The World is Obsessed with Love

We are obsessed with love. Love is not just something that people seek, but something that people are entertained by. Bachelor in Paradise returns to ABC and Hulu in less than a month, but that’s just one television program of dozens that focus on journeys to find love. You have Million Dollar Matchmaker, Love is Blind, Love Island, Farmer Wants a Wife, The Bachelorette, Jewish Matchmaking, Married at First Sight, 90-Day Fiancée, and many more. There are, of course, television programs that totally flop, but others have been renewed season-after-season. The Bachelor started with a single man looking to find love and grew into a franchise with spin-offs such as Bachelor Pad, Golden Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Listen to Your Heart, and even international shows such as Bachelor Canada, Bachelor Japan, and The Bachelor: Love in Paradise in Europe.

The majority of Americans are more likely to tune into a reality dating show that to watch televised poker. You can find reality dating shows on major television networks and platforms such as FOX, Hulu, ABC, and Netflix, but none of them carry televised poker anymore. In fact, to watch the biggest events in poker live you have to subscribe to a specialty streaming platform (PokerGO).

Why are we obsessed with love? Well for one, love is something that goes back to Biblical times. The scripture tells us, in Chapter 7 of Deuteronomy, that God loved his people and for that reason he brought them out of slavery in Egypt and to the Holy Land.

Love is a theme that exists in literature. Hundreds of years ago, before the advent of television, the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare revolves around the story of two people in a forbidden love. 

Of course, not all love is between two people. Some people love money more than they love their own family. “For the love of money, people will rob their own brother,” is a lyric from a song recorded by The O’Jays in 1973. The pursuit and love of money has led to criminality throughout the ages. Whether it is piracy on the high seas, stagecoach robbery in the 1800s, or a modern bank robbery, those who value money above all will do bad things to get it. In the poker world, we’ve heard of angle shooters, cheaters, and outright fraudsters, and sadly they have basically been around since the beginnings of the game.

But we are obsessed with love because it is something we’ve all seen or even personally experienced in our daily lives. In fact, there is often greed for love where people will engage in bad behavior in an effort to find love. For love, people have committed murder. For love, people have lied, cheated, and stole. But, there is often genuine and legitimate true love that exists, which can lead to a lifetime of happiness for some people.

Most people would prefer a lifetime of happiness and prosperity to a lifetime of crime and dishonor. The chance to watch people finding happiness through love is why we are obsessed and entertained by love, and the journey to it, and why people continue to tune in to reality television programs. It’s why on June 7^th, I’ll be watching Bachelor in Paradise as they kickoff another season.

-Matt Soleyn, Senior Reality Television Reporter, Poker Uncensored