Let me get this fact out of the way: I love sports. In fact, there aren't many sports that I don't follow. And, when there is a chance of a record being broken or a milestone achieved, it certainly has my attention.
Why is it that we cheer on horses who have a chance to win the Triple Crown? Why is it we enjoy a pitcher throwing a perfect game, a hockey player completing the hat trick or a golfer winning all four majors?
It's because there are levels of excellence that spectators and fans like to see people and teams accomplish. More importantly, athletes in any sport understand what they must do to be successful. Whether it is a collegiate player striving to advance to professional sports or a professional athlete aiming to win awards and eventually elected to their respective hall of fame, they know the statistics and the data they must compete against and excel above. In fact, their professions are driven by data and wins.
Likewise, firefighters are often compared to professional athletes due to the physical demands of the profession. We have training camps that we call recruit schools. We have strength and conditioning expectations, as our performance is mission critical, not award critical.