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Alexis Ohanian, at his first-ever track and field event, found himself transported. In seats close enough to feel the tension, he was back on edge, equally stressed and thrilled, as he used to be at Serena Williams tennis matches. Instead of a box at Wimbledon, this time he was at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon for last month’s U.S. Olympic trials. Instead of living and dying with his wife’s every serve and groundstroke, he was agonizing as Gabby Thomas made the turn into the final home stretch.
He’d never been to an NWSL match before buying and founding Angel City Football Club. So he didn’t need to experience track to spark his motivation to invest in track. But sitting next to Thomas’ boyfriend, Spencer McManes, he felt that feeling again. The gripping drama. The fierceness of the competition. The brewing of excellence.
“Seeing in person, it was a little bit of Grand Slam PTSD,” Ohanian said. “It was a fountain of stories, a fountain of storylines, a fountain of drama in those trials. So I definitely was spoiled to have that be my very first. But it also opened my eyes … and reinforced the idea this is a huge opportunity.”
If Ohanian, the founder of Reddit, knows…
