blktour

So I finally came to you folks for this.

I like to go to bars and hang out once in a while, or even to a friends house, and when i see a big screen TV, all they play is FOOTBALL, BASKETBAL, whatever the sport for the season is. there it is.

I personally get put to sleep with sports. I never understood glorifying another man when his JOB is to run with a ball. I am a determined person and if i ever chose to do this type of thing, i feel that i will be decent, and be able to hold my own.

now my gripe is that once people talk to me about sports, i know who they are talking about somewhat but if i dont, i tell them i dont know why Kobe Bryant is so "talked about".

I understand that he is a great basketball player, but when i was growning up, my father told me that "there will always be someone bigger and badder than the next guy".

with this said. why do we idolize over them so much?

sports to me is a "waste of time".

if i dont watch any sports, does that make me "less of a man?" i know i dont feel any less, but if you were to meet me in real life, would you think of me as this?

I like to read, better myself in life, keep the family strong, debate, clean, think about life, read about politics, lend a helping hand, learn about new things in life.

I just wanted to know what you all think of this.

about sports, and people who dont like them, or if sports didnt exist.

Charlatan

I am so with you on this. The only intersection my life has with Professional Sports is when I am out, I hear the sports report or when someone starts nattering about stats and the like.

Don't get me wrong, I like to play some sports and can even get behind the Olympics... but the over-the-top, die die must watch attitude of some to their sport is anathema to me.

I don't think I would want a world without sport, I would just rather see a world that was less interested in Professional Sport and the need tie their identity to their team.

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Zeraph

Yeah, I can't help ya. I get quite bored trying to watch any sport. I've always wondered the same thing. I do like playing sports though. Ironically I probably play more than the die hard fans that love watching it.

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blktour

i like playing basketball but not much now a days, but if you love it so much why not experience it, and not watch it?

is that the lazy american way?

I once went to a buddies house for super bowl night and i fell asleep. haha.

hence, "sports put me to sleep."

onesnowyowl

My boyfriend is not a fan of spectator sports but he's still manly; he would much prefer to play the sports himself. I'm the one who enjoys watching sports out of the two of us. He generally has no clue as to who's who or what's what in the world of sports, with only a couple of exceptions--he loves watching soccer, especially the big international tournaments like the World Cup and the UEFA European Football Championship. Admittedly, I'm not sure if he really loves it on his own or if my obsessive watching of international soccer tournaments has inspired him to be equally into it. I'm also starting to rub off on him when it comes to watching college football.

For me growing up, it was impossible to avoid watching spectator sports/professional sports on television as one of the televisions in my family's house was ALWAYS on sports. My brother would watch SportsCenter before school every morning. My father didn't go to church with us on Sundays; rather, he attended the Church of the National Football League. If you wanted to talk to Dad during the week, you would have to catch him while he was watching CNN Sports Tonight and wait for a commercial break. My brother grew up obsessed with baseball. We're also a family of die-hard Seattle Seahawks fans (if you're a Seahawks fan, you HAVE to be die-hard; their performance through the years is not generally encouraging to more fair-weather fans) and Seattle Mariners fans (same sort of deal, but with Ichiro). I was deeply saddened when they decided to move the Sonics to Oklahoma City.

I will never be into professional sports to the degree my brother is, but I'm okay with that. He's memorized more stats than anyone else I know. I really don't need all those stats floating around in my head when he's just a phone call away.

I'm not a big fan of professional sports beyond my hometown sports teams--the Seahawks and the Mariners. I follow my college football team--the Oregon State Beavers. I really enjoy college football in general and look forward to fall for the prospect of getting to watch college games. I also watch the Grand Slam tennis tournaments, particularly the French Open and Wimbledon, with relish. I love the Olympics for their variety of sport; generally when it comes to watching them I gravitate to the events that feature athletes that aren't necessarily famous professionals. As I mentioned before, I also really love international soccer, and typically cheer for the Netherlands (Go Oranje!). I don't idolize these people, but I do enjoy watching them compete. And while I do enjoy teasing my boyfriend for not knowing who Peyton Manning is, I wouldn't do the same to another person.

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Jozrael

Do e-sports count? And is Manning that dude on all the insurance commercials now?

Amaras

Look, I think the fact that you don't like watching sports is fine. Doesn't make you any less of a "man". What you defined as your interests defines you as quite an ideal man, in my opinion!
BUT (you knew it was coming) I do. Not always, and not all sports.
Actually, it's ironic that I grew up in Montreal and didn't like hockey. Don't watch it, don't play it.
But I grew up playing football, rugby, soccer, basketball, swim team, volleyball, handball, water polo, and tennis.
I have played 56 seasons of organized team sport seasons'.
I have been a captain of several of these seasons, in different sports.
I like watching football some lazy Sundays (2 out of 3 I'll watch 2 hours maybe).
World Cup Soccer once every four years.
Hey it's harmless, it's fun (for me), and I'm a fan of certain teams so it makes me feel like I'm part of something.
If it's a choice between ending worldwide poverty or sports, goodbye sports.
Of course, it ain't just guns or butter. There is waay more to it than that.

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LoganSnake

I hate it when people talk about men having to watch "the game". I've never watched "the game" in my life and really don't think I've missed anything.

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ASU2003

I watch a few sports, but not that much. I'm not a huge fan and don't really know too many names. College football is fun to watch during the bowl season or if ASU is playing. I usually get behind teams more than certain players (playoffs in hockey, superbowl, world series in baseball).

But I don't have a problem watching any sport on TV besides basketball. It's the one sport that I just am not a fan of.

dlish

i love sport and sport has been a large part of my life ever since i was a kid.

everyone has goals...some people collect cars for hobbies..others get their motivation from doing sport, some other get their inspiration from watching it.

i dont see the problem with people watching or playing sport, as much as someone watching Greys Anatomy.

you may also find that people involved in sport are more likely to be healthy, and more driven than couch potatoes.


my question to you is...why cant you do all that you like doing AND watch/play sport? a balance is always good.

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Willravel

I tried to get into hockey a few years ago (among other sports foreign to the US, which dlish can attest to), but it just didn't feel right. Spectating isn't for me.

Playing? More fun, but I'll admit that it's the camaraderie and exercise that interest me, not the sport.

dlish

try rugby. nothing better than having mud all over you after a tough slugfest and having a drink with the boys. now thats comraderie!

__________________
An injustice anywhere, is an injustice everywhere
"Romance is never having to apologize for getting it in her hair" - World's King

Willravel

Oh hell yeah, I play rugby as often as I can (which unfortunately isn't that often). I also play soccer, basketball, water polo, and even tennis. I still do boxing, wrestling, and martial arts, too. I don't watch any of them, though.

QuasiMondo

Sports is the greatest form of reality television. It makes its own drama. It's all about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

I think oversimplifying what an athelete does contributes to your lack of appreciation of a sports entertainment value. You understand that Koby is a great basketball player, but you don't follow basketball enough to understand why people think he's one of the greatest players ever. There's more to sports than just running (unless it's track and field, but even those events involve more than running). It's part chess match, part stare-down, part pressure cooker. Who steps up in the big moment, who folds under pressure. It's those elements and much more.

Why do we admire a particular player or team? Different reasons. Some admire a player based on talent alone (like Kobe). Others admire a player because he gets by on grit and effort to make up for talent (like Cal Ripken, Jr.). Still, others like a player because he relies on intelligence and wits to make up the former two (like Chad Pennington). It's true that there's always going to be somebody greater than that player, but how often will that somebody come along? Look at how long it took the NBA to find it's next Michael Jordan (and think about how many people came and went that everybody proclaimed was going to be the next Michael Jordan). Great atheletes don't come by as often as we think they do.

In the grand scheme of things, he's not out there saving the world. He's just making it a bit more fun to live in.

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skizziks

I don't care about sports at all, except for cycling. I watch the Giro d' Italia and the Tour de France and the Vuelta d' Espania when I can, and I cheer for everyone and love to watch them push themselves to the limit, I love the drama and excitement of the rolling soap opera. Other than that, I can appreciate sport, we need to have it for entertainment and all, but I have no idea what is happening in football, basketball, baseball, etc.

The sport fan I pity/look down on the most is the guy (I know at least three of them) living out his high school glory days vicariously through the pros, the guy who stands in front of the tv, with his team's jersey on, cheering them on, possibly a football in his hand (I have actually seen this). When you ask how the game went, he says "WE lost/won." No dude, THEY lost/won, you watched them. (I confess I sometimes imagine I'm in the tour when I'm out riding my bike, climbing a huge hill, I imagine I'm fighting for the king of the mountain jersey)

You are in no way "less of a man" because you don't follow a game. I'd rather be not so much a man and not know a damn thing about a sport than to be that pathetic guy who is so obsessed he can't let it go.

Eweser

I'm actually the sport watcher in my family. My husband likes sports, but he doesn't watch as often as me. I grew up with sports, whether it was organized or on the playground. I've recently, well, the past few years, fallen in love with Rugby. I really don't have a favorite team, except for maybe the LA Angels (of Anaheim ). My friend plays outfield for them. When I was growing up I had a favorite player in each baseball (Cal Ripken Jr), football (Dan Marino), and basketball (Larry Bird). But I didn't idolize those guys. I have a problem with that. If a sports figure also works hard for charity, that's the reason to put them on a pedestal. Not for carrying a ball for 100 yards a game.

I don't think you have to watch sports to be a man. I've known many a "man" that is a die hard sports fan that doesn't contribute a positive thing to society.

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blktour

well I accept the sports and all and i liked to play a nice pick up game, or a small organized game to have fun and drink after the game type of deal, but what I am talking about are those fans that act as if I am a peice of nothing, if i don't know who Kobe Bryant is.
I know who he is but it's hard not to, since the news will play that all day.

I am more of changing the way it is brought to us. not use manliness, fame, fortune and the rest of that i see to program in our brains the sport.

how about we take away sports, and people teach us how to be great people and help one another and learn to like it, so that when we get older, we think its FUN to help one another, and read, and learn, and be nice to people.

wouldnt you like to see FOXNEWS or CNN or any other news station have a "Monday Night Science Project" or whatever the likes are. (as you can tell I am not very creative.)

alot of you will say that this is "boring" since you are use to watching sports.

It is all in the mind if you ask me. the time i fell asleep at the superbowl, i felt bad since i was a guest in his house and I didnt want to make him feel as if he was a boring host, though i dont think he would have thought that, since he was very much in the game, so after half-time I got more into the game, and tried to learn names and watch random things like mess ups, or replays or what have you.

I plan to do my part that is for sure. When I have kids, I will not put them in sports, but I will try my hardest to make reading, learning, helping, cleaning, talking, family, fun.

I am sure it will be hard for me and the wife since we are surrounded everyday by people who idolize over others, when all they do is play.

does anyone idolize over writers, scientists, good noble people, and the news surrounding them?


this is where I am getting at.

those of you who play/watch sports.

what would you do if there weren't any sports?

World's King

Sports have always been a part of my life. But it wasn't till a few years ago that I really started paying attention. I was going through a tough time in my relationship at the time and basketball helped me escape. The Denver Nuggets seriously saved my life.

It was a reason to get out of the house and get away from the war that was going on. It got my mind off of everything for a few hours. Now when I'm feeling trapped or 'down' I turn on ESPN and everything melts away.

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onesnowyowl

Wait a sec--what if your kid wanted to participate in sports? What if they wanted to play soccer or take swimming lessons? Is it really a good idea to say no to that? Sports teach kids how to play fair, how to follow rules, how to work with others to achieve a common goal, and they help to keep kids fit and healthy. Certainly, there are other activities that can take the place of sports, but most are solo pursuits. Ballet, for instance, is a physically active endeavor, but it does little to teach the things that playing a sport does. You cannot beat sports for the socialization aspect of a childhood activity.

An example: A child I did afterschool care for last school year played teeball last spring. He loved it! He had always been unsure of himself before and awkward around other kids, but going to teeball and associating with his teammates taught him a lot about socializing casually outside of a school environment. He gets along better with other kids now as a result, in and out of school. This in turn gave him a lot more confidence and self-esteem beyond the teeball setting.

If a child wishes to play sports, they should be allowed to do so. It's to their detriment if they're kept from participating.

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blktour

well if he so chooses yes. but I will not say, "my son/daughter will play (insert sport)".

you know those people who want to "push" their kids to play since they didnt get to play when they were younger?

it is funny how people think there is only one way to do something.

I do agree with them learning something from sports with the right mind in it.

but sports is not the only thing on this planet that will teach them this.

I have a LARGE family, and we are GREAT with people and our social skills are very good also, but we never played sports. did it hurt us? no.

you can use sports to teach things in life, but if you dont. they will be ok also.

skizziks

Hell yeah. how many people have gonzo tattoos because of Hunter S. Thompson? How many people have a picture of Alfred Einstein (yes, I did that on purpose) or that Beethoven guy on a desk or a wall or a t-shirt? It's just the circle you are in.

Go to a comic book convention and mention Warren Ellis and you will see how many people idolize a writer.

canuckguy

Sports are just another activity people watch/participate in that helps fill the time. Maybe yours is reading, gardening or murdering. We all enjoy some type of activity we get pleasure from I think to some degree.

I am a huge sports nut, reading my daily fill of online sites, stats and watching my team every chance I get. I realize I am not the 10th man, nor can I affect the outcome of the game from my couch. It is just something I do that I enjoy that hurts nobody.

Playing sports is much better than watching, I cycle daily and watch all the big tours and classics. Pick up hockey is my winter time vice and gets me out and active with friends and gets your mind off the day. Good times.


I have no idea why people would not enjoy sports as the possibles are endless, maybe a bad experience as a child or an overbearing parent...etc. I could see the world without sports, in fact I kind of wish there was no professional sports just so I could feel better with some of these premadonna athletes having to do some real work for a living....

onesnowyowl

Of course I idolize writers over athletes; I have an English degree!

The point I was trying to make is that yes, you can engage in other activities that have the same benefits as sports, but you have to participate in multiple activities to gain the same benefit that a single sport provides in socialization, discipline, learning respect, learning responsibility, and physical fitness.

And no, I don't know any parents who forced their children into sports. I generally don't associate with people like that. Most parents I know let their children choose what they want to choose in regards to activities. Invariably children usually choose to participate in at least one athletic activity.

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dlish

my kids' going to play tennis and golf 5 days a week from the age of 5.

who said anything about obsessed parents??

__________________
An injustice anywhere, is an injustice everywhere
"Romance is never having to apologize for getting it in her hair" - World's King

guy44

Hey, if sports aren't for you, that's cool. Most of my friends don't care at all about sports. And I can see how, if you don't care about sports, it can be annoying to live in a world where sports are impossible to ignore. I think the best solution is to just deal with it - it's what I do with reality TV, for example. I can't stand reality TV for even a second, but many people I know watch it and want to talk about. I just deal.

I'm a huge baseball fan, and can occasionally get into football, soccer, basketball, and tennis. I think the reason I enjoy sports is that it provides an entertaining, unpredictable outlet. I love scripted entertainment, but sports allows for the truly unknowable to occur. Competition is exciting (ever played a video game?), and watching people who are truly excellent at what they do compete can be a real pleasure. Rooting for a team is like an ongoing, neverending experience in which you get to enjoy highs and lows and a common topic of discussion with thousands of other people. It's communal. Just today, walking around campus wearing my Cubs cap, I had two discussions with people I barely know about the team (I'm not in Chicago at the moment). One, a fellow Cubs fan, commiserated with me over the playoffs and we compared our experiences from the Cubs' recent failing years. Being a sports fan is like sharing an instant bond with folks.

I don't expect those who don't care about sports to start caring, but I think its also wrong to dismiss sports as fluff or unworthy of our attention.

Update:

I'm reminded of