Why do so many people in the "geek" community dislike sports?

[Kenbo Slice]

I've seen this happen a million times on sites like imgur and here and across the web. Somebody wants to talk about sports but then they usually just get shut down because "hurr durr sportz r dum." I really don't understand what geeks/gamers/nerds/whatever have against sports. I'm pretty fucking geeky but I also really love sports. So, why is this?

 

[Thaluikhain]

Eh, the geek community says the same about platforms and casual gamers. It's just another weird way to consider yourself superior to others in exactly the same way many of the people doing it complain about being hassled for being a geek.

Having said that, certain sports have a reputation for attracting a certain type of person as competitor and spectator.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

Having said that, certain sports have a reputation for attracting a certain type of person as competitor and spectator.

The same can be said about video games.

 

[Aurion]

I've seen this happen a million times on sites like imgur and here and across the web. Somebody wants to talk about sports but then they usually just get shut down because "hurr durr sportz r dum." I really don't understand what geeks/gamers/nerds/whatever have against sports. I'm pretty fucking geeky but I also really love sports. So, why is this?

Because not everyone has the same interests as you?

I'm a basketball addict (it's like sports meth), I love both our (American) and global variants of football, I watch hockey, I even at least vaugely care about baseball.

But, yknow what?

Some people aren't basketball addicts. Some people don't like football, and a lot of people don't like hockey or baseball.

And that's fine. This is a you problem, not a them problem.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I've seen this happen a million times on sites like imgur and here and across the web. Somebody wants to talk about sports but then they usually just get shut down because "hurr durr sportz r dum." I really don't understand what geeks/gamers/nerds/whatever have against sports. I'm pretty fucking geeky but I also really love sports. So, why is this?

I like sports. A game is a game. I like games.

A lot of "nerds" dislike sports for fairly transparent reasons. Tribalism. Chip on shoulder from that time a jock hassled them. People who were once bullied often delight in turning the tables and bullying others. You see this perpetually in the "geek" community. It's as cliquey/culty as a sub-culture can possibly get, and more xenophobic and pre-emptively hostile than most.

Sleekit's response is a popular one, you don't hear about many nerds rioting and burning down the town square. They tend to restrict their rioting and shit-flipping to the internet. Possibly due to poor cardio. =P

 

[ZiggyE]

I like playing sports, I don't like watching sports.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I'm guessing it's the same reason why some people don't like video games but like sport, it just doesn't appeal to them.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

I've seen this happen a million times on sites like imgur and here and across the web. Somebody wants to talk about sports but then they usually just get shut down because "hurr durr sportz r dum." I really don't understand what geeks/gamers/nerds/whatever have against sports. I'm pretty fucking geeky but I also really love sports. So, why is this?

Because not everyone has the same interests as you?

I'm a basketball addict (it's like sports meth), I love both our (American) and global variants of football, I watch hockey, I even at least vaugely care about baseball.

But, yknow what?

Some people aren't basketball addicts. Some people don't like football, and a lot of people don't like hockey or baseball.

And that's fine. This is
a you problem, not a them problem.

I was in no way saying that everybody should like the things I like. I was just asking why such a stigma exists.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

Having said that, certain sports have a reputation for attracting a certain type of person as competitor and spectator.

The same can be said about video games.

very rarely do the police have to be called to clear the streets of drunken gamers...

No but certain gamers are stereotyped by the games they play.

 

[Zacharious-khan]

I'm simply indifferent to sports and i think the majority of the geek community that dislikes sports started this way. It's the ubiquity of sports and that people wont shut up about them that leads to dislike.

 

[Fox12]

The answer is simple. They bore me. To tears. I don't want to watch guys smack into each other for four hours.

They're not dumb or stupid, and their certainly not inferior to anything else, I just don't like them. I tried to figure out why I didn't like them, and then it hit me. I'm not invested. I don't care who wins. And even if I was, the whole thing starts up again next year, so it doesn't matter. I like a story. I like a plot. I like to be invested in what's happening. Sports can't do that. It's the same reason I can't play Call of Duty. Boxing and Football? Boring. Rocky and Rudy? Fantastic! Just add story.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I hate watching sports because it bores me to tears. I love to play sports, and to actually participate, but I couldn't give a shit about professional sports and athletes. Why? Because they don't do anything, nothing of substance happens. There's no story, nothing at stake, there's nothing to care about, and every year the same thing happens all over again. It's like watching a TV show that never ends and is about nothing. Actually, it's like watching c-span.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

Depends; I find watching most sport to be dull but a slap up game of backyard cricket is fun times all around. I do admit I like watching Olympic Judo, but that's because I studied Jujitsu for ten years so I at least know what I'm watching.

 

[Fractral]

I don't know if I'd consider myself a geek, but I quite enjoy playing sports, provided they're not in large teams. For me whether I enjoy watching a sport comes down to personal interest- if it's a sport I have played and have some knowledge of I can enjoy watching it because I can assess what is going on, what techniques are being used and how well each side is playing. On the other hand, for sports I've not played like Football or Rugby, watching them being played is more or less just white noise- none of it means anything to me, so I can't get invested.
It's much the same with e-sports. I enjoy watching competitive Pokemon and some RTS like SupCom or Sins, but DoTA and Counter Strike bore me.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

Sports doesn't do anything for me. It bores me.
Coupled with the fact that I dislike competition in general, and the way everyone goes crazy for it only further alienates me.

I would wish that it wasn't shoved in our faces so much and that it tends to alienate you if you don't have a favorite team in ..whatever.

 

[Dizchu]

Like many others, I like playing sports rather than watching them. It's just insanely tedious. I mean, I love Unreal Tournament but if I went to a pub and they had it playing on a screen with everyone cheering when the red team captured a flag, I'd be like "this is actually not very engaging, I'd rather play it". And I love Unreal Tournament, imagine how I'd feel about a game that I have little interest in like golf or rugby.

Oh, and there's the fact that many people have resentment over the fact that kicking a ball can earn you bigger bucks than doing something that actually matters.