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

[Lera00]

Welp, like most other posts have stated already, i kinda like more playing the sports than just seeing them. I like basketball and volleyball, and i am even half-good at those, but when i sit in front of the TV to watch a match, i cant stay put for more than 5 minutes until i fall asleep,or go do something else; maybe because while playing with friends its very fun and exciting; seeing someone else doing the same while sitting on chair doesn't have the same spark.

 

[Chaos Isaac]

Because I find them boring to tears, as do many others.
They're generally just not interesting, and are weirdly obsessed over in ways that let rapists, abusive people, and dog fighters get away with crimes because 'they play the game well', which frankly sickens me.

For the most part, I can't care because i'm not invested, because it really doesn't interest me. The best football games are the ones I go play in, and the ones on T.V. don't matter to me in the slightest.

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

Did someone say sports?

Spoiler

SPORTS!!!!!

*ahem*

It does seem like that at times. Most sports topics don't seem to last long on the forums here, although from experience I can say there are plenty of active sports fans here on the Escapist whether that is watching sports or playing sports or both. It just seems the sports talk mainly kept to dedicated user groups *cough* Barclays Premier League Group *cough*. I guess it just is the old Nerds hate sports and Sports people hate videogames stereotype being perpetuated. Which as someone who has played videogames and a variety of sports since I was old enough to walk has always seemed incredibly dumb. Though I guess some people just need to feel superior to others based on which past time that feel is more valid or worthwhile. I have actually argued on many times that sports fans and videogame fans have more in common than the old stereotype suggests. Both can foster friendships easily and can promote good team work, analysis and skill improvement. And of course both groups are let down by a very vocal minority that make the rest of us look like knuckle dragging caveman.

I guess sport does have a more favoured position in the eyes of many when compared to videogames. Partly because videogames are seen as a passive activity by many and mistakenly attributed to only appealing to the lazy and unhealthy, which would breed resentment among those you like videogames but don't like sports. This I feel is just down to fact that sports have had literally thousands of years to integrate themselves into society that it just a accepted part of it. Videogames have a way to go before there that accepted but in time they will get there. Trust me one day you'll get into a taxi and the phrase "did you say that shameful display last night?" will be referring to last night's Starcraft 2 match.

Another area that probably drives the most hate now to me would be the fact that sports games are annualised sequels and tend to outsell other "proper" games easily. This seems to combine the two things some vocal sections of games hate the most, excessive sequels and so called casuals. To the outside looking in most sports games appear to be nothing more than re-skins with updated team sheets. While this is certainly true to a extent but most sports games tend be very iterative in terms of improvements and most times you don't notice many improvements or changes until you actually sit down and play them. As for the games like FIFA (more a PES man myself ) outselling other core games is just a matter numbers. A game based on a sport that is very popular on 4 continents, fills 30,000-90,000 capacity stadiums every week across those continents with millions more watching on tv, is just going to have a wider potential audience than a niche RPG.

tl/dr
Like sports? Great. Prefer videogames? Also great. Like both? Awesome.

 

[Spider RedNight]

I think for me it's just that I'm a solitary person and I fulfill my needs much better playing a single-player game than being forced to do what someone else tells me on a team of people. I'm also introverted, I'm not very competitive and I don't have good memories of people who like sports with a level of enthusiasm (particularly American Football) - my dad is... incredibly passionate about football and I never understood why he screams at these people on the screen. I don't recall yelling so loudly at a screen for dying in a game but at least I can CHANGE that by either changing the game or running off and killing a dozen monsters to get better.

Also I think professional athletes are paid WAY too much money and that pisses me off.

I'm not very good at sports, either; at least not the ones that people watch. I remember being good at volleyball for about three minutes before I realized that middle school girls are the devil incarnate and of course I kicked ass at kickball but ya know.

I can't really speak for anyone else but I'm in the same boat as the people that say "sports are generally extroverted and competitive" and "video games are generally introverted and passive". I'm also under the impression that video games are a lot more "open" about the people that play them; in sports you have to be in a very specific "range" of talents and skills but with video games, you can be much closer to yourself. That's how I perceive it, at least.

 

[Wasted]

You do know you're talking about our equivalent of soccer hooligans right? The people who actually hurt others? Death threats are bad, but real threats are far worse. People suck, it's just more apparent because we have more access.

I'm from the US, so people killing themselves over a soccer game is non existent. But you have a point, I have heard horror stories with sport hooligans from across the pond. Then again I always attributed tensions between the EU countries played a big role in this. Cram thousands of these testosterone oozing and drunk fools into a small stadium and crap like that is bound to happen.

 

[Nergui]

Sport...

Rugby - 26 neanderthals running around a field hugging and groping each other.
AFL - 36 fairies kicking a ball around a cricket field and occasionally groping each other.

On the other hand, watching cricket is a decent time waster in summer when it's too hot for my computer. Soccer isn't too bad either.

I'd rather be playing video games.

 

[Laser Priest]

Personally, I just never got into competitive anything. I speak more for myself than the entire geek community, considering how many competitive-only games get popular and how professional competitive gaming is actually a thing.

I actually don't mind playing in sports (and was in a hockey team when I was younger), but I just never saw the appeal in watching any of them.

 

[Lieju]

I really don't care about sports. Don't care if people like them either.

I'm such a disappointment to my dad who built his career in sports journalism...

 

[Dalisclock]

I'm not terribly competative to start with, so sports don't interest me at all. Same with e-sports, or mutiplayer for that matter.

I might like Co-op, but I don't know any people IRL who actually want to co-op play games I'm interested in.

 

[MoltenSilver]

I'd place my bet on you being attacked because of 'angry vocal minority' + 'cultural identity' (or if we're being truthful, that wonderful human brain defect known as tribalism). I don't think its really a stretch to say the strongest aspect of geek culture at the start and even through now is a big sense of persecution. So, in turn, members of said culture look at what their bullies do and/or things that they are bad at, and they then think of ways to attack it so as to convince themselves that they're the superior (no matter how hypocritical said criticisms may be), that they're the ones not wasting time with obsolete physical activity, that they are the ones who are 'ahead of the evolutionary curve' because they prefer mental activities. I think it's actually a part of why today we have this stereotype of pro players being empty meatheads who couldn't solve 2+2 when in fact you need just as much mental aptitude as physical to be successful.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

I have an idea, why not ask the sports fans why they hate geek stuff so much? I wouldn't mind knowing, myself.
I mean, historically, and even presently they look down on people that like things that don't rely on muscle power, competition, and so forth. They were usually the ones in control of it.
I mean, how many sports buddies can you talk about things that the Escapist talks about?
I think you might have an up hill battle trying to integrate the people interested in what the Escapist talks abut into the sports world.

I imagine sports gets disliked coz it's the banner of the oppressors.

Personally, I just don't get stimulated enough watching sports. I don't play sports coz I'm not athletic like that, and I'm especially not competitive. I'd play more sports games (At least against AI) if they weren't almost exclusively sausagefests.
I know most of the rules. Enough to understand what's going on, I'm just not driven to give a damn even when my state's team is playing. I like more stimulating visual input.
Sports aren't easy to play, but it's easy to watch.

Maybe I'm not the one to answer this question?
I can't really talk about any of my interests face to face, surrounded by jocks, and people who wouldn't dare show weakness in enjoying something dubbed childish, like animation, comics, and games.
Even if they do, they've got some weird hardon for competition.
Only reason one games is just to be ahead of everyone else.
Another won't watch older episodes of DBZ despite being a fan due to the older art style. Even DBZ abridged is beneath him. Moreover, he plays games that rely on competition to stay alive.

I've ran into many snobs that won't watch older anime due to the art alone, but most of mine are in the older styles.

 

[jklinders]

I used to enjoy a good game of softball but I hate watching it or any of it's variants. Same for football and for the same reason for both. Way too many long pauses between plays. If they took out all the resets between plays the games would a third of the length at most. Baseball is especially bad for this as it seems to take forever between pitches a lot of the time.

I refuse to watch hockey at all. Too many overpaid thugs whose sole job appears to be to injure or get penalties on the actually talented players. Get rid of the thugs and stop glorifying the fights they cause and maybe I will find in stock somewhere a fuck to give. Cricket, is too confusing. Rugby and soccer is culturally unimportant in my part of the world.

I can't be arsed to watch basketball either for some reason.

Here's the thing though, while I cannot comprehend spending the time and effort to know which players have the best of what stats in whatever position of whatever sport that's OK because that is their interest and not mine. As long as they leave me to my interests I will leave them to theirs.

 

[jklinders]

It's just that I don't see enough people who hate sports in these communities to say that there is any active dislike for sports on the same level as other types of communities that aren't sport related.

id' also suggest that its worth remembering the average age of a gamer is now 35 plus....and most middle aged people just generally aren't very sporty...people get old and all sorts of things start to hurt -.-

Good God i can relate to that. When I was even i nmy late 20s I could not fully comprehend just how quickly downhill my fitness would go once I hit the 30s. i'm turning 39 this year and pretty near everything hurts all the time and working a physical job helps matters not at all.

 

[Bat Vader]

I like watching sports. I never used to until I started playing NBA 2K14 and MLB 14: The Show. Sucks the Tigers lost Scherzer.

 

[Hawk of Battle]

Because I find it boring
/Thread.

 

[Fox12]

snip

Personally, I don't even think it's necessarily a "banner of the oppressors" thing. I mean, that certainly factors into it for some people, but I've found that athletes are just as varied and complex as anyone else. Some are awful, and some are muscly Mr. Rogers.

I think my issue is with sports culture in general. Some professional athletes are fine, but every time an athlete gets caught beating their wife, or child, or torturing an animal, they get a slap on the wrist and go home for a few weeks. Meanwhile, someone refuses to give an interview and they get slapped with a $25,000 fine. It's all about money. There's no ethics and accountability when an athlete steps out of line. And the business side is even worse. There are a lot of decent athletes out there, and they basically get treated like cattle by the NFL. There's a long history of athletes suffering long term physical difficulties caused by their years in professional sports, and contrary to popular belief, many of them have difficulty paying for their medical expenses. In the meantime the NFL wants to cover up the truth, refuse to help athletes in need, and pay for bunk medical reports that claim that sports don't cause long term injuries, as if they're a cigarette company. Athletes that speak out will probably be labeled as weak, whiny, or selfish. The NFL are also a bunch of brand Nazi's. Put "Superbowl" on advertisement for your small restaurant, and see how long it takes for the NFL to gleefully sue you. I've said before that I don't find sports that interesting, but even if I did, the whole entity is so corrupt that it makes me ill. It's like a gross amalgamation of everything I hate about people. Seeing drunk, shirtless buffoons cry out like animals doesn't really peak my interest. I'll go read a nice book, or go for a hike, or visit a friend, and try to maintain my optimistic outlook on people.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

snip

Personally, I don't even think it's necessarily a "banner of the oppressors" thing. I mean, that certainly factors into it for some people, but I've found that athletes are just as varied and complex as anyone else. Some are awful, and some are muscly Mr. Rogers.

I think my issue is with sports culture in general. Some professional athletes are fine, but every time an athlete gets caught beating their wife, or child, or torturing an animal, they get a slap on the wrist and go home for a few weeks. Meanwhile, someone refuses to give an interview and they get slapped with a $25,000 fine. It's all about money. There's no ethics and accountability when an athlete steps out of line. And the business side is even worse. There are a lot of decent athletes out there, and they basically get treated like cattle by the NFL. There's a long history of athletes suffering long term physical difficulties caused by their years in professional sports, and contrary to popular belief, many of them have difficulty paying for their medical expenses. In the meantime the NFL wants to cover up the truth, refuse to help athletes in need, and pay for bunk medical reports that claim that sports don't cause long term injuries, as if they're a cigarette company. Athletes that speak out will probably be labeled as weak, whiny, or selfish. The NFL are also a bunch of brand Nazi's. Put "Superbowl" on advertisement for your small restaurant, and see how long it takes for the NFL to gleefully sue you. I've said before that I don't find sports that interesting, but even if I did, the whole entity is so corrupt that it makes me ill. It's like a gross amalgamation of everything I hate about people. Seeing drunk, shirtless buffoons cry out like animals doesn't really peak my interest. I'll go read a nice book, or go for a hike, or visit a friend, and try to maintain my optimistic outlook on people.

The problem with people in general is it's REALLY REALLY hard to see the good in a group of people when all you hear about nevermind experience is so much bad as to be all one can associate with the particular group.
It kinda grows a bristly defense when dealing with the good, sometimes, and kinda messes things up for everyone.
And it's only natural, so it's really hard to just turn off.
It's easy to forget that other people are people. It's easy to see so very little of a person.

Is there a quiet asshole that doesn't talk to people, and so forth that you know? They might not be an asshole. They might just have their guard up so they don't get burned as they had been for so long, and so often.
They might be wary of what you have yo say, because you're actively trying to sell them something, even.
There's a very real fear some have behind their unwillingness to socialize.

I agree with you on the sports angle. The way athletes are treated is pretty screwed up. It's not just professional levels, either. Kiddie leagues are screwed up, too.

 

[Little Woodsman]

I was wondering another facet of this the other day: why is exercise still something that's not discussed in these kinds of forums?

Ummm... there are have been many threads about that subject in this forum.

There was one last week. It went the same way most of those threads do, with many, many posters giving friendly advice and support to the OP and talking about how much they love running/biking/hitting the gym and what they do to keep their diet on track/eat healthy.

 

[Wasted]

im gonna say this just once so pay very close attention and you might learn something:

"the video game community" =/= "in game and online".

those two things are not, in fact, the same thing.

Of course they are part of the video game community.

I never implied that they encompass all of the video game community.

 

[Kalashnikov2092]

Love me some hockey, American football is alright, but MMA is where it's at. Love it. Last night there was a really good UFC card in Sweden. It was full of upsets and great finishes, and because of that I had a great time hanging with my buddies. Don't let detractors of sports keep you down. Shit, me and my friends all play video games, D&D, do backyard wrestling, and watch sports. It's just that people are set in their ways and refuse to see any merit in something they don't like. Keep enjoying sports, everybody is allowed to do their own thing..