writers can create sports romances that captivate audiences without compromising the integrity of the very people they seek to celebrate.