Melodramma in un atto

I notice that Cavalleria Rusticana describes itself as "A Melodrama In One Act". I only mention this because football has been called "the opera of the people", and I've always maintained that football (and sport generally) is not a drama so much as a melodrama.

Jack Rosenthal might disagree though. Standing in front of a blackboard depicting a football pitch, he said something like:

"Protagonists trying to score. Antagonists trying to stop them. That's drama."