Do "Nerds" Not Enjoy Sports, Or Just Not Mainstream Ones?

[InaquiTheArgentinian]

im from argentina (dhu) and i must say even so i dont "like" futbol (football or soccer if youare american and fat [ZP reference dont hate]) i do really enjoy playing it and seeing the world cup, i don't know why maybe its genetic, or maybe is the fact even so i dont enjoy sports as a phisical activitie (i really like to swim) i do like then as social activities

 

[lacktheknack]

Watching sports is lame.
Playing sports is fun.

Nail'd it.

I'm bored to tears by televised sports, excepting the occasional Olympic game. Gym class was fun, though (if not a bit humiliating).

 

[WickedFire]

I don't mind watching sports, though if there's something more interesting to do I'll be doing that instead. I don't follow them religiously, if fact when watching football I usually support the team that isn't part of the Chelsea school of diving.

I enjoy playing some sports with friends, football, field hockey many years ago, volleyball, table tennis among others. Wasn't a big fan of playing on any actual school teams, mainly because there was a group of what I guess would be called Jocks, who were, to say it almost politely, C-bombs.

Interestingly enough when playing with friends it always seems to descend into a near bloodsport. The amount of times I took a volleyball to the face...

 

[funnydude6556]

So I suppose that despite being an active, popular, social individual, the fact that I pay video games makes me a nerd.

The term is an anachronism if you ask me, but the answer to your question is that yes, I do like sports, I like Fencing and Kung Fu.

Mainstream sports rather bore me.

Who called you a nerd for playing video games? Takes more then that to be a nerd.

 

[Kyber]

I'm a huge nerd and I love Football and Ice Hockey, well i only like Ice Hockey when my country plays it.

 

[SadakoMoose]

I've never understood the aversion to sports within the nerd/geek subculture. I mean I see it as just another thing to geek out with. I love looking at the stats of my favorite baseball players, and comparing them to what ever team they happen to be playing. I love looking at the different possible trades the teams I support might be able to do, and hypothisise which would be more beneficial.

I personally enjoy [American] Football, baseball, wrestling (real wrestling, none of that fake shit), and hockey. My teams are the Mariners, and the Seahawks, and I'm trying to decide on a hockey team. I like Vancouver, in part because geographically, they are the closest, but they have been quite good the last few years, and suddenly becoming a fan would seem like I was bandwagoning them.

Also, MMA and hockey are both mainstream, so don't act like you're somehow different than everyone else.

Well, for one point. I'd disagree with you about pro wrestling, namely because of things like this:
That's just me. I may not enjoy North American Football or Baseball, but I certainly wouldn't call them shit, because I can respect the athleticism that goes into them. Even if I disagree with the politics of football, or the sort of racketeering that's par for the course in baseball/boxing.

Yeah, you know what, that doesn't really hurt, unless you actually fuck up. 95% of that shit doesn't actually hurt, nor does it take any great feat of strength to pull off. Its a fucking soap opera with stage fighting, get over it.

Well, I tried not to cause any hard feelings, but I guess that just wasn't do-able.
I genuinely disagree with your assessment that pro wrestling doesn't normally hurt, because it kind of does. Despite what some people believe, there is no spring under there. It's basically a plank of wood, supported by steel beams, and covered in about two inches of padding and canvas. When you see someone "bounce" a bit, it's from the natural give of the structure.

Yes, it does hurt to fall on that thing, and yes it does take a great physical effort to do that sort of stuff safely. More than just having watched pro wrestling for around a decade now, I've been personally involved as a fan and aspiring wrestler myself. So I've said what I have based largely on first hand experience, not from just shouting at somebody because they disagree with me.

Again, I'm not sure what I said to illicit such an angry response. You seem personally offended at the notion that someone would either like of defend pro wrestling, almost like I've somehow insulted you by expressing my opinion.

 

[cerealnmuffin]

I have no interest in sports, but I do love running. I grab my mp3 player and disappear for an hour and a half.^^ I'm up to 34 miles a week (under 8 min a mile). I just am not a competitive person and don't see the fun in watching other people play, especially when people's self worth seems to rely on how well "their" team plays.

 

[Musette]

I was never really crazy about sports myself, and I go to quite a football-crazed college, go figure. I'm very uncompetitive, so most attempts to engage me playing or watching a sport never seems to engage me (which is also why I don't really play multiplayer games either). I enjoy the occasional recreational sport, but not much beyond that.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

I love to play sports even though I'm only good at a few of them. My problem is watching sports.

Playing sports can be a lot of fun, the feeling of winning or doing something good it was pleasing. To have people applaud for something you've done or be impressed by the team your on is great. You know you put effort, time, mind and body into it. You earned it. It is the exact same feeling I get from playing video games.

Now watching sports feels like the exact opposite. You don't do anything. You just watch. I would say you support your team by rooting for them, but they don't know that unless you go to their games so thats out for me. And even then saying "we" won seems disrespectful. It would be like J.K. Rowling writing the Harry Potter series with her best friend cheering her the whole time, praising her work. Then when it comes to publishing saying wow "we" did a great job didn't we. It just seems wrong, like your stealing credit. For the same reason I do my best not to say "we" won WWII or "we" fucked up Iraq. No, I didn't fight for my country so I don't deserve to include myself in such an event.

Also watching a sports game feels like watching someone play a video game. Its ok, but I'd rather be playing myself.

 

[Johnny Impact]

On that line of logic, nothing matters except the survival of the human race.

Difference being, I would never expect a random stranger to have read the Harry Dresden books, nor would I give him a funny look and tell him it was unacceptable not to have read them. No matter what enemies Harry faces in the next book, or how he overcomes them, those books don't add one jot in the grand scheme of things.

At least once a month, a sports fan talks to me as if I am missing out on world-shaping events -- or better yet, as if I am defective for not liking what they like. That arrogance has got to go.

 

[Frostbite3789]

I personally enjoy hockey. I'm trying to decide on a hockey team. I like Vancouver, in part because geographically, they are the closest, but they have been quite good the last few years, and suddenly becoming a fan would seem like I was bandwagoning them.

Also, MMA and hockey are both mainstream, so don't act like you're somehow different than everyone else.

The Philadelphia Flyers are always open to accepting new converts.
And true, they are mainstream, however, depending on your location, you're unlikely to hear people shooting the breeze on Georges St. Pierre or Demetrius Johnson, but are far more likely to hear people talking about the Lakers, or the Cowboys, or whoever.

Flyers? What are those? What sport is that? THERE'S NO HOCKEY. WHAT HOCKEY? NEVER HEARD OF IT. *Quiet sobbing noises, whilst cursing the NHL and NHLPA can be heard*

 

[PersonalRiot]

Why watch a sport when you can go outside and play it.

 

[Storm Dragon]

Sports fans are just another kind of nerd. I'd go into more detail, but MovieBob has already taken care of that for me.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/2522-A-Nerd-By-Any-Other-Name

 

[Yopaz]

I like a lot of people who aren't actually nerds I just never had any interest in sports besides playing it. Just like I don't have interest in watching people play games. I have come to enjoy some sports with time (I was looking at 2 different screens during the Olympics in order to catch as much as possible). I like skiing to some degree too which is probably as mainstream as it gets though.

All in all though to answer your question. Nerds aren't a homogeneous group where everyone likes the same things just because they are described with the same word.

 

[evilengine]

Yeah, I am pretty much a nerd. I can gossip about Star Wars, I obsess over video games and the Simpsons, I spend most of my time on the computer, or looking at forums on video game reviewing websites...ahem.

Unlike your common or garden nerd though, there's a few sports I enjoy. I used to play badminton, though I've fallen well out of practice. I also like PingPong, when I get someone else to play with or find a table. Bowling, if that counts. Swimming and cycling in the summer time, and walking I guess. I don't enjoy sports games that much, I remember playing FIFA back in the mid 90's on our windows95, but only about once, I don't really play WiiSports all that much.

 

[Genocidicles]

I dislike most sports, because I dislike things I am not good at.

I don't mind playing a bit of cricket, rugby or badminton, but I'd never watch them on TV.

 

[Fijiman]

There is only one sport I truly enjoy; Grifball.

 

[Zyst]

I like Sports to a degree, but the only sport I actually enjoy watching is American Football, sadly, it's not THAT popular in Mexico but you can get the channels for a small fee. But the only sport I follow fervently is DotA 2 tournaments, I spend around an hour or three a day watching DotA 2 games and I love it, I love watching it and I love playing it.