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

[Signa]

Stuff

I don't want to derail this conversation further so this will be my last post on this thread. It seems you are "No True Scotsman"-ing away the volatile aspects of the video game community and only focusing on what you view as mature communities. I suspect that you are like me as in we have been gaming for decades, I personally started gaming on the original NES back in the early 90's. It would extremely elitist if I go around labeling what is or isn't part of this community just because I dislike it.

Am I happy that (FROM MY EXPERIENCE) any video game interaction (outside of well-moderated forums/servers/lobbies/etc.) more often than not turn aggressive and hostile? Absolutely not, it is an aspect that I hope improves and I have been devoted research into the subject for my school studies.

You are free to disagree since my evidence is anecdotal but please don't belittle my intelligence by saying, "im gonna say this just once so pay very close attention and you might learn something" only to then follow up with a Venn Diagram scenario on how little those aspects of the community overlap with no evidence to back it up.

Again, as someone who lives in the US, I have never seen any of this aggressively in any avenue in my life except from the video game community.

Not saying you should ignore your experience, because that is what defines each of us, but I noticed the overall gamer culture become far more hostile after it went mainstream. I wager it's because the bad eggs that form the vocal sports fans also found their way into gaming. I think Sleekit hit the nail on the head. If you think that gamers are the worst people ever when they get mad, that's fine, but I've never seen an actual riot or someone flip over a car because they were unhappy about a video game.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

Why don't you go to a sports themed website and talk about sports there?

It's the Off Topic forum. He can talk about anything he wants (within reason).

Thanks Guppy for being one of the few users to not jump down my throat. I wasn't saying "everybody must like sports" or "all geeks hate sports" like most people posting seem to think.

 

[someonehairy-ish]

Eh, I don't mind sports. I can happily watch the rugby. I even somewhat enjoy watching football on the occasions I'm forced to.

But, all of the petty bickering about whose team is better, who're the better players, all that shite? Urgh. It's so fecking boring. Why people stake such a big chunk of their ego on a game I will never understand. If you brag about how your team is the best, all it really means is 'my team had the most money and bought all the best players.'

Plus I hate how in the UK supporting a team is basically mandatory. You get weird looks if you say you don't.

 

[Winnosh]

Seeing as sports games are among the highest selling games around I see it as a stereotype. How many gamers eagerly await the next Madden, the n ext 2k anything. The days of gamers being nothing but bespecticled asthma having shut ins stopped decades ago.

 

[V4Viewtiful]

I never understood that stereotype, I was one of the better Players in my school footie team and I was a stones throw away from the Supernerd at the time.

Maybe I was a new bread?

 

[WhiteNachos]

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 pop culture has been telling us for years that jocks are our natural enemy. That they will bully us and make our lives miserable. I've seen tons of "jocks vs. nerds" battles play out in pop culture before I set foot in high school.

Although my high schools didn't have sports teams, not because I tried to avoid them it just turned out that way. The only jocks I've ever met were at the gym and they were nice to me. Then again I was showing an interest in their hobby so there's that (I'm not trying to say jocks are bad just that most people will be nicer to people who express an interest in their hobby)

Edit: To add, imagine you haven't been in high school yet. Your only knowledge of it will come from pop culture claiming to capture 'a slice of life for typical high schoolers' or whatever. When tons of them get together and say it'll be nerds vs. jocks that's all most of us have to go off.

 

[WhiteNachos]

Sports are about balls. They're about wanting really, really hard to put this ball in that one place. And I never saw the fun in that. I don't like playing sports, real or virtual, and can only tolerate watching them every four years in the World Cup midst.

In baseball you also to get to hit the ball really freaking hard with a baseball bat. That's fun (and so is playing catch). Also in dodgeball you throw balls at each other and that's a lot of fun unless you get those really light balls that are hard to aim with.

I also think dodgeball is a lot of fun to watch when it whittles down to less than 5 people on both sides. There's a lot of tension, because any bad move or good move can shift the tides dramatically. Is it 3 vs. 1, well the lone survivor can catch a ball and immediately make it 2 v. 2. Everyone plans their moves very carefully and it's fun to watch, also it's a nice contrast to the sheer chaos that happens when it's say 12 v. 12.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Sports are about balls. They're about wanting really, really hard to put this ball in that one place. And I never saw the fun in that. I don't like playing sports, real or virtual, and can only tolerate watching them every four years in the World Cup midst.

In baseball you also to get to hit the ball really freaking hard with a baseball bat. That's fun (and so is playing catch). Also in dodgeball you throw balls at each other and that's a lot of fun unless you get those really light balls that are hard to aim with.

You said it yourself, no matter what means you're using, it's always about "get ball here". And I always thought baseball was the most boring, bloodless, convoluted sport of them all. To me it looks and sounds as ridiculous as Whack-Bat.


Maybe you have to be American to truly appreciate it.

 

[WhiteNachos]

Sports are about balls. They're about wanting really, really hard to put this ball in that one place. And I never saw the fun in that. I don't like playing sports, real or virtual, and can only tolerate watching them every four years in the World Cup midst.

In baseball you also to get to hit the ball really freaking hard with a baseball bat. That's fun (and so is playing catch). Also in dodgeball you throw balls at each other and that's a lot of fun unless you get those really light balls that are hard to aim with.

You said it yourself, no matter what means you're using, it's always about "get ball here". And I always thought baseball was the most boring, bloodless, convoluted sport of them all. To me it looks and sounds as ridiculous as Whack-Bat.


Maybe you have to be American to truly appreciate it.

It's more fun to play than to watch IMO, but I do like watching, I like games with tension and there's instant tension when there's 2 outs, or 3 balls and 2 strikes.

And not every sport is about moving a ball (only most of them), there's also combat sports (like boxing) and racing.

 

[Varrdy]

Many a time during sports / PE at school I was always the last one picked as I was the geeky, scrawny one. That kind of rejection and humiliation can stay with someone.

Not me though, I like sports and even played some of them in the past. I'd love to get back into football (or "soccer" as some people insist on calling it) again, too.

Some people like different stuff although I can see what the OP is on about. I suppose it's different from person to person; some see it as tribal and what the "cool" kids do/did and others were picked on by jocks.

 

[Evil Smurf]

I don't like playing sport, because I'm not athletic, or good at them. I like swimming casually, night walks, and watching tennis though.

 

[jackpipsam]

Personally it's because I find sport boring.
I was never 'bad' at sports at school, but I never enjoyed it (aside from swimming).
I never saw the point, It didn't help my education and I thought the school put too much emphasis on it.

I dislike Sport for the same reason I dislike games like DOTA or LOL. It feels like the same thing done over and over again.
Same map, same rules, ect.

I just find it as dull thing which society puts too much praise into.
I love video games, but even I think E-sports is silly and not because "video games can't be sport", but I think the whole thing is rather over-blown.

 

[hermes]

I guess the whole fictional narrative that tells people since high school are completely and solely defined by their main interest, and nothing else is relevant to define his/her personality helps...

I mean, if I base the explanation on stereotypes, it would be because geeks don't like outdoors activities (because most geeky hobbies are indoors), so their are programmed to hate and segregate everything that doesn't fit their geeky tastes.

 

[Steve Waltz]

My only problem with Sports is this...

People sitting on the couch. Now, I understand if you got a few Game-Day tickets in your hand, and you wanna know if you win anything, but just sitting there and watching it? Fuck me, man... That just goddamn bores me to tears. A hockey stick is $10. A ball is so common it's practically free. Go play the fucking game instead of sitting there, watching it.

I'm the same with videogames. Youtube wouldn't be able to hold my attention if the people playing the games weren't informative and funny.

You know, that?s the thing isn?t it. I was raised in the geek community around video games and stuff. After moving out of my parents how I found basketball and I love it to death. But I?m stuck playing NBA2K because none of my friends play basketball. In fact, nobody I know even likes basketball; I?m in the same position as the OP here. Even if I wanted to go outside and play, all I?d be doing in the end is shooting free throws until the sun sets because nobody I know cares about the sport I do.

But what makes you think that sports fans don?t do both (while they?re still young anyway). I mean, there is a huge difference between a bunch of amateurs playing basketball versus a bunch of professional doing amazing stuff. Which is the very reason I find college sports so boring. Watching James Harden drive through 5 players to pull off an And-1 is an amazing feat that no amateur can do without an insane amount of luck. And Harden can do that multiple times a game! And watching Nate Robinson jump so high to block Yao Ming? That stuff is so amazing that it?s worth watching; you?re not going to see it anywhere else unless you?re watching professionals.

 

[hermes]

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?

Why don't you go to a sports themed website and talk about sports there? I visit sites like this because I want to talk and read about video games. I wouldn't go to ESPN's forum and expect to have a conversation about video games, it just wouldn't make sense. Non-sports fans will talk trash about sports normally only when it invades their space. I don't recall seeing a topic made on a video game site just to start a sports trashing party. Usually it comes from someone putting a sports reference in their signature or avatar for the purpose of eliciting a response which, of course, usually turns negative and leaves the OP with a sour taste in their mouth.

Yeah... this place is for videogames related topics only, like (checks the list of threads):
- Personal anxiety of the future
- Archery
- Weather
- Absent parenthood
- Movies
- Polygamy
- Naked friends
- etc...

As I was saying, games...

 

[CoL0sS]

Personally I've always been fine with sports, despite being mostly terrible at them. I never actively practiced any of them but I love the occasional basketball or football (soccer) game with my mates, even while I find TV broadcasts to be very boring.
What I do mind is what it does to some people. Antagonizing or downright physically assaulting people just because they support a different football club is incomprehensible to me and it really puts me off competitive sports. I've seen people unable to curb their competitive spirit or personal grievances and problems just go out of their way to provoke a fight and bust some heads, so they can later brag about it to their peers.
I am by no means implying that majority of sports fans are like this, there are rotten apples in every community as most of us know all too well.

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

Team sports are what is popular. In team sports, any team worth a damn is going to have a culture of individuals holding eachother accountable. In the moment this can manifest itself in aggressive ways (though more bark than bite) because there is emotional investment and adrenaline pumping. It is usually followed by more reflective constructive-feedback and bonding, especially if you do try to address the issue.

If you're a delicate type who can't handle criticism, this could give you some unpleasant experiences and bad memories.

Of course there will be people who simply don't care, or don't appreciate the mechanics and skill involved in the various games... But there's blatantly much butthurt flowing when some people open their mouths. "Sports are for stupid people" is my personal favourite.

 

[KingDragonlord]

I dislike the culture of sports more than the sports themselves.

While it's true I was bullied by "jocks" in school, it didn't happen more than any other group. Punks and even other "geeks" had a go at me just as often. Equal opportunity I suppose.

There's just something about going over to a friend's house, and being able to hear his parents (mom typically), screaming bloody murder before I even get in the house. Absolutely losing her shit at the TV screen, beer in hand. Granted this does happen in gamer culture, and it does happen online. But... well... that's not really a compelling argument.

Can't really compare someone getting in your face IRL to an angry message in a chat box or inbox. If they are in a voice chat, mute them or block them. Fact is there are tools at your disposal nearly always for dealing with this stuff online. There is no way to turn off an angry fan who is drunk when you're at a stadium. As for the culture being xenophobic or harsh to outsiders, I'd say sports forums are worse by a very large degree. Gaming is still a young medium. Sports have been around much longer, and their fans often express a zeal and zealotry most gamers could never hope to achieve.

To me, the video game community is easily the most vile and aggressive community that I have experienced. What you attribute as negative aspects to sports fans I see it as 10x worse in any gaming forum. Say what you will, but personal attacks are too casually thrown around in nearly any multiplayer video game.

Homophobia, xenophobia, sexism, death threats are way too common in video game chat rooms and with the popularity of swatting these idiots have a means to potentially kill someone that one time said something that they disagreed with.

Oh please! I don't care how bad they are, words are never as harmful as what can happen to you in the locker room after gym class. And you only get that kind of ugliness from jocks. I'll take a lifetime of net rage over 10 minutes in a locker room.

Sports bring out the very worst sort of competitiveness, aggression, thuggishness, attention grabbing, in public in real life in real and tangible ways. Just look at the top players. A bunch of hyper aggressive morons who can barely speak. Its only on the internet that you can even pretend that geek ugliness comes anything close to approaching that.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

I dislike the culture of sports more than the sports themselves.

While it's true I was bullied by "jocks" in school, it didn't happen more than any other group. Punks and even other "geeks" had a go at me just as often. Equal opportunity I suppose.

There's just something about going over to a friend's house, and being able to hear his parents (mom typically), screaming bloody murder before I even get in the house. Absolutely losing her shit at the TV screen, beer in hand. Granted this does happen in gamer culture, and it does happen online. But... well... that's not really a compelling argument.

Can't really compare someone getting in your face IRL to an angry message in a chat box or inbox. If they are in a voice chat, mute them or block them. Fact is there are tools at your disposal nearly always for dealing with this stuff online. There is no way to turn off an angry fan who is drunk when you're at a stadium. As for the culture being xenophobic or harsh to outsiders, I'd say sports forums are worse by a very large degree. Gaming is still a young medium. Sports have been around much longer, and their fans often express a zeal and zealotry most gamers could never hope to achieve.

To me, the video game community is easily the most vile and aggressive community that I have experienced. What you attribute as negative aspects to sports fans I see it as 10x worse in any gaming forum. Say what you will, but personal attacks are too casually thrown around in nearly any multiplayer video game.

Homophobia, xenophobia, sexism, death threats are way too common in video game chat rooms and with the popularity of swatting these idiots have a means to potentially kill someone that one time said something that they disagreed with.

Oh please! I don't care how bad they are, words are never as harmful as what can happen to you in the locker room after gym class. And you only get that kind of ugliness from jocks. I'll take a lifetime of net rage over 10 minutes in a locker room.

Sports bring out the very worst sort of competitiveness, aggression, thuggishness, attention grabbing, in public in real life in real and tangible ways. Just look at the top players. A bunch of hyper aggressive morons who can barely speak. Its only on the internet that you can even pretend that geek ugliness comes anything close to approaching that.

In high school I never had a bad experience in the locker room, and I've never had a bad experience with a jock. You shouldn't let how some people in a certain group affect how you view everybody. Do you think all Muslims are terrorists?