Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Sports

Sometimes I question the mass appeal of sporting events. As far as engaging in them, I can see the allure. Competitions are, quite simply, fun for a lot of people. Plus most physical activities are great ways to alleviate stress and attain a level of physical fitness. But as far as watching them, I feel left out.

It’s some token masculine characteristic to be involved in keeping up with one sport or another. I often feel like I’m missing some necessary quality in the societal construct of ‘manhood’ because I don’t keep up with any sports. But why is it that way? I suppose there could be a sense of community hearkening back to instinctual urges that relate to tribalism—knowing a certain team represents your city or state makes it seem like it’s you out on the playing field. Perhaps it’s the physical display that encourages most onlookers—but then again, these seem few and far between in the actual gameplay. Or maybe it’s the rule structures—my dad is notorious for justifying his fascination with sports as being rooted in an appreciation for the in-depth strategies that supposedly go along with them. So why not watch Chess or Go or even competitive Pokemon battling? It seems to me they share an even greater amount of strategy.

I can question the logic behind watching sports as much as I want; it wouldn’t change anything. Although I don’t really want to change anything to begin with. I’m fine with other people liking sports, I’m just perplexed at the rationale (or lack of one) behind that enjoyment. But the more I think about it, the more I realize how many hobbies I have in my life that can’t be explained by logic. Sometimes logic can’t explain your amusement.

8 comments:

  1. I can't seem to grasp the concept of watching people playing sports either, especially if you dn't personally know them or they don't represent your country.

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  2. In South Korea, Starcraft is a massive sport. It's funny how location changes what is popular.

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  3. Hm. I tend to enjoy reading about good results for the teams that I support, but actually watching sports bores me to death...
    That last sentence so true.

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  4. People here buy newspapers that only talk about football/soccer. Maybe chess is not as exciting as other sports. I used to play chess a lot in school and the only people watching my matches were my parents...

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  5. I think the reason I love sports and gaming so much is because I'm a competitive person, and I like watching people compete.

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  6. Like it's been said, videogame competition is treated like a major sport nowadays, and so has happened with chess, for example.

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  7. I've been on this topic myself for quite some time. I never understood why the whole "sports fandom" is so widely accepted ALL OVER the world. Yet, people in the "Star Trek" fandom or any other type of "nerdy" culture are ridiculed and even considered weird for their appreciation.

    Sports fans paint themselves in their team's colors, wear ridiculous hats that they paid ridiculous amounts of money for (I know, my folks are Football FREAKS and I see how much their shit cost) and even go as far as causing riots.

    I guess I just can't see why Sports is the only hobby that isn't mocked despite it's hobbyists being just as crazy (if not more) as any other hobbyist. Guess it's because majority rules in this society.

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