Imagine if reading were a big-time spectator sport like boxing or football:

• Nerds would be the jocks.
• The most popular slogan would be, “Just read it.”
• Common advice would include, “Keep your eye on the text.”
• Franchise teams would have names like the Chicago Verbs, Denver Hyphens, Los Angeles Chapters, Mississippi Twains, Dallas Texters, London Haiku, and Philadelphia Lyrical Wonders.
• Fans would come to the big event shirtless and with words written across their chests and cheeks.
• Every tail-gating party would feature poetry recitations.
• The only injuries trainers would need to attend to would be eye soreness and backaches.
• Close plays would be shown again in slow motion on Instant Readplay.
• The umpire would shout, “Read Words,” at the beginning of every game.
• The big game at the end of the season would be called the World Sentences.
• Instead of people spending $100 to watch two guys beat their brains…