I don't get it.
- Thread starter GrimTuesday
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I like sports. I just don't like the "alpha male" culture surrounding them, how they tend to let athletes get away with horrible things (but you see that with a lot of people of "high status" anyway), and how crazy the fans can get sometimes. So when I do catch games I get excited and invested I like seeing people play, but I usually try to avoid seeing games.
Now keep in mind I think both geek culture and sports cultures are about equal when it comes to the assholes that inhabit them, but I actually enjoy "geek stuff" more than I do sports.
Now keep in mind I think both geek culture and sports cultures are about equal when it comes to the assholes that inhabit them, but I actually enjoy "geek stuff" more than I do sports.
It's because they're given so much importance in the media even though they don't really matter outside their own context. The front page of newspapers are about big sport events, even though they don't really affect anybody but the players. And I have to wait to watch The Simpsons, since some sports event hasn't finished yet.
I just don't see the appeal in sports. At all. Like football... its just a pack of feral blokes kicking a ball. What's the point? How is that exciting? The worst part is the fans. "Oh no, the ball went this way more than it did that way, now I'm going to have to shout like an animal and punch someone!"
It baffles me, completely. I had to pass through Manchester on Derby day (I think that's what it's called. Basically, there are two teams in Manchester, each with their own tribe of hooligans, and they played each other), and I was fucking terrified. I thought we were going to be murdered just for getting in the way of packs of bleating skinheads.
So that's most of my aversion to sports (ironically, the same thing that is worst about the gaming community) - the fans. Only with sports, its because they're stupid. And loud. And dangerous.
It baffles me, completely. I had to pass through Manchester on Derby day (I think that's what it's called. Basically, there are two teams in Manchester, each with their own tribe of hooligans, and they played each other), and I was fucking terrified. I thought we were going to be murdered just for getting in the way of packs of bleating skinheads.
So that's most of my aversion to sports (ironically, the same thing that is worst about the gaming community) - the fans. Only with sports, its because they're stupid. And loud. And dangerous.
I enjoy sports. I love to watch basketball and American football, some baseball, and the occasional soccer game. They're just fun as either spectator sports or playing them, and if you have a specific team to root for, it makes a game that much more fun to watch.
BTW I fully understand if someone doesn't like sports because they find them boring or whatever, but a lot of arguments I keep seeing against sports are pretty weak. Why watch sports when you could just do a bunch of other more practical things instead? You could easily replace "watch sports" in that question with "watch TV/movies," "play video-games," or "read fantasy novels." It's because you find these other activities entertaining of course.
Or why are sports stars so popular while people who work towards the betterment of society are not? Again, this could be applied to the many writers/directors/actors that work on your favorite films/TV shows (or your favorite singers/bands) and are more well-known than the many scientists of the world. Sports stars are also entertainers and as such of course they're going to be well-known.
Just saying.
BTW I fully understand if someone doesn't like sports because they find them boring or whatever, but a lot of arguments I keep seeing against sports are pretty weak. Why watch sports when you could just do a bunch of other more practical things instead? You could easily replace "watch sports" in that question with "watch TV/movies," "play video-games," or "read fantasy novels." It's because you find these other activities entertaining of course.
Or why are sports stars so popular while people who work towards the betterment of society are not? Again, this could be applied to the many writers/directors/actors that work on your favorite films/TV shows (or your favorite singers/bands) and are more well-known than the many scientists of the world. Sports stars are also entertainers and as such of course they're going to be well-known.
Just saying.
Um... I quite like some sports, I just kind of suck at most of them.
And as James Rolfe said, we're all fucking nerds.
And as James Rolfe said, we're all fucking nerds.
Because I played basketball for SIX FUCKING YEARS! in an attempt to get my parents to notice me as much as they did my more athletic brother and sister, NEVER got any better, and NEVER want to put that much effort into something I hate that much EVER again!
*ahem* Excuse me...got a little flustered there....
Generally, like most others here, I don't find sports that interesting. About the only thing I want to see is an injury on the field...Yeah I said. It's why we watch nascar and hockey, and I just apply it to other sports as well.
Though I do watch the super bowl...not cause I give a shit, but because a professor of mine when I was in college started a tradition of inviting me and a few other students who were all in a group of friends to her place for a super bowl party.
*ahem* Excuse me...got a little flustered there....
Generally, like most others here, I don't find sports that interesting. About the only thing I want to see is an injury on the field...Yeah I said. It's why we watch nascar and hockey, and I just apply it to other sports as well.
Though I do watch the super bowl...not cause I give a shit, but because a professor of mine when I was in college started a tradition of inviting me and a few other students who were all in a group of friends to her place for a super bowl party.
I don't play any sports but I do like watching some sports, especially football and the darts. To me there is nothing different between liking tradionally geeky things like sci-fi and gaming and liking sports. I find there are a hell of a lot of connections, such as many sports fans being able to recite reems of facts about their prefered team (Did you know Ivor Broadis managed Carlisle United when he was 23 and is the youngest player/manager of a football club? He was also the first manager to sell himself to another team)
I wasn't always into sports though and like many I couldn't understand the fascination with watching people kick a ball around for 90 minutes. It was after going to a few live matches with my Dad and Sister that I began to see what was so appealing. It wasn't just the game that was important but the social aspect as well, being surrounded by thousands (well hundreds as is usually the case at Carlisle) of like minded individuals, all there for the same reason, to cheer on their team. It was this sense of community that was the reason I began to like football, everyone may be strangers there but we all have some common interest, something we can relate to each other about, sing the praises of and moan about when things aren't going well. Of course when I witnessed the miracle of Jimmy Glass I was hooked and there was no way I would ever lose my interest in football
I think it is this human need to sometimes want to feel part of a group that is the reason I like sports, and is one of the reasons why many people go on gaming forums.
I wasn't always into sports though and like many I couldn't understand the fascination with watching people kick a ball around for 90 minutes. It was after going to a few live matches with my Dad and Sister that I began to see what was so appealing. It wasn't just the game that was important but the social aspect as well, being surrounded by thousands (well hundreds as is usually the case at Carlisle) of like minded individuals, all there for the same reason, to cheer on their team. It was this sense of community that was the reason I began to like football, everyone may be strangers there but we all have some common interest, something we can relate to each other about, sing the praises of and moan about when things aren't going well. Of course when I witnessed the miracle of Jimmy Glass I was hooked and there was no way I would ever lose my interest in football
I think it is this human need to sometimes want to feel part of a group that is the reason I like sports, and is one of the reasons why many people go on gaming forums.
Pretty much this.shrekfan246 said:
I've played my fair share of sports and I can say they bore me having to do the same actions over and over again.
Hell back in highschool I had a solid dodgeball thrown towards my face on purpose which then broke my glasses clean in two and left me blind for 3 weeks and also put me off wanting to play any sport for some time.
I've only had firsthand experience with the whole "apathy" thing, but yeah, I'll agree I am, as a nerd, totally apathetic towards pretty much all sports.
I just find watching others play sports painfully boring. Whenever I'm at a gathering to watch "the game", I tend to just talk, eat, and hang out and not do any actual watching.
I can't say what causes it, since sports tend to be games, and I absolutely love other forms of games.
I'd definitely say there's some sort of correlation between "nerd stuff" and apathy towards sports. It's probably just incidental though. Like the kinds of personalities that tend to like "nerd stuff" tend to care less about sports.
I just find watching others play sports painfully boring. Whenever I'm at a gathering to watch "the game", I tend to just talk, eat, and hang out and not do any actual watching.
I can't say what causes it, since sports tend to be games, and I absolutely love other forms of games.
I'd definitely say there's some sort of correlation between "nerd stuff" and apathy towards sports. It's probably just incidental though. Like the kinds of personalities that tend to like "nerd stuff" tend to care less about sports.
Cynical answer time!
Because they're easily accessible to anyone, and thus you don't get to feel as special for being invested in something different.
Honest answer!
People like different things! And I don't honestly think the number of nerds who like sports are that much lower than those who don't. Personally, I love sports of all kinds, and I probably spend more time watching/playing/discussing sports than other forms of escapism.
Because they're easily accessible to anyone, and thus you don't get to feel as special for being invested in something different.
Honest answer!
People like different things! And I don't honestly think the number of nerds who like sports are that much lower than those who don't. Personally, I love sports of all kinds, and I probably spend more time watching/playing/discussing sports than other forms of escapism.
You're going by an outdated stereotype from around the time when the first "Revenge of the Nerds" movie came out (or even older, since the stereotype was already around at the time).GrimTuesday said:
It's like asking athletes why they hate academics and beat up weaker people.
I love playing a fair few sports, though I haven't done so in many years. I've just never really enjoyed being a passive observer; the closest I ever got to that was reading books.
Hell, I never really enjoyed films until sometime last year.
Hell, I never really enjoyed films until sometime last year.
I used to like sports but eventually I started enjoying the drama surrounding it more than the actual sport. I found that drama in video games while enjoying actually contributing to the situation myself than just being a bystander.
My geographical location to most of my friends also makes playing a friendly sports game somewhat of a chore to organise compared to video games, where we can play with each other from nearly any location on the planet.
My geographical location to most of my friends also makes playing a friendly sports game somewhat of a chore to organise compared to video games, where we can play with each other from nearly any location on the planet.
I was never at all interested in sports, even though my dad was a fanatical fan...to the point that he would get violently excited about them and let the outcome of the games he watched determine his moods. That was only a taste of the tribalism in professional sport fandom though; I've since seen all the ugliness of destructive post-game rioting, fights, even people seriously threatening the lives of others just because they found out they root for the rival team. It's complete madness and I want no part of it. Besides, there are few activities more pointless than watching a team of strangers play a game - I don't even do that nor care about the outcomes.
As far as merely playing sports, I have never been athletic, so I don't that often - especially because I would only play with people who don't take the competitive element too deadly seriously, and I haven't met too many of those since I was a kid (which is when I stopped playing much). There is nothing inherently wrong with sports as fun games (besides that some are naturally more violent than others), but once you join a 'team' to play sports more formally (to introduce an overly competitive mentality) and add the fandom (to amplify the latter), I'm out.
TL;DR: They are trivial things taken way too seriously by many players and fans - I choose to invest myself in more important things.
As far as merely playing sports, I have never been athletic, so I don't that often - especially because I would only play with people who don't take the competitive element too deadly seriously, and I haven't met too many of those since I was a kid (which is when I stopped playing much). There is nothing inherently wrong with sports as fun games (besides that some are naturally more violent than others), but once you join a 'team' to play sports more formally (to introduce an overly competitive mentality) and add the fandom (to amplify the latter), I'm out.
TL;DR: They are trivial things taken way too seriously by many players and fans - I choose to invest myself in more important things.
I enjoy playing sports, but as to watching other people play (or giving a damn about how well they play), well...
It's about as much fun as watching someone else play video games (looking at you eSports).
It's about as much fun as watching someone else play video games (looking at you eSports).
I'm not interested in things I am not skilled at, and I'm not skilled at the vast majority of sports.
The few I am skilled at are so boring to watch I'd rather spend the time doing anything else.
The few I am skilled at are so boring to watch I'd rather spend the time doing anything else.
You do realise that in many sports professionals barely earn enough to support themselves after money for training and equipments taken out.Desert Punk said:
And in many sports where they do earn plenty of money there are often many tiers below those who earn the silly money who are paid much more normal wages.
Yes in a few sports the top few are paid silly money, but dont tar all pro sportspeople with the same brush.
I'm in the same camp here. I love swimming and such, but I hate competitive sports, swimming included.Katatori-kun said: