Curious why armchair/spectator sports are so popular? Why people get so into watching and rooting for "their team?"
What is it they provide via the watching experience?
Armchair/spectator sports, why so popular?
Started by
TEO
, Jan 10 2012 02:36 PM
52 replies to this topic
#5
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Posted 10 January 2012 - 02:43 PM
I prefer to ski, golf, hike, or do other outdoor activities, but I also love watching sports because there are few things that create the passion and excitement like a great football or hockey game.
Unless I'm getting laid, but I can do that at halftime.
Unless I'm getting laid, but I can do that at halftime.
#8
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Posted 10 January 2012 - 02:47 PM
I like watching football. I have no team preference, no none of the players stats and don't care who wins. the game is fairly exciting to watch.
But that is about it except extreme sports on ocassion. Watching other sports on the tube is just beyond the bore to me. I'm always at a lose with most groups of guys on this. Walk me into a room full of sports fans and im likely the guy that just sits there quietly. Between not watching sports and not watching any of the mainstream popular TV shows, I'm usually at a loss in most crowds.
But that is about it except extreme sports on ocassion. Watching other sports on the tube is just beyond the bore to me. I'm always at a lose with most groups of guys on this. Walk me into a room full of sports fans and im likely the guy that just sits there quietly. Between not watching sports and not watching any of the mainstream popular TV shows, I'm usually at a loss in most crowds.
#9
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Posted 10 January 2012 - 02:47 PM
It is something engrained in a child. Most children like to play sports.
That sports play as a youngster, and the watching and growing up with a connection to your local markets sports team is a right of passage for many kids.
Then as you grow up as a teenager, sports becomes a way for people to stay connected. This could be in a parent child relationship, or kid and their contemporaries.
Then when you are all grown up as an adult, it is a link/connection back to when you were a kid, a simplier time. Now you have been rooting for this team for so long it just becomes part of who you are.
...
I think that is the basics.
That sports play as a youngster, and the watching and growing up with a connection to your local markets sports team is a right of passage for many kids.
Then as you grow up as a teenager, sports becomes a way for people to stay connected. This could be in a parent child relationship, or kid and their contemporaries.
Then when you are all grown up as an adult, it is a link/connection back to when you were a kid, a simplier time. Now you have been rooting for this team for so long it just becomes part of who you are.
...
I think that is the basics.
#12
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VibeGuide
Posted 10 January 2012 - 02:50 PM
Theory thus far, music acts on the emotional center.
Hmm...perhaps sports viewing activates emotions for some thus providing an adrenaline rush at times?
Watching sports can definitely produce emotional reactions. I know I've had my share of sports-related "moments."
#13
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Posted 10 January 2012 - 02:51 PM
My father used to watch golf on TV. I NEVER understood that. Golf? On TV?
I'd happily head out and swing clubs at the balls, but to watch someone do it on TV is just beyond my comprehension. It's like watching someone bake cookies......
I'd happily head out and swing clubs at the balls, but to watch someone do it on TV is just beyond my comprehension. It's like watching someone bake cookies......
#14
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Posted 10 January 2012 - 02:54 PM
My father used to watch golf on TV. I NEVER understood that. Golf? On TV?
I'd happily head out and swing clubs at the balls, but to watch someone do it on TV is just beyond my comprehension. It's like watching someone bake cookies......
I guess it depends on what you're into. I watch bowling on TV (yes... I said bowling) and there are times when (IMHO) it can be quite exciting. But for me it makes sense since that's the one sport I actively participate in. My guess is its the same for golfers. Pesonally, I'm not into golf at all and equate watching it on TV with watching grass grow. But if that's your sport, I can understand why it would be exciting for you to watch.
#15
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Posted 10 January 2012 - 02:56 PM
Watching sports can definitely produce emotional reactions. I know I've had my share of sports-related "moments."
You should've heard me this morning when I heard the Bama / LSU score, and then heard the Bama defense only allowed 92 total yards
ROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE!
#16
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Posted 10 January 2012 - 03:00 PM
My father used to watch golf on TV. I NEVER understood that. Golf? On TV?
I'd happily head out and swing clubs at the balls, but to watch someone do it on TV is just beyond my comprehension. It's like watching someone bake cookies......
I enjoy participating in sports, however watching alone is a snooze fest for me. Watching with others who are into them can be a fun time due to their excitement.
#17
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Posted 10 January 2012 - 03:33 PM
there's a beauty to any sport when it's played at an exceptional level. take baseball - a pitcher throwing a complete game, a 450-foot home run, stealing 3rd base - it's a beautiful, choreographed event with moments of improvisation and spontaneity. sort of like a good concert. in fact, exactly like a good concert, when you look at it that way.
#19
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Posted 10 January 2012 - 03:39 PM
I've never really understood it. Was into the Sox as a kid and beyond just because of the whole "curse" and how they never won the World Series...then once they got in in 2004 I was over it. The amount of $ professional athletes make makes me sick and that contributes to my ambivalence. Hockey is exciting to watch and I enjoy the vibe at the games. Football does nothing for me, but I'll go with the flow and if friends are going to bar or getting together to watch, I go just for the social aspect of it all.
#20
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Posted 10 January 2012 - 03:43 PM
i enjoy sports. i used to play some fairly rough games, but am now unable to withstand that sort of physical beating. though i haven't changed my love of some sporting events, so watching/cheering is as close as it's going to get for me in many respects.
#28
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Posted 10 January 2012 - 04:27 PM
Watching people punch/beat each other for entertainment or some other kind of kick, still eludes me.
Does it have to do with the bobbing and weaving?
i'm not a fan of any sport where the goal is to render your opponent unconscious. however, i'll say it's fascinating to watch when it happens. i can understand the spectator aspect of it.
#29
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Posted 10 January 2012 - 05:25 PM
Watching people punch/beat each other for entertainment or some other kind of kick, still eludes me.
Does it have to do with the bobbing and weaving?
i should have said that. I actually love boxing, MMA and UFC ultimate fighter. I'm not sure why, but being that I grew up on martial arts films, it's still one of the "guy" things I guess....
#34
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Posted 10 January 2012 - 06:46 PM
I am not a fan of sports. I especially don't like that horrible behavior of athletes when they are supposed to be role models or at least kids are told that. I also don't get why people say things like "We did it" when their team wins. I don't say "We rocked that buddha" when the biscuits play well I say that they did. People watching sports didn't do shit but sit on there ass, eat chips and drink beer.
#36
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Posted 10 January 2012 - 06:55 PM
Watching people punch/beat each other for entertainment or some other kind of kick, still eludes me.
Does it have to do with the bobbing and weaving?
I used to hate it
Then I became fascinated with Ali, Tyson and McBride among others
I also have a couple friends who are boxers
#38
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Posted 10 January 2012 - 07:13 PM
there's a beauty to any sport when it's played at an exceptional level. take baseball - a pitcher throwing a complete game, a 450-foot home run, stealing 3rd base - it's a beautiful, choreographed event with moments of improvisation and spontaneity. sort of like a good concert. in fact, exactly like a good concert, when you look at it that way.
Well said!! I couldn't agree more.
#39
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Posted 10 January 2012 - 07:37 PM
I get why people like to watch sports on TV.
What I don't get is why they like to YELL AT THE TV!!!!
because sometimes the tv needs a talking to!!
actually, i think it's my way of interacting w/ the game and/or sports announcers.
& yes i realize they can't hear me, but sometimes i like to think they can
one reason why people enjoy watching sports is that it's a great way to "escape" for a few hours
#42
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Posted 10 January 2012 - 08:07 PM
Growing up we had one TV for a long time. It was in the family room where my Dad would watch the Yankees EVERY night. No debates. Didn't matter if he fell asleep on the couch. Changing channels was not an option. Don't even think about it. Yankees 100 and whatever games per year.
So of course I became a Red Sox fan
Today I find myself watching 100 and whatever Red Sox games per year.
You're right, it is a great distraction from the rest of the world. You get engrossed in the game, the players, the strategies. And you forget just for awhile about mortgages and job searches and wars.
Football, a weekend requirement in my house, is similar but different. I can watch any football game. Its a gladiator sport. For those who have played, you know how that controlled aggression makes you feel. Sure theres pain, and casualties, and because of that its inherently cruel, but theres no denying the drama and adrenaline rushes that come with football. Watching men beat each other up and sometimes will their way to victory can be inspirational.
And mostly that is why I watch.
That and having a little dough on the games
So of course I became a Red Sox fan
Today I find myself watching 100 and whatever Red Sox games per year.
You're right, it is a great distraction from the rest of the world. You get engrossed in the game, the players, the strategies. And you forget just for awhile about mortgages and job searches and wars.
Football, a weekend requirement in my house, is similar but different. I can watch any football game. Its a gladiator sport. For those who have played, you know how that controlled aggression makes you feel. Sure theres pain, and casualties, and because of that its inherently cruel, but theres no denying the drama and adrenaline rushes that come with football. Watching men beat each other up and sometimes will their way to victory can be inspirational.
And mostly that is why I watch.
That and having a little dough on the games
#47
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Posted 10 January 2012 - 08:36 PM
Growing up we had one TV for a long time. It was in the family room where my Dad would watch the Yankees EVERY night. No debates. Didn't matter if he fell asleep on the couch. Changing channels was not an option. Don't even think about it. Yankees 100 and whatever games per year.
So of course I became a Red Sox fan
Today I find myself watching 100 and whatever Red Sox games per year.
You're right, it is a great distraction from the rest of the world. You get engrossed in the game, the players, the strategies. And you forget just for awhile about mortgages and job searches and wars.
Football, a weekend requirement in my house, is similar but different. I can watch any football game. Its a gladiator sport. For those who have played, you know how that controlled aggression makes you feel. Sure theres pain, and casualties, and because of that its inherently cruel, but theres no denying the drama and adrenaline rushes that come with football. Watching men beat each other up and sometimes will their way to victory can be inspirational.
And mostly that is why I watch.
well said
#50
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Posted 11 January 2012 - 03:45 PM
Athletic achievement can be a beautiful thing to behold. For many, it's a chance to witness the sport we played as children at a supreme level. We wish we could perform at that level, and we live vicariously through the professional. For others, it's a sense of pride for the local 9 or local 11. And for others, it's a sense of patriotism when we watch international sport. Plenty of reasons to watch and enjoy the game but for many, it's taken too seriously. Perspective is in order for many.
