Whats with most sports fans???

[FutureSpartan]

I understand if guys genuinely like to watch football, basketball, or whatever interests them, but why do I get the feeling that most guys ONLY watch sports and keep up with sports teams/leagues in order to "fit in" with their guy friends.

I mean, I will see a bunch of average flabby looking dudes that look like they have not picked up a ball in 5+ years talking like they are respected sports analysts. Most of them could not run for 3 minutes without heaving for air, but can spout out statistics, standings, draft picks, favored teams/players, underdogs, rankings, and the such in one breath.

The worst ones are the obnoxious sports fans that yell at the TV screen when their team is losing...but thats a whole another creature.

I personally keep up with a few important games here and there...but I just don't have the time nor the discipline to watch SportsCenter everyday.

I grew up with an immigrant dad that did not have one "sports fan" bone in his body. So does not caring make me wierd or something??

 

[backbreaker]

the older I get the more distant I get from mainstream sports. I will watch horse racing all day long, lol, as i am now. But the only time I watch sportcenter is in the gym.

I made a post like yours about 2 months ago. you are dead on.

 

[Bible_Belt]

I lived in Tampa in the 90's, when the Bucs turned from being orange to being good after 20 years of sucking, and that was a lot of fun. There were Bucs flags and car magnets everywhere. I lived in an apartment complex that would echo with people yelling at the same time at their TVs on Sunday.

Ever since then, it has been a letdown. Other than in a very local way - like going to see the town's high school football team when they are good, or rooting for my local backwater college when they have a good year in basketball, I am not much of a sports fan. We get new kids at mma class all the time who have all the UFC fighter's info memorized in their brain. Sometimes they get puzzled when I don't even know the names of a lot of the fighters...as though being a fan of professionals was in some way related to having skill as an amateur. The fantasy sports people are like that. I think the real fantasy is them deluding themselves that they are doing something other than playing a fantasy game like World of Warcraft. Fantasy sports are like wow for the middle-aged office workers of the world.

 

[FutureSpartan]

I lived in Tampa in the 90's, when the Bucs turned from being orange to being good after 20 years of sucking, and that was a lot of fun. There were Bucs flags and car magnets everywhere. I lived in an apartment complex that would echo with people yelling at the same time at their TVs on Sunday.

Ever since then, it has been a letdown. Other than in a very local way - like going to see the town's high school football team when they are good, or rooting for my local backwater college when they have a good year in basketball, I am not much of a sports fan. We get new kids at mma class all the time who have all the UFC fighter's info memorized in their brain. Sometimes they get puzzled when I don't even know the names of a lot of the fighters...as though being a fan of professionals was in some way related to having skill as an amateur. The fantasy sports people are like that. I think the real fantasy is them deluding themselves that they are doing something other than playing a fantasy game like World of Warcraft. Fantasy sports are like wow for the middle-aged office workers of the world.

so true about the fantasy sports....amusingly those are the same guys that make fun of the WoW players

 

[Deep Dish]

I understand if guys genuinely like to watch football, basketball, or whatever interests them, but why do I get the feeling that most guys ONLY watch sports and keep up with sports teams/leagues in order to "fit in" with their guy friends.

I mean, I will see a bunch of average flabby looking dudes that look like they have not picked up a ball in 5+ years talking like they are respected sports analysts. Most of them could not run for 3 minutes without heaving for air, but can spout out statistics, standings, draft picks, favored teams/players, underdogs, rankings, and the such in one breath.

I don't really watch sports but I think I have your answer: life gets in the way. There are day jobs, night jobs, girlfriends, wives, raising children. There are many things in life we individually may hold genuine interest but time constraints compel us to prioritize and selectively pick which interests or hobbies to actively pursue.

 

[FutureSpartan]

I don't really watch sports but I think I have your answer: life gets in the way. There are day jobs, night jobs, girlfriends, wives, raising children. There are many things in life we individually may hold genuine interest but time constraints compel us to prioritize and selectively pick which interests or hobbies to actively pursue.

Why don't they get in shape and play flag football with their buddies on the weekends instead of sitting in front of a TV all day filling their heads with useless sports info??? IMHO thats a much better use of time and its good for your health.

 

[piranha45]

For the same reason that the remaining half of America is obese, I imagine.

 

[backbreaker]

Why don't they get in shape and play flag football with their buddies on the weekends instead of sitting in front of a TV all day filling their heads with useless sports info??? IMHO thats a much better use of time and its good for your health.

the same reason why guys at the bar would rather go home and jack off thinking about the smoking hot peice of tail than they would to actually talk to her. Becuase it's easier, less stressful, and less demanding.

The american way is simply to do the least amount of work and to get the most possible out of it. Talking about sports all day long, still lets you live your dreams out, while at the same time, having no physical displine whatsoever.

 

[FutureSpartan]

the same reason why guys at the bar would rather go home and jack off thinking about the smoking hot peice of tail than they would to actually talk to her. Becuase it's easier, less stressful, and less demanding.

The american way is simply to do the least amount of work and to get the most possible out of it. Talking about sports all day long, still lets you live your dreams out, while at the same time, having no physical displine whatsoever.

Exactly. I admire sports atheletes for what they do, all the hard work and training they perform to stay at their peak. So my MO is that they do a good job inspiring me to want to get in top shape (Just joined a kickboxing class) myself.

I dont think their idea of inspiring people was to spawn a nation of armchair quarterbacks and point-guards.

 

[speed dawg]

While I don't see why what others do with their time irks you so badly, I understand what you're saying. Radio, TV, everywhere, these talking heads, who probably got cut from their high school sports teams, and probably have a journalism degree or something (ie Jim Rome), sit up there and talk like they know what the fvck is going on. They act like they know better than the coaches how to run a sports program and win games. THAT amazes me. What amazes me more is that alot of morons listen to them and give respect for their opinions. Usually stupid out of shape suburban white guys.

I follow my college's sports teams because I enjoy it, the atmosphere and all. I don't let it run my life because the only thing I can do about it is decide whether or not I want to donate money to the Athletic Department. Sports events are social events as much as anything else too.

 

[theunflushables]

The only reason I don't go out and play the sport I love is I don't have an F1 race car.

 

[user43770]

I don't like watching sports. People who enjoy keeping up with sports statistics are lazy and insecure blah blah. More people should exercise blah blah.


Y'all sure are a high and mighty bunch. Why should anybody have to justify an interest in sports?

 

[FutureSpartan]

I don't like watching sports. People who enjoy keeping up with sports statistics are lazy and insecure blah blah. More people should exercise blah blah.


Y'all sure are a high and mighty bunch. Why should anybody have to justify an interest in sports?

Unless you just chose to ignore the sentence in my post...i will repeat myself. There is nothing wrong with being genuinely interested in a sport(s). My friends dad is a big Vols fan (and yes he is from Tennessee) but he is just one of those guys that does not yell at the TV screen or constantly bring up stats unless it just happens to come up in conversation. I just find that guys who always feel the need to impress people about their vast sports trivia knowledge annoying.

You get a group of guys doing this and it almost looks like a bunch of women recaping American Idol or their favorite soap opera.

And frankly it does not bother me much if they want to do this, its a free country. I just choose to not associate with them for that reason.

 

[Jesus]

A lot of people are overly obsessed with it. Following the minutia of the sports world, all the statistics etc, and becoming so emotionally involved in the performance of "your team" indicates you need to rearrange some priorities.

 

[Corona]

Because being a sports nerd is more socially acceptable than being a sci-fi nerd.

 

[user43770]

I just find that guys who always feel the need to impress people about their vast sports trivia knowledge annoying.

It's a fantasy sports thing. Sometimes I ramble on without even realizing it. It's not that I'm trying to impress anyone, just that I assume that everyone is as interested as I am.

 

[Deep Dish]

Why don't they get in shape and play flag football with their buddies on the weekends instead of sitting in front of a TV all day filling their heads with useless sports info??? IMHO thats a much better use of time and its good for your health.

As one grows older and accrues more responsibilities, such as raising children or keeping up a home, life often still gets in the way during the weekends, as the weekends are often the only time to get things done. Even for those who keep their responsibilities to a minimum, like myself, it becomes increasingly difficult to find anyone with time and it's hard enough to coordinate schedules. It certainly is admirable for those who do league sports at their local park but not doing so is not indicative of feigned interest in professional sports.

So, yes, perhaps they should get out more and their health surely would benefit, but I want to bring another dude into this discussion. What about all the athletic guys who stay in shape, hit the gym, but don't actually play football? Are they also "faking" interest just to "fit in with the guys?"

 

[piranha45]

Clearly, they must be; let us heap scorn and ridicule upon them.

 

[STR8UP]

Go back in history and you will see the Romans did the same thing with the gladiators, the Greeks had their games before that, and I'm sure even before there was recorded history this stuff was being acted out in one form or another.

Never understood the attraction personally. I'm the kind of guy that gets annoyed when people start yelling at the tv too.

I have a theory about this.

I think that people who are cooped up in a non-competitive work environment are more likely to be the die hard fanatics of team sports. guys that drive trucks and forklifts and especially guys who have monotonous factory jobs and such need an outlet.

Guys like me don't get an adrenaline rush watching sports on tv. My sport is business. I get my competitive rush every day of the week. I don't have to go home on the weekends and live vicariously through some dude or a bunch of dudes I've never even met. I mean, c'mon. If your brother or cousin is on the field it's one thing, but why do you "like" a team just because you live in their home town?

I will say one thing though. although I don't follow the NBA, I get free tickets pretty frequently and I LOVE a good basketball game in person. I also like the MMA fights and will even watch them on TV.

But for me it's different. I have no desire to follow the day to day stuff. I want to go, be entertained, then go home and forget about it. It isn't a community or social bonding experience for me to be part of a group that follows that stuff closely.

 

[user43770]

What about all the athletic guys who stay in shape, hit the gym, but don't actually play football? Are they also "faking" interest just to "fit in with the guys?"

Everyone knows it's easier to fit in with the guys by actually playing sports, dummy. God forbid futurespartan starts talking about kickboxing.