Why don't people watch sports? Clue me in.

[11 Bravo]

Tiger Woods walking 18 holes on a broken leg to win the US Open?
Michael Jordan, hanging in the air, waiting for Craig Ehlo to drift past, before nailing a championship winning jumper?
Cal Ripken Jr. going deep the night he tied Lou Gherig with 2,130 consecutive games played, then doing it AGAIN, the next night, while breaking what many had considered to be an unbreakable record?
Michael Phelps, making up three body lengths in 50 meters, to keep alive his dream of 8 Olympic gold medals?
The USA Olympic hockey team taking down the Russian juggernaut in 1980?
Tom Dempsey, with half a foot, kicking a game-winning field goal, while setting a new NFL distance record?
Jackie Robinson, not only breaking the color line, but also being named NL Rookie of the Year?
Jason McElwain, the NY kid with Down's syndrome, coming off the bench in a high school game and draining 20 points in 3 minutes?
The Texas Western basketball team, with 5 African-American starters, knocking off Adolph Rupp's heavily favored all-white team, to win an NCAA championship?
My son, hitting a game-winning, walk-off, two-run double to win his district championship last year?


Yeah, I just don't get why anyone doesn't watch sports.

[ContinentalOp]

1. All of those things you mention sound REALLY boring.

Sorry.

[valerief]

3. I concur. I think more people should PLAY sports not watch them. nt

[11 Bravo]

9. I play baseball and basketball to this day (I'm 58). I also watch my sons play ...

basketball, baseball, and lacrosse. When they don't have a game scheduled, we enjoy the occasional televised event. But please, by all means, go on.

[valerief]

39. So are you soliciting people to watch you? I don't get the point of your post. nt

[TahitiNut]

22. Well, I guess you don't watch porn, either.

:hide:

[valerief]

38. No. I think more people should DO porn, not watch it. nt

[stopbush]

6. Yep.

[WinkyDink]

41. To you. Some people have an appreciation for what the human body can accomplish.

[ContinentalOp]

83. Yes to me. That's the only claim I was making.

To be fair I missed the other thread so I was reading the OP out of context.

[smalll]

91. They're not boring. But you have to watch massive hours of sports, a lifetime of sports, to see

those brief, shining moments (at least when it matters, live. After all, even the non-sports-watchers have seeen most of those events in clips on their nightly local 11pm news at least. And probably got something out of it as well.)

Why are Americans generally couch-bound fat slobs? Sure there's HFCS, cars, and other stuff, but surely, all those wasted hours glued to the tube watching umpteen hours of sports to catch those rare acheivements has a lot to do with it as well.

[taterguy]

2. Because we have more important things to do

Read books

Volunteer to save humanity

Write snarky comments on message boards.

[JuniperLea]

31. Watch American Idol... eom

[Captain Hilts]

4. I love sports, but I understand how people - especially women - don't.

ALL the feats you've mentioned are men.

When you watch on TV, the ads insult women. It's as if the leagues and networks do what they can to drive women away.

I watch a lot of sports - my teams - Mets, Redskins, Red Sox, Capitals, Bruins, Liverpool, etc. But I understand why folks do not.

As someone once said, folks don't come home from the opera and say "we sang great tonight!"

[JerseygirlCT]

10. That's why I probably shouldn't go to the opera

It's so hard for me NOT to sing along, lol!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

47. Hey, I sing along at the opera!! If it's Mozart.

And nobody's thrown me out yet!!! Cross fingers!

:hi:

[Captain Hilts]

59. That's cool! I like opera!

[11 Bravo]

15. OK, the 1999 Women's FIFA World Cup. USA vs China.

As riveting an athletic event as one is likely to witness. But it's just sports

[Arugula Latte]

55. Professional American football is the worst for that.

Ever since I was a little girl, I'd feel almost a sick feeling in my stomach when my dad blared some football game. Later, I identified that part of my discomfort was that I felt like at some level the whole thing was a big "fuck you'" to women. It sounds kind of extreme, but that's the gut feeling I had about it.

[Captain Hilts]

58. Watching the 'Skins and Mets/Sox was something both my parents did with us...

but, really, the commercials with infantile men and scantily clad women hot for them was almost enough to drive us away.

It is my experience that women follow a team, not a sport. My folks would have a woman come over to watch the Redskins with them after her husband died and she didn't like watching by herself. My folks really liked her so it worked out well for all of them. I've known others that just stopped watching after the death of a spouse.

[drm604]

5. I don't get why people do watch sports.

It mostly bores me. Different strokes.

[UnrepentantUnitarian]

7. I've had a disconnect with pro sports for a while now.

Not just with the player pay...with the whole allegience thing. Teams don't really represent a city any more, but corporations. Our Charleston Stingrays hockey club beat a club from Anchorage, Alaska for the national division title...which seems like a big accomplishment until you realize that people from Charleston SC don't play professional hockey...no loyalty there at all. No, I'll enjoy high school and some college sports, but y'all can keep the pro stuff.

[Captain Hilts]

79. Yes, the Caps' most minor league team - the Stingrays. I see your point. nt

[JerseygirlCT]

8. You and my husband.

I'll watch some with him. (Neither of us can understand why anyone would want to watch golf, however. Except maybe for the pretty scenery).

But generally, I'm just not that wrapped up in it. He *feels* every bit of the game. I was never an athlete myself, and competitive sports always escaped me. (What? I should run and possibly hurt myself chasing a ball? Are you nuts?) I preferred artistic activities - and believe me, dance can be at least as strenuous as any sport. But it was all about pushing myself, not about chasing a ball around.

[AndyA]

11. I think sports "personalities" are way overpaid, way overindulged,

display a lack of sportmanship, and generally set bad examples for others.

Why watch? :shrug:

[madaboutharry]

12. Watching sports is boring.

I hate to watch all sports and never do. I especially hate basketball because I can not stand the "squeeking" sound the sneakers make on the floor.

[redqueen]

13. I am disappointed in your lack of appreciation for footy (soccer).

That said, people are always complaining about what other people like.

I think the bottom line is, people just enjoy complaining.

[Echo In Light]

14. People chasing balls doesn't excite me

[NC_Nurse]

20. I have to agree. Unless I have some connection to the game, like your son, I

don't care at all.

[hfojvt]

16. is golf a sport?

I would rather see Tiger lose than win. I hardly ever root for the guy who already has 20 championships under his belt.

[virgogal]

17. Ummmm,maybe they just have other interests? Jeesh.

[monmouth]

18. Golf is great when Tiger is playing. Could watch for days...well, I do...n/t

[Ezlivin]

19. They have to pay for billion dollar stadiums out of their taxes?

Arlington, Texas is the location of the newest Cowboy's stadium. It cost Jerry Jones about $1,000,000,000 to build it.

Many long-standing and profitable businesses had to be destroyed along with many old homes. The citizens of the city tried to stop the stadium from being built, but they were up against the deep, deep wallets of the NFL, its players and other moneyed folks.

I don't have anything against professional sports, but when the only way they can grow interest in their sport is to level homes and businesses and tax everyone you can count me out.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

21. I'm not interested in watching other people doing physical

activity. I want to walk and exercise myself instead of vegging in front of the TV. Another reason I don't watch sports is because I was terrible at them at school. Why watch something that reminds you of being humiliated and belittled because you couldn't catch a ball?

[pennylane100]

23. The examples you gave seem to be of male sports.

I used to love playing sports when I was younger and I enjoyed watching my children and grandchildren play. But as hard was we had to fight for equal funding and opportunity for girls, I will spend more time watching sports TY when we have equality in that field as well.

[noamnety]

24. just can't work up any interest

over someone playing 2031 games versus 2032 games, or running in 15:31 or 15:32. Or someone from Detroit winning something versus someone from Philadelphia. It's right up there with caring deeply whether I put my belt on with the buckle facing left or facing right.

[ContinentalOp]

40. GO LEFT FACING BUCKLES!

WOOOOOOOO!

[noamnety]

48. LOL!

:rofl:

[ContinentalOp]

82. What are YOU laughing at?

Take your right facing buckles and GO HOME. Bunch of overpaid drugged up belt buckles. na na na na. na na na na. RIGHT BUCKLES. GOODBYE.

[CBR]

25. I love sports. If one does not like them, that is cool too BUT

I get a lot of snotty comments about watching sports from people who deem them not worthy of watching. I think they are inspiring -- not always, of course, but a lot of the time. Watching Cathy Freeman win the 400m gold and carrying the flags of Australia and the aborigines was fantastic. I played soccer in college -- it is tough to play and maintain your academic credentials and I was only playing DII.

[grantcart]

26. lol Am I the only one who thinks that you started this thread simply to brag about your son?

Nice job Dad.

[Obamanaut]

34. And I betcha his eyes leaked a little. I agree, nice job. nt

[spiritual_gunfighter]

27. I watch sports but I understand why people don't

who cares.

[me b zola]

28. I watch 'Dhani Tackles The Globe'

But I would watch Dhani do just about anything.

http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Dhani_Jones

[JuniperLea]

29. It's all subjective...

Some people like sports, some people like American Idol.

I love sports... I hate American Idol. That doesn't make me any better or any worse than any other human.

[county worker]

30. I just lost interest over the years.

I use to dig major league baseball and college basketball and football. Over time I got bored with it. It just doesn't hold my interest anymore.

On edit;

Now that I think of it, sports announcers drive me bat shit crazy. Especially sports talk radio and sports news people. They yell at a replay that happened yesterday as if it was just happening now. How stupid is that. I guess it is the macho thing that turns me off.

[Yunomi]

32. Watching people chase balls

is not nearly as amusing as watching my dogs do the same. Or race, wrestle, invent new dog games... However, I do watch baseball and kendo, when I can find it.

[NRaleighLiberal]

33. Tradition? I watch some sports, but don't watch any other TV - feel the same way about Am. Idol.

As many here have said, different strokes for different folks. The danger is when we start thinking our way is the better or only way. Then we become republicans!

[vaberella]

35. Me Either...but I don't watch a single sport you do. n/t

[dysfunctional press]

36. i live in chicago.

i was a bulls fan until jordan retired. when he came back, so did i. until he retired again.
i still like to watch the bears, even after they've been mathematically eliminated.
when i was a kid, i watched the blackhawks on tv...then wirtz kept them off until he died...now it's been so long without it, that i have no interest in hockey- funny thing is, it's a terrible television sport anyway. :shrug:
and baseball been berry berry badly boring to me.

in general, i find sports to be fairly monotonous, in general.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

37. I can go out and do sports.

Why would I sit around and watch other people do them?

That's like watching somebody else play a video game.

[Cleita]

42. It's boring? However, maybe if they played to music it would be more

interesting. Also, all that blood and sweat with the contact sports is disgusting.

[JerseygirlCT]

103. Sometimes the costumes, er um, uniforms

are pretty together.

[Bettie]

43. I am simply not interested in watching professional sports.

I was the only girl growing up with my father and brothers, all of whom were obsessed by sports. I found other things to do instead of running to and fro fetching them things (food, drink) to ensure that they never missed a second of whatever game was on that day.

Now, as an adult, I am the wife of a man who is not interested in sports and the mother of three boys who may be interested some day. If they play a game, I'll go and watch and cheer, whether they are good at it or not.

Frankly, on the issue of professional sports, it bothers me to see men getting paid tens of millions of dollars to play a children's game.

And congratulations on your son. I'm sure you're very proud of him as you should be.

[gmudem]

74. I don't have a problem with most of your post

Except for when you call it a "children's game." It's just so incredibly obnoxious and patronizing when people say that. Yes athletes are way overpaid but that doesn't mean they can't enjoy playing their game. And it's not just professional athletes, people of all ages play sports and it's a great way of staying in shape and having fun. I am a huge sports fan myself, and I know many are not and that's fine, people are always going to have different interests, I just don't like it when people are obnoxious like that.

Speaking of which football season cannot come soon enough. Go JETS.

[onenote]

84. are you also bothered by artists or actors/actresses getting paid large amounts

for exploiting talents that also are engaged in by children?

[Bettie]

104. Yes, I am.

Professionals should be compensated, certainly, but not to the extent that they are currently.

It makes me laugh when sports and entertainment professionals say they do what they do because they love it, but they won't do it unless they are paid millions upon millons of dollars.

[onenote]

110. why shouldn't they be paid millions of dollars

if people are willing to pay to go to a sports event, or to a concert, or to purchase a painting, why shouldn't those athletes, performers, artists, etc. who people are really going to see get paid accordingly? Surely you don't believe the owners of the teams, or the concert halls, or the galleries be keeping the money all for themselves.

You may not like the fact that members of the public value a Springsteen concert ticket or a ticket to the world series or a painting by Picasso as highly as they do, but its a reality that isn't going to change.

[stevedeshazer]

44. Sports is art.

It's an ongoing story. Each season for each team or individual in each sport is different and unique, at times beautiful and at others devastating, always with next year and the hope of a new season ahead.

I disagree with the naysayers on this thread. I don't follow sports really closely except for basketball, but I had heard of every story you mentioned in your post, 'cept the one about your son (good for him). There's something poetic about each one of these.

Some like music (I'm a musician myself), some like art, some like the stage.

Seeing someone excel at any human endeavor should be uplifting, not something to be scorned.

I get your point.

[Arugula Latte]

45. Usually, I can't help but think: "What is the point of this?"

I can appreciate certain things -- like seeing who can run the fastest. That's kinda cool, and I enjoy watching track every four years when the summer Olympics roll around. Same with swimming. But, say, football or basketball? I can't help but think: "Why should I care if one of these steroid cases can put a ball through a goal or a hoop?" I just don't see why people CARE so much. So many men live and breathe sports. It's the only thing they can talk to each other about. Their identities are completely wrapped up in these teams who aren't even necessarily from the location they're representing. It's kind of pathetic to me.

My son plays basketball and baseball, and I TRY to keep my mind on the game and appear to be the supportive mom, but, truth be told, I'm usually a million miles away in my head, waiting for it to be over.

[otohara]

46. What Is This BS

Oh I get it. You as a sports fan couldn't stand that someone could ask the question "Why do people watch sports?

The poster clearly stated "I don't mean to offend any fans here of spectator sports" - but clearly you were offended and had to post a snarky copycat thread.

Feel better?

[mamaleah]

73. Some of his responses were a bit snarky too

In that "I am so above all you" way.

Snarky begets snarky.

[LWolf]

49. Plenty of people do.

Those of us that don't generally value different kinds of human achievement.

I watch sports every once in a while. I'll check into an NFL game now and then, or watch part of the superbowl. Or a horse race.

That's about it. Those are leftovers from my younger years, when my ex kept us busy watching, on tv or live, sports every week all year long. On my own I'd rather read a book or watch a movie, and if I want to watch athletic accomplishments I'd rather watch someone climb, or ride a horse, or do tai chi, or dance.

Besides, I don't have to watch. My sons will keep me up to date if I ask, lol.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

50. All the reasons previously mentioned apply to me.

1) It's boring.

2) Pro teams have nothing to do with the city they are in.

3) They are overpaid jocks.

4)Why does our society spend billions on sports stadiums and sports teams, instead of using that money to feed the hungry, and house the homeless?

4A) Why do universities spend so much on sports instead of academics? And we wonder why smart people are ridiculed in America? Why does a first-rate school like Rice University need a football stadium that holds 60,000 people? Oh, for alumni money......


5)I was picked on in school relentlessly. Great big stupid girls used to hit me in the head with a basketball. That hurts. That's when they were not threatening to beat me up after school.

The uh, um......very masculine teachers would gripe at me too. I refused to catch a ball because I was in orchestra, and didn't want to break a finger. I told the PE teacher that too. I was a year and a half younger than everyone else and small anyway. I hated PE. They would put me in the outfield in softball, and I would sit down. Then the stupid team captain would threaten to throw me out. I would say "Good, I can't stand the damn heat out here anyway". The crap in the locker room was horrendous. I tried not to get bruised and got banged up anyway. Basketball and volleyball HURT.

6) People identify with a team and feel like they are part of the team. It's all about money, and the players have no real attachment to the community. Why do people base their mood on whether or not their team wins, when they have no control over the outcome? They pour their emotions into it and it has no effect on winning or losing.

:wtf:

7) I would never go out with a guy who liked sports. Fortunately all the guys I have dated were engineers and techie types, and they got picked on in school too and hated PE just as much as I did.
They have even worse traumatic memories of gym class. :D

However, I will join in on jokes about how awful a team is, like the classic about the Washington Senators: "First in the hearts of their countrymen, and last in the American League".

:rofl:

8) I think people should get some form of exercise they like. P.E. class did nothing to help me in that way. I can't stand the heat. I get sick and vomit in the heat. Some years later I played volleyball a lot with church singles groups when I was trolling, but we only had six people on a side. I wore batting gloves, wrist braces, elbow pads and knee pads so I wouldn't get banged up. And all the other women would gripe about their cracked hands and purple bruises, and wouldn't get protective gear.

:wtf:

It's too damned hot and humid to go for a walk six months out of the year here.

[Arugula Latte]

51. Didn't you love the "Let's Worship the Football Team" rallies every frickin' week in high school?

Yeah, that didn't get old ... The big boys were paraded around and endlessly congratulated for their ability to throw a ball or knock someone over ... We were told that those other high schools were our ENEMY because their big boys were trying to get a ball through OUR goalposts ... Meanwhile, the kids slaving away actually learning math, history, science, English and languages were hardly noted. :eyes:

Gawd I hated that shit. I'd secretly root for the other high school teams to beat our stupid team.

[Art_from_Ark]

60. I agree with much of what you said

I hated PE with a passion and opted out of it as soon as I could.

I hated pep rallies and skipped them every chance I got.

I used to be interested in college and professional sports (a famous college quarterback even wrote me a letter one time back in 1969), but even if the team I was cheering for won, it had no real beneficial effect on my life. And when overpaid pros decided they wanted to cancel a season to go on strike for who knows what, while I was making minimum wage at the time, I said screw it.

But I was always interested in hearing my grandfather's stories about watching Walter Johnson pitch for the Washington Senators while he was living in D.C. "Poor Walter", he would say. "He should have been on a team that could play baseball". And the actual joke about the Senators was "Washington: First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League"

[raventattoo]

88. Manifestor_of_Light, you nailed it all.

Nearly all the same points I think of about watching sports.

I was too a nerd in high school, but loved to watch football. Went to UT Austin and of course LOVED watching football. Then on to Houston for medical school where I was hooked on the Rockets during the early 90s when they won the national basketball championships (?World Series).

So, I have a past understanding about why one would want to watch.

But as I MATURED, I began to use my MIND to THINK about professional and even college sports. It is ALL BIG BUSINESS. I watched basketball players that I adored, move to other cities for better contracts. I agree that at the time I FELT CONNECTED to the team, that they were part of my city. That they brought something good to my city. But that is a big lie. Players care about money and not about the city for which they play.

It seems silly now, but I had EMOTIONS attached to each game and whether my teams would make the playoffs. I would feel so depressed if they lost. WHY?
And I would feel so HAPPY and ENERGIZED if they won. WHY?

I finally realized that my life was no different the next day regardless of the outcome. Whoever wins the national/college/professional/NBA/NFL/whatever championship DOES NOT CHANGE ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT YOU, YOUR COUNTRY, YOUR LIFE, YOUR FAMILY, YOUR INCOME, YOUR IQ. AND IT DOES NOT CHANGE YOUR LIFE EXPERIENCES FOR THE BETTER EITHER. Make the argument all you want about how gratifying watching Michael Jordan make that slam dunk all you want. After it is over, your life is the same.

Sports is an addiction, and one that is very expensive and does not change a person or society.

Manifestor_of_Light, I assume from your post you are in Houston as well. I drive past Rice Stadium almost daily, and yes, it is an almost laughable atrocity. The amount of traffic on Greenbriar during rush hours just to get around it. LOL
Suffering this horrible heat wave with you. Cheers.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

94. Yep, the group emotions attached to sports are a con game.

The owners want to make money, the players want to make money, and the way to do that is to get the fans emotionally invested and identified with their team. You are right, it's all about money.

I remember my dad (a lawyer) griping about the baseball players and the ruling that they were exempt from anti-trust legislation due to some sort of sophistry.

I can thank my father for that insight about emotional identification. One of my uncles was a rabid Aggie. He had grown up in College Station and his dad had been the head of the education department back in the Dark Ages. He and his wife and kids went to ALL the football games, for decades. Dad said, "Why would you base your mood on something you can't control - the score of a college football game?".

In fact this uncle was a rabid right-winger and was so dense that he thought Aggie jokes were insulting. IOW, a humorless wanna-be soldier maroon-draped asshole. :wtf:


I got the message.

I was born and raised in Houston, and have lived there all my life except for a few years in college in San Antonio. Now I live in East Jesus, Texas, in the middle of nowhere.

I hated the damn pep rallies in junior high and high school. I never went to a football game in high school. In college I went to ONE football game b/c I was on a double date and it was in the Dome. Something called the Bluebonnet Bowl. Whoopee.

I did not care about anything but classical music in high school, so I was in my own little world. Classical music kept me from going any crazier than I would have otherwise as a teenager.

[donco6]

52. Watching . . . OK. Why people READ about sports is beyond me.

Whole gigantic sections devoted to this trivial event or that minor mishap or this tantrum. Gawd.

[JerseygirlCT]

63. So long as hubby doesn't insist on reading that stuff to me, I'm cool

In fact, that means I don't have to fight anyone for the front section of the paper, lol!

What drives me nuts is hearing him complain about WFAN.



And he keeps turning it back on! Yes dear, I know they're idiots, and the callers are worse. So why do you insist on spending time listening to those chuckleheads instead of listening to music?

[donco6]

64. LOL! Absolutely.

I have friends who are so into all that. I just stand there with a blank look.

[KamaAina]

53. J-Mac has autism, not Down's.

So basically, the Autism All-Stars would consist of him at 2 guard, me in the paint, and, um, er, ah... okay, we'd get blown out by the Knicks. :eyes:

[KamaAina]

54. I'd put the Penguins winning Game 7 on the road right up there

PEEEEENNNNNSSSS!!!!

[zagging]

56. It's quite the same as asking, "Why don't people go to the symphony?"

Or, "Why don't people read more comic books?"

You aren't the center of the world.

[LAGC]

57. Sports is the new opiate of the masses...

Better that than religion, though.

[onenote]

86. new?

how do you define new?

[H2O Man]

61. Please watch boxing.

Everyone should.

[Joe the Liberal]

62. I'm guessing this is about my thread.....

Look I agree that all those accomplishments you listed are pretty amazing but I still don't understand why I or anyone else should care. Some stranger who I don't know or will never meet or see in person in my entire life winning a game just is'nt all that important to me or anyone else who is'nt affiliated with them.

Good for them but I believe it is all very over hyped, I'm just not convinced. I find watching sports to be rather boring, that's just me and instead I enjoy doing other things. If choosing not to participate is considered not "normal" than so be it, to each his own.

[bridgit]

65. Oh I agree! Or like that Russian girl that staked right off the Siberian Tundra and TOOK IT!

While Kerrigan and who's-it were knocking each other's teeth out :thumbsup:

[Skittles]

66. I don't like watching millionaires play games

[Swamp Rat]

72. Yeah, CSPAN sucks.

[Joe the Liberal]

75. It does.....

which is why I don't watch it either.

[Swamp Rat]

77. Let's not pick on just one network.

[Skittles]

78. I don't watch CSPAN either

[Joe the Liberal]

80. Exactly my thoughts. n/t

[mudplanet]

67. For the most part, it's really, really boring

[Gemini Cat]

68. I like sports and I love baseball.

I don't give a rollicking damn if someone else doesn't like sports.:shrug:

[mitchtv]

69. too boring I WILL CHECK IN FOR 3 MIN

then go back outside and work in my garden. at night I'll surf the net. Much prefer the radio classical music

[mitchum]

70. I only watch boxing, but I have no problem with people watching other sports...

Also, tell your son well done. I really mean that.

[Ohio Joe]

71. uh... you forgot the most important one

1988 - John MacLean scores in overtime in the last game of the regular season to send the Devils to the playoff for the first time. I openly wept at that game, it still makes my eyes water just thinking about it.

[gmudem]

76. I am a huge sports fan

But if people don't like it then they don't like it, no big deal. I just have a hard time with people who think the NBA is more fun to watch than the NHL, that just makes no sense to me whatsoever.

[Incitatus]

81. I'd rather play than watch. I don't need the vicarious thrill.

A lot of people who couldn't run up an down a field to save their life get really exited when a team the like wins and act like it's some kind of personal victory on their part. For years no one around here said a word about the Orlando Magic. Suddenly everyone acts like they've been a die hard fan their whole lives. I'm kind of glad they lost. Now maybe they will shut up about it.

[onenote]

87. a good friend of mine who recently passed away was born with a variety of birth defects

that meant that he really couldn't run up and down a field to save his life. But he loved watching baseball and discussing it with like minded friends. And when he finally got a chance to see a Dodgers game in person and we got him a team jacket, he was as happy as I'd ever seen him.

His other love, by the way, was the Democratic party and politics.

But you probably wouldn't have liked him.

Your loss.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

95. A good friend of mine was born with a couple of birth defects.

Crossed eyes, and he had a bunch of operations on them when he was little. He still does not have stereo vision. He also had a club foot that was fixed when he was small.

His daddy (macho military type) got him a football and he had no interest in it. So dad was disappointed. I guess dad never figured out why.

In PE he could never hit a baseball. So he loathes sports for that reason. He says that he spent years dissociating to get away from the coaches and the other kids.

On the other hand, he came up with the unified field theory as it relates to gravity nearly forty years before Gravity Probe B proved what he was talking about.

Didn't do him any good. Oh well.... :shrug:

[Incitatus]

105. Well, that would be different.

I'm talking about people who lazy and unfit by choice, beer bellied slobs yelling at the top of their lungs when their favorite player scores. It just seems sad. As for people with medical conditions that prevent them from participating in sports, I wouldn't lump the two together and I can see how they would enjoy it.

[Alcibiades]

85. Barack Obama, winning versus Hillary Clinton in NC

and then doing it again in November.

Politics is more interesting than sports, and it actually matters.

[Horse with no Name]

89. I'd have love to have seen the walk-off your son did

When those are done by non-professionals there is NOTHING better.
Congrats!

[smalll]

90. Um, I think copycat threads are only legal in the Lounge.

/nt

[notesdev]

92. In detail

>Tiger Woods walking 18 holes on a broken leg to win the US Open?

People walking on broken legs, not very exciting

> Michael Jordan, hanging in the air, waiting for Craig Ehlo to drift past, before nailing a championship winning jumper?

Awesome... and a long-ass time ago already.

>Cal Ripken Jr. going deep the night he tied Lou Gherig with 2,130 consecutive games played, then doing it AGAIN, the next night, while breaking what many had considered to be an unbreakable record?

Awesome... and a long-ass time ago already.

>Michael Phelps, making up three body lengths in 50 meters, to keep alive his dream of 8 Olympic gold medals?

Sorry, swimming is not interesting to watch. None of these individual-performance-in-a-bubble sports are interesting to watch.

>The USA Olympic hockey team taking down the Russian juggernaut in 1980?

Awesome... and a long-ass time ago already.


> Tom Dempsey, with half a foot, kicking a game-winning field goal, while setting a new NFL distance record?

Awesome... and a VERY long-ass time ago already.

> Jackie Robinson, not only breaking the color line, but also being named NL Rookie of the Year?

A long-ass time ago already, and neither referenced event in and of itself is particularly exciting to watch.

> Jason McElwain, the NY kid with Down's syndrome, coming off the bench in a high school game and draining 20 points in 3 minutes?

Never heard of it.

> The Texas Western basketball team, with 5 African-American starters, knocking off Adolph Rupp's heavily favored all-white team, to win an NCAA championship?

Awesome... and a VERY long-ass time ago already.

> My son, hitting a game-winning, walk-off, two-run double to win his district championship last year?

Grats to your son! Where's the video?

[Jack Sprat]

93. Why don't people read books

or collect stamps or coins? It depends on the individual's desire to use their time. For me, I'm not interested if I am not actively playing the sport myself. Watching someone else play is boring. Walking, jogging, swimming, volleyball, badminton, bowling. There are too many sports activities to actually participate in that make watching someone else disinteresting. That is one of the problems of our general inclination to sit on the sofa rather than exercise.

[malaise]

96. Sport is one of the major contradictions in my life

I love sport but I know it is used as an opiate for fans. I also know that the sort of money available for corporate owners and athletes is not only ridiculous, but could also be used more productively.

[DailyGrind51]

97. Watching sports on television is like watching paint dry -- BORING!

The Chicago Cubs are only worth seeing AT WRIGLEY FIELD!

[raccoon]

98. I find them boring, except ice hockey. It's the only sport I'll watch on TV, and I like it because

they're ice skating.

I always wanted to ice skate, and was born in the wrong state. I did ice skate as an adult, but I'm too old now.

[JerseygirlCT]

102. LOL. My eye is nowhere near fast enough to follow that puck, but

I agree that it can be pretty to watch - if you don't get too close and see all the rough stuff and blood!

[Orsino]

99. I have almost no interest in any of those things...

...though I'll bet I would develop some if my child (or any friend or relative) was competing.

I'm not claiming immunity to these various triumphant achievements, mind you. I've had a few tears wrung from me by amazing athletic performances on YouTube, for instance, and by Ali's lighting of the Olympic torch in Atlanta. I just never feel like devoting the time to watch entire events.

[Heidi]

100. I played competitive sports in high school. I don't need to re-live it in my free time. (nt)

[ThatsMyBarack]

101. Michelle Kwan's 5th World's skating title in 2003!

I was there IN PERSON (5th-row center) when THAT happened! :woohoo:

World's were in Washington, DC, that year. I bought my tix two years in advance. NO WAY was I gonna miss an opportunity of a lifetime: To GO SEE the World Figure Skating Championships in the city of my birth! ;)

[Hugabear]

106. Nobody is watching sports anymore?

I was under the impression that millions of people still watched sports.

Does it really bother you that there are people out there who just aren't interested in sports, who would rather spend their time doing other things?

[Owl]

107. Boring.

[Dulcinea]

108. To each their own.

I personally enjoy hockey and football, but if other people would rather spend their time in other ways, what's it to me?

[Rebubula]

109. Nice Rebuttal Post

I see what you did there....

:toast:

[Mari333]

111. I dont know why I dont like sports. it bores me I guess. nt