The Human Stories Behind the Game—and the Fragrance That Holds Them
[Penned by Read Fragrances' founder and librarian, Mabel Frias]
Few places remain where we are allowed to experience profound emotions together—not politely, quietly, or alone.
The sports arena is one of them.
Across stadiums, public squares, bars, and living rooms, sports create a community of emotions. Hope rises, joy overflows, disappointment stings, and triumph prevails. Without notice or thought, people loosen their inhibitions, sharing hugs with strangers and shedding tears without shame. For a few hours, we are synced—not by politics or religion, but by belief and feeling.
Sports remind us that emotion doesn’t need permission to exist.
In a world that rewards composure and restraint, sports invite the opposite. You’re allowed to shout, grieve a loss that technically doesn’t belong to you, and celebrate a win as if you made the winning play.
The power of this collective emotion stems from the stories underneath it.
Behind every game is a human being who has failed publicly, trained in obscurity, endured injury, navigated loss, and carried pressure long before recognition arrived. Many come from unlikely beginnings, shouldering family expectations and cultural weight, alongside the responsibility of representing something far larger than themselves. These factors cultivate a resiliency that cannot be bought or replicated—it's simply developed in motion.
That’s why major sporting events like the Super Bowl are bigger than the game itself. People from all over the world who may not follow the sport during its regular season tune in for the magic and finality of it all—the shared heartbeat of tuning in with millions of others.
The Super Bowl Halftime Show is not just a 15-minute music break that allows the teams time to prepare for the final half. It's a moment of cultural and emotional significance—wonder and merriment. These moments lodge themselves into collective memory, taking on life forms that transcend the performances themselves.
In 1993, one performance changed everything. Before he sang a single note, Michael Jackson stood still for two minutes. No movement or music—just presence. As medical teams stood by, people screamed, cried, and fainted. The tension from his silence became unbearable, causing hysteria. Millions watching at home felt the weight of the collective emotions through the screen, too. This culturally significant moment wasn’t hype or myth—it was real. It also withstands the test of time. Over three decades later, Michael's performance is still in the top three most viewed Super Bowl Halftime Shows of all time.
More recently, artists have used that same stage to tell stories that travel beyond the stadium. Artists like Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny created performances that shaped narratives around culture and identity. They confronted tenuous socioeconomic and political issues head-on, sparking global discourse. These defining moments shattered social constructs that dictated who gets to be seen, heard, and celebrated on one of the world’s largest stages. They have become reference points in our emotional timelines. And like all stories that move us, they attach themselves not just to memory, but to the senses.
Think about it: the smell of cut grass, the warmth of a crowded living room, and the familiar mix of snacks, jerseys, and anticipation. Long after the second half ends, those scents linger. They become emotional bookmarks—sensory shorthand for togetherness, tension, and joy.
Fragrance works the same way. It anchors feeling, storing emotion without language. A single note can return us instantly to anticipation, heartbreak, or celebration. Just as sports allow emotion to be felt collectively, scent allows it to be remembered individually.
Sports also teach us how to sit with uncertainty. Every game carries risk, yet you invest anyway. You show up in spite of the suspense, tension, and the possibility of disappointment. And you show up knowing there are no guarantees—only presence.
Fragrance mirrors that beautifully. You don’t wear it for certainty, but you wear it for feeling. For some, it's the way it unfolds differently for each person; for others, it's how it shifts over time. Like a game, it’s experienced in real time. Like emotion, it can’t be rushed.
When an athlete breaks down after a win, those tears carry years of sacrifice and unhurried, unseen effort—an emotional journey felt by millions at once. Fragrance does this quietly. It lingers after the moment has passed. Fragrance does not erase emotion—it holds it.
At Read Fragrances, scent is emotional storytelling. Each fragrance is a chapter—meant to mark time, hold feeling, and usher a return to yourself. Just as sports connect us through collective emotion, fragrance connects us through shared human experience.
Behind every jersey is a story, and behind every scent is a memory. And in a world that moves fast and fragments easily, both remind us of something essential: we are all capable of feeling deeply— and together.