My first memory of sports dates back to 1974. The match between Kim Il and Antonio Inoki held in Japan. The moment the neighbors gathered in front of the TV shouted “Headbutt!” in unison every time Kim Il delivered a headbutt. The second vivid memory is from the 1988 Seoul Olympics, when the women’s handball team defeated the Soviet Union to win the first gold medal in team sports. When the commentator shouted, “3 seconds, 2 seconds, 1 second. It’s a gold medal! Gold medal!” we all shouted “Gold medal!” in front of the TV. What about the 2002 World Cup? Isn’t the moment of the golden goal, when Lee Young-pyo crossed the ball and Ahn Jung-hwan headed it in during the 1-1 extended round against Italy, still vivid?
However, the era of national sports, where the collective aspirations of the entire nation converged, has passed. This is because we no longer live in the age of mass media, where multiple people gather around a single TV. Now, even family members consume different content on their own mobiles or tablets, so-called the era of personal tastes. Is sports an exception? Even during the Olympics or World Cup season, the number of fans who look up their favorite professional sports has surged. Although divided by taste, reducing their numbers, the passion of these fans is hotter than anyone else’s. They dive into their sports at nearly an expert level and want to know not only the games but also more detailed information behind them. Sports variety shows have accurately captured this change. They delve into the more intimate world of sports that cannot be seen through live broadcasts.
MBC’s sports variety show “The Wonder Coach,” which recently garnered widespread attention, is a prime example of this success. While retired sports stars appearing on broadcasts might not seem new, Kim Yeon-koung infused the program with genuine passion for women’s volleyball beyond the realm of variety shows. By gathering players who had no choice but to retire if pushed out of their teams due to the absence of a second division and giving them a chance to play again, the show provided an opportunity for reevaluation. The retired players’ goal is not to gain attention as broadcasters. It is to return to professional or corporate teams and play as athletes. Hence, the team name “Wonder Dogs” reflects the players’ determination to rise from the “under” to the “wonder,” aiming to become the eighth division of the pros.
“Wow, I really like women’s volleyball,” people who watched “The Wonder Coach” say in unison. The secret lies in the filming and editing unique to sports variety shows, which cannot be seen through live broadcasts. In “The Wonder Coach,” players wear microphones and compete, and the cameras are so segmented that they follow each player individually. This allows for close-up stories and detailed footage. Therefore, the “impact” of the moment when Coach Kim Yeon-koung gives tactical instructions on the court and the players score points by following them is on a different level from live broadcasts. It vividly shows that women’s volleyball is a “strategic sport” and that the outcome of the game depends on how well the players follow the intense mental battles of the coaches. Of course, since sports variety shows are not live broadcasts, these processes are edited like sports-themed movies, creating more dramatic stories. It’s like a volleyball animation movie such as *Haikyuu!!*. While showing the game, they fill in the preparation processes leading up to the moment a point is scored with flashbacks. This is why the impact of a single point itself changes.
The result of sports variety shows armed with the reality of sports itself, not just entertainment, surprisingly changes reality. The growing Wonder Dogs achieved their team goal of a 50% win rate by defeating the professional integrated runner-up team, Red Sparks, during the 2024-2025 season. Additionally, cases of players achieving their goal of returning to professional and corporate teams continued. Retired player Lee Na-yeon joined Pink Spiders, and Kim Hyun-jung also started playing as a corporate volleyball player for Suwon City Hall Volleyball Team last September. Above all, the fan base for women’s volleyball has surged. For the last in-person game of this season, about 10,000 people applied within three days, resulting in a sold-out case.
The example of sports variety shows influencing sports itself dates back to KBS’s “The Joy of Ssireum,” which aired at the end of 2019. At a time when the golden age of ssireum, represented by Lee Man-ki, Lee Bong-gol, and Kang Ho-dong, was fading into a distant memory, this sports variety show reignited the flame of ssireum through matches between Taebaek- and Geumgang-class ssireum players. By staging it like a survival audition and showing dynamic scenes with multi-angle cameras, a fan base was created. Although the final match was unfortunately canceled on the day of the event due to COVID-19, it achieved the remarkable result of selling out all seats in an instant. Sports variety shows changed to be fan-centric from this point. JTBC’s “A Clean Sweep,” where Coach Kim Seong-geun appeared and created a strong foundation for professional baseball, Coupang Play’s “Shooting Star,” where Choi Yong-su appears as a coach and excites K-League fans, and tvN’s “I Am a Boxer,” which recently started and is re-showcasing the charm of boxing—these sports variety shows are now gathering “fandoms” in the place where sports once excited the nation. Now, these strong fandoms demand more than just sports broadcasts. After all, if sports are for the audience, shouldn’t they accommodate these changes in the audience? It’s time for sports broadcasts to listen to what fans want through sports variety shows.
