Are you A Closeted Sports Fan?

[Frezzato]

Strange, I think I'm starting to like baseball. All my life I've hated sports; not because of the physical activity, I just didn't like other kids. It was always "Me! Me! Look at me!" from other kids when I was growing up, and I never saw the 'team' in team sports. This even extends to online multiplayer in games.

Naturally, this seclusion led to my love of cycling, which is kind of an individual effort (sort of), but again, I always wound up in a bike store where everyone thought they were the local Lance Armstrong (or Miguel Indurain) and that's where my enthusiasm would end. I would just continue riding and avoid talking to other people (it was mostly guys) who would pride themselves based on how much their components cost or some bullshit argument between whether Shimano or Campagnolo was best.

Strange thing is, I have a pretty good throwing arm, always have. I can decently throw a baseball or football, and I can REALLY sling a Frisbee straight, far and fast. Like dangerously fast. But again, if it involves people other than my close friends, I'm not interested.

I've recently started watching videos on YouTube of cool baseball plays and I have to admit I'm intrigued. I might start watching more games and learning about teams. I've been told that baseball is very much a playground for people to learn statistics. It's a bit late in life for me, but hell, it's basically the same as watching television so I'm not worried. I might have to change my stupid joke about enjoying sports ("I love women's volleyball!") to something a bit more mature I'm afraid.

Anyone else here just suddenly grow interested in organized sporting events, even if just to watch? It could be anything from auto racing (I already thought rally racing was cool as hell) to, I dunno, badminton.

 

[SupahEwok]

I don't play Starcraft 2, but every few months I sink an evening or two watching a bunch of matches. Couldn't tell you why.

Any feelings I might have had in me for football was ground out of my soul by the decline and eventual complete embarrassment my high school's football team became. And I was there every step of the way, cuz I was in the marching band and had to attend every shitty game. My junior year we competed in what I called the Toilet Bowl (competing for the lowest ranking in the district), and won. It was our team's only win that year.

Next year we competed in it again and lost.

And those jocks still strutted around school like they were fucking hot stuff.

So yeah. I don't really give a shit about team sports. I'll sometimes tune in for individual stuff. I used to do martial arts and am trying to get back into it. Only person in martial arts you have to rely upon is yourself. You don't have to be dragged down into failure by anybody other than you, and you don't have to share success beyond yourself. My performance is all up to me, win or lose, and that's how I like it.

I'm considering watching MMA but don't really know where to start, and there's nobody around who I'd want to watch it with, which is half the fun of spectating.

 

[Frezzato]

Yes! That's exactly it, knowing where to begin. This is a stretch but I've always felt that way about comic books too. Growing up I never fully understood the significance of John Byrne's work for the X-Men and the whole Phoenix Saga. I've only read a bit thanks to some insistent friends but that was just this year, not from when I was a kid.

I've been the unfortunate bystander of some sports-related conversations and more than once I heard someone lamenting over how some fans just drop their team because they stopped winning. Everyone wants to be associated with a winner I guess.

Do you think that if your football team had been more successful that you'd be a football fan today? Or was it the arrogance of the players (your classmates) that turned you away from it?

 

[SupahEwok]

A little of everything. I didn't care for organized sports much in the first place, but I could at least get caught up in the hype of those around me, you know? Live through them a little, be a part of the beast of the crowd.

When your team is incompetent though (like, for reals, none of that "they're the lovable underdog scamps who never make it big but they try their damnedest", I mean they just suck), the hype doesn't have anything to feed on. It becomes hollow, and grating. If you've got personal feelings attached to the proceedings, then you can cheer no matter what, but if you're not, then you need something to hook onto. When you aren't given anything, then you're just wasting every Friday or Saturday evening (or the much dreaded Thursday evening games, when you still have school the next day) watching some guys you don't care about get creamed, and that loses entertainment value within an hour.

Freshman and sophomore year were better. Freshman year they were actually genuinely good and fun to watch. Sophomore year they were starting to fall off a bit, but during one of our marching band contests, the big one, a group of players drove themselves out to cheer us on, and damned if that wasn't touching. Those guys were classy and I ain't got any complaints about them. Most of the guys that came after them were entitled jerks, though. The ones I met, anyway.

Anyways, before being subjected to two seasons of the worst football on the planet, I could at least have a good time with friends watching a game. Now my tolerance is just burnt out. If I'm gonna watch two sides hit each other, I might as well watch SC2 since that at least has pretty explosions.

Oh, and this thread reminded me of a video someone linked to me earlier today. Can't find that video, but here's another:


Now, I might be biased, due to my area of study involving drones and the fact that I'm currently playing a Rigger in a Shadowrun game, but Drone Racing looks awesome! I might actually get into it myself, that day the heavens open up and I'm showered with money.

 

[Zhukov]

I loved Aussie rules football as a kid. Lost interest somewhere during my teens.

These days my interest in sports is confined to martial arts. I train and attend lessons myself, but have no intention of competing beyond friendly sparring.

I watch a bit of MMA on youtube. Mostly one of the Asian tournaments. The American stuff has an ugly culture around it.

Dunno about "closeted". I've never felt the need to shout it from the rooftops, but I'll tell anyone who asks.

 

[Hazy992]

I'll check out a bit of MMA now and then and I'll watch the World Cup but that's about it.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

Would not call myself a fan so much as a dabbler. I still keep up with the sports teams (NFL: Saints, MLB: Cubs) my grandpa does. It makes for an ok conversation topic and a source of jokes when his teams are not performing very well. I can enjoy watching them most of the time, but typically only in short bursts. Interestingly enough, I've generated a slight interest for watching professional wrestling now. But that's not really a sport in the traditional sense, of course.

 

[Elijin]

Only on internet message boards would one feel like being a sports fan needs to be closeted.

Naturally, this seclusion led to my love of cycling, which is kind of an individual effort (sort of), but again, I always wound up in a bike store where everyone thought they were the local Lance Armstrong (or Miguel Indurain) and that's where my enthusiasm would end. I would just continue riding and avoid talking to other people (it was mostly guys) who would pride themselves based on how much their components cost or some bullshit argument between whether Shimano or Campagnolo was best.

I like that you could interchange a few key phrases and brands and that paragraph would be just as applicable to gaming, TCGs, Tabletop games, etc etc.

 

[sageoftruth]

Not really. I'll watch sports on TV to indulge friends when I have them over, or when they're having me over, but as Supahewok said, sports aren't that exciting when you're not invested in any of the teams.

On the other hand, I'll happily play sports myself. Tennis, volleyball, racquetball, sparring, or even sports I suck at like basketball. I can get hyped when I'm actually part of the action. I avoid being on official teams however. I play to have fun. None of this winning at all costs crap. A good reason for me to stay the hell away from MOBAs.

 

[KissingSunlight]

Only on internet message boards would one feel like being a sports fan needs to be closeted.

Yeah. I completely agree with you.

I am openly gay about sports. I dress flamboyantly in clothes with team logos on them. I am flaming when I'm watching a big game. I like to spend my weekends in sports bars.

 

[Queen Michael]

I am indeed a closeted sports fan. See, I'm closeted--not out about being into guys-- and I am a sports fan (sumo wrestling, to be precise). So the answer to your question is "yes."

 

[omega 616]

I'm considering watching MMA but don't really know where to start, and there's nobody
around who I'd want to watch it with, which is half the fun of spectating.

Just watch some of the legends fights or recent amazing fighters, people like Anderson Silva, Chuck Liddell, Conor Mcgregor, Nick Diaz, George St Pierre, Matt Hughes.

Or just watch THE legendary match that every MMA fan loves, Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar. Two guys who went through the reality tv show (with like 16 people total), where they fight in a tournament and the winner gets a UFC contract and a million dollars.

The final was between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar, both of them equally skilled, both of them equally wanted it and both of them were exhausted! I think the only keeping them up was passion ... it wasn't a technical fight by any means but you watch it and think "god damn!".


There are technical fighters I could you at, the main one was Anderson Silva who very lately has become a shadow of his former self but before he fought Chris Weidman, he was untouchable! Those two people, Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar, both fought Anderson Silva (who is a weight class lower than these two) and beat them with ease.


I HAVE to say, you might start thinking "this is WAY too violent" and that's the beauty it looks a lot worse than it actually is. You watch boxing and think "they are hitting each other with pillows and when the guy goes down the fighting stops". What you have to remember is, in boxing you can be knocked down 3 times before the fight stops! In MMA it's once! Once that ref stops you fighting, that's it ... so it's so much safer! So much less brain damage.

There are fighters who are like retired boxers but it's so much less, there is Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva, who are the worst but they have been in wars ... unfortunately Wanderlei still fights, he just can't retire.

For me it's about the technique and martial arts, like watching a really good ground guy work his magic and then tap out his opponent or how a striker faints and lays traps etc. It's as close to an anime fight as you can get! They aren't firing Kamehameha's at each other .... well .... they kind of are ...

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I watch the football world cup every 4 years. That's it.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

Well, not exactly, but I spend a lot of time in the gym lifting. While I'm not into organized sports, I do enjoy strength sports because it's a completely individual type of competition (typically), but there's such a strong sense of community and mutual support. I can get behind that. What I don't understand is dogmatic allegiance to teams of people you don't know.

Other than that, I do enjoy the occasional football or baseball game. If someone offered me a ticket to go with them I would definitely say yes.

 

[Avnger]

Closeted? Nope. I love to play and watch football[footnote]American[/footnote] (Here we go Irish!), play basketball, place and watch lacrosse, watch hockey (Go Blackhawks!), and more. I even coach youth basketball and baseball.

I tend to not bring it up on websites such as this one that are populated by mainly gamers and/or 'nerds' though. Too many people seem to have some kind of chip on their shoulder regarding 'jocks' aka anyone who likes sports and/or might play Madden/NHL hockey/NBA hoops; it's honestly rather sad, and I'd prefer not to deal with the comments that would result.

 

[Remus]

Is American Ninja Warrior considered a sport? I like ANW for the same reason I like triathlons. They require similar dedication to compete as other major sports but there aren't the added hoops to jump through, or at least none so readily apparent, as there are for other major sports. No million dollar contracts to sign, no talent scouts coming to your college. Some of the best ANW contestants are walk-ons who stood in line waiting for their opportunity to try out. It's literally something anybody can do. It looks fun and it encourages fitness training in a way that no other sport can, with many of the athletes operating their own gyms in their hometowns, obstacles and all.

 

[Artina89]

I love Ice hockey, and most, if not all people that are acquainted with me tend to know this about me, or they tend to find out very quickly at any rate, and I really like Rugby Union, and as a kid I would go to matches with my dad, and we went to watch Canada vs Italy Rugby match as a birthday present for him last year and I support Arsenal football club, with a soft spot for Bayern Munich. So I wouldn't call myself a closeted sports fan at all.

 

[Kolby Jack]

Not really, in that I don't follow any teams in any sport. I do, however, really enjoy watching hockey games with my Dad. Obviously it's great father-son bonding, but I also enjoy the game. The fact that I don't have to sit outside in the hot sun to watch it helps a lot.

I also watch the Superbowl for the football. I don't typically have stakes in it; I just pick a team arbitrarily or side with one of my parents' teams if they're in it. But I like the game.

And I'm a big wrestling fan, but since sports usually means something competitive and wrestling is not a competition, I don't think it counts. It's generally a lot more fun to watch than any sport though.

 

[Kyrian007]

Closeted? Nope. I love to play and watch football[footnote]American[/footnote] (Here we go Irish!), play basketball, place and watch lacrosse, watch hockey (Go Blackhawks!), and more. I even coach youth basketball and baseball.

I tend to not bring it up on websites such as this one that are populated by mainly gamers and/or 'nerds' though. Too many people seem to have some kind of chip on their shoulder regarding 'jocks' aka anyone who likes sports and/or might play Madden/NHL hockey/NBA hoops; it's honestly rather sad, and I'd prefer not to deal with the comments that would result.

Yeah, another 'Hawks fan! But on topic not really 'in the closet' about it. I don't usually go shouting it around on gaming sites... unless it's on topic. Like a discussion of sports games or something like that, although I really don't like most sports games. I'd rather be spectating or playing when it comes to sports, games usually don't really get it right. Unless highly styleized and spruced up like Super Mario Baseball or just awesome ice hockey like most of EA's NHL games.

But comments and the chip on the shoulder... I weather that and will apologize. I was the jock bully back in school. I shoved "nerds" into lockers, or at least was hanging out with those preppy jock idiots when it was happening. I changed, by the time I was a junior I was playing D&D with those very 'nerds' who welcomed me as a friend and are still my pals to this day. And the preppy jock friends I had, most I wouldn't piss on if they were on fire these days. Maybe its the jock version of "white guilt" or whatever... but I understand why people react like that to sports enthusiasts. And I won't fault them.

 

[sky14kemea]

I think I would make a good closeted sports fan. I enjoy yelling at movies/TV or at the football matches I've been taken too when I was younger.

I just get bored when watching normally, to be honest. If they made "speed rounds" for things like football/tenniss, I'd probably enjoy them a lot more.