# The Absurdity of Being a Die-Hard Sports Fan



## Gavroche

I posted this note to my FB but also wanted to post it here to see what reaction SASers have to my thought process here.

An observation such as that which I'm about to lay out could be life changing for some people; I hope it is, and I don't think I'm exaggerating, but I might be. I have been a fan and follower of several professional sports teams in my life and if there is one thing I have learned it is that being a die hard fan simply doesn't pay and it's stupid to waste your time obsessing over sports. Not only does it not pay, but fans become emotional prisoners of the very sports and teams they love to watch, permitting their lives to be significantly affected by something as frivolous as grown men playing with balls.

My falling out with fandom started with major league baseball and the Yankees and if I could pin point the time when I started to just reject watching the sport and team entirely it was probably the 2011 ALDS against the Detroit Tigers. The Yankees lost the series in 5 games in a series that lasted a week. In one week's time, a season that lasted 162 regular season games over 6 months or so was over in what seemed like a flash. The entire season was a waste, for the fan. For the player the season was a year's worth of work and they got paid handsomely for it, the fan is just left with a lighter wallet, a post season hangover of disappointment, and the realization that they just wasted hours upon hours following a team in a failed season.

I don't think I need to expand on the lighter wallet and disappointment, but I will expand on just how much time is spent watching a baseball team during one season. An MLB team plays 162 regular season games a year, I'd estimate that the average time of the broadcast of those games is 3-3.5 hours a game. If you are a die hard fan who watches every game, you are spending somewhere between 486 to 567 hours (20 to nearly 24 days) watching your team's games every regular season. Keep in mind this doesn't count post season games, highlights/baseball shows on ESPN, or pre and post game shows fans often watch regularly. Considering the information I've just laid out, I think a fair estimate is that the die hard baseball fan who watches every game their team plays(including pre/post game shows every now and then) spends around 1 month out of a 12 month year watching baseball. That statistic is just crazy to me, and now imagine fans doing this on an annual basis with their team failing to win a championship every year with few exceptions if they are fortunate enough to see their team win. Think about how much time is spent watching the same sport, with results that will seldom bring you any lasting or significant happiness especially if your favored team never or rarely wins a championship.

The NBA and NHL are similar stories, their seasons last 82 games each, and their games are slightly shorter, but the basic premise is still there: you are devoting so many waking hours to watching other people play a game and you almost never benefit from this time investment in terms of the larger picture. How many Knicks games are Knicks fans going to have their eyes glued to before they begin to realize that this franchise hasn't won a championship since 1973, and the best course of action is probably to just sit back, relax, watch casually and wait for the day or year they end that drought and spare themselves the angst of emotionally investing themselves in a team that is not likely to win it all at the present time.

I think the NFL is a slightly different story in that the season for each team is so short that it doesn't eat up a significant amount of time like MLB, NHL, and NBA seasons do. An NFL team only plays 16 games a year in the regular season, and they're almost always on the weekend. As such I really think the only sport I can stand to follow closely at this point is football partly for this reason. The other reason being that football is my favorite sport and I like to watch for the game itself even when the Jets are not playing. But even with being an intense Jet fan, I readily acknowledge that the negative emotions I associate with being a Jet fan will outweigh the positive. Even if the Jets were to win the Super Bowl this year, I'd remember that for the rest of my life, but the enjoyment, in the moment, would only last in the following days or weeks, after that, that experience is filed into memory and ceases to feel as good when you look back on it rather than experiencing it as it happened. I'll tell you this thought, one of the best decisions I made in 2012 was to simply stop caring about the Jets, I saved myself so much grief and unnecessary stress by simply refusing to care about that season.

As I get close to the end here, I'm going to condense what being a fan is in large part about. A big part of being a fan essentially involves getting enjoyment from associating a positive emotion with your favored team performing well. But this enjoyment sometimes doesn't come when your team is awful or doesn't perform up to your expectations or hopes. Getting enjoyment out of being a fan is also time consuming, it involves investing many many waking hours with eyes on a tv screen, keeping track of your favorite teams' games, and in my opinion, the huge time investment alone isn't worth the enjoyment you get from it. Think about all of the other stuff you could be doing; even playing video games or watching a movie is of greater benefit in my opinion, as least with video games you are engaged and doing something, and with movies you are exposing yourself to new stories, new ideas, they are both intellectually interactive, in a way watching sports isn't.

Think about how much money you would have saved if you didn't buy the tickets to that game where your team ended up getting blown out, didn't buy the overpriced food and drinks at the stadium, didn't buy the expensive jerseys that you almost never wear anyway, didn't buy the t shirts, hats, shorts, etc. And you realize that when you buy that stuff and wear it often, what does it say actually say about you? It says that the franchise gets free advertising and you get to tell the world you cheer for the guys who wear the [insert color] jerseys, but in the end, who really cares what you wear or why you wear it anyway? The point is, people who identify as fans seem to get some sort of strange enjoyment out of wearing their team's apparel, for what reason? I don't know, but it's starting to seem very childish to me, and perhaps not coincidentally similar to the style choices of 4th graders who wear jersey shirts of their favorite players as if that clothing choice has replaced the plain white t in terms of what is considered plain or normal.

This rant/note has gone on almost far enough, but in the end, I'll just say that people who consider themselves die hard fans of certain teams should really rethink their devotion to watching adults play with balls and consider what else they could be doing with that time. There are so many things out there to do, things to hear, things to learn, things to see; there are so many other ways to get enjoyment in life, and there is so much more meaning in life, so why waste so much time watching adults play with balls? I'll speak for myself and say that I'm done allowing myself to get stressed out over games, who cares, life is too short, I'm not going to waste any more time paying significant attention to the "soap opera for men" (as Dan LeBatard calls it) that is sports. I'll still watch football and the Jets, but I'm done getting worked up over how they do, I'd much rather exert my energy elsewhere on something I can actually be involved in rather than passively watch.


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## trolololololololo

I can definitely relate. I can't watch a whole soccer match without becoming bored. It's like... why am I doing this? I can't even be in control of the players.

I think watching or reading fiction is as pointless though. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy a movie every now and again. But I can't stand reading fiction. It feels dead.


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## intheshadows

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fan_(1996_film)


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## Gavroche

trolololololololo said:


> I can definitely relate. I can't watch a whole soccer match without becoming bored. It's like... why am I doing this? I can't even be in control of the players.
> 
> I think watching or reading fiction is as pointless though. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy a movie every now and again. But I can't stand reading fiction. It feels dead.


Well I had similar feelings about fiction for a long time until I looked at it from the angle that I am gaining information and perspective from experiences I've never had through the author's writing, and you'd be surprised how much this sort of thing can affect how you think depending on what book you read and who wrote it.


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## The Patriot

For me on it comes down to fan, psychology Professor Daniel Wann a psychologist at Murray State University Publisher of several books on fan psychology said it best fans find a sense of belonging and acceptance in the sports that they haven't been able to find in their life; Sports fills a void in their life.

Now I don't speak for everyone but I do agree that there are fans who take to sports to fill a void. Emotionally and Psychology the team is ingrained in their brain, Their Dad, mom, brother, Uncle, etc were fans so they are the most passionate fans escape their normal daily life and social inhibitions by expressing themselves freely. For example check out this youtube of a Georgia Bulldogs fan.






Fans are either born to love a team through family, where they live or they may watch a few games later in life and find a team they enjoy, but can those people really be die hard's? are you only a die Hard if you are born to the team or are can they be bred?

Eagles fans for example are extreme Die hard's passionate to the point that it is almost life and death for them, their fans boo'd Santa, they will boo their own players, they will beat a fan of a rival team for coming to a tail gate wearing anything but Eagles Gear, its in their blood, Being a Fan takes us back to primitive times when we lived in tribes, hunted, and warriors fought to protect the tribe, this applies to athletes who play a similar role for a city, club school.

For Die Hard Fans it means being emotionally invested in something that really has no real world consequences, The Die Hards identify themselves with the team, Fans don't only connect through the game but through social media where they feel a sense of community and can connect with others who may share the same passion as them, its a sense of belonging, if a sports organization pays attention to a simple message on FB, the fan feels there is value in what they are contributing.

Sorry I have to cut this short but hope this makes sense and watch the video (Hilarious, anyways)


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## trolololololololo

Gavroche said:


> Well I had similar feelings about fiction for a long time until I looked at it from the angle that I am gaining information and perspective from experiences I've never had through the author's writing, and you'd be surprised how much this sort of thing can affect how you think depending on what book you read and who wrote it.


Good for you, but I can't focus when I'm reading something impractical. I can do it when it's a movie, but can't do it with a text. It may sound sort of silly, but it feels like an inhuman effort for me :teeth


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## Recipe For Disaster

I agree with what you said for the most part and this is also why I stopped watching sports. I was a sports fan during my teen years and I look at it as something I simply grew out of.

One thing I think you are doing though, is placing too much emphases on winning. While it is certainly true that die hard fans want their teams to win and feel negative emotions when they dont, you cant say that a fan wasted all the time they spent watching sports just because their team didnt win the world series or stanley cup. I mean, they may have gotten enjoyment from watching the team win during the season and just because the team didnt end up winning it all, doesnt necessarily take away from the joy the fan experienced watching the team win their division and get into the playoffs for example.

But youre absolutely right to point out how silly it is to get emotionally invested in men playing with balls and to invest hundreds or thousands of hours in following every detail of a teams efforts. You see, the real reason I think sports are a waste of time isnt because of the stupidity of the emotional investment, as that can be avoided by simply watching for enjoyment of the game itself without needing to root for a specific team. The real reason is the extreme repetitiveness of it. As you correctly realized, when you watch a movie or read a book, you are exposing yourself to new ideas and information. With a sport, what can happen is restricted by the rules of the game, which are pitifully simplistic compared with what can happen in a movie or even a video game. So sports get old fast for people with bright and inquiring minds. 

I also think one of the most ridiculous aspects of sports is the sports interview and the whole sports reporting business/talk radio. I used to work with someone who listened to sports talk radio non stop, so not only did he waste thousands of hours watching sports but when he wasnt watching them, he was listening to some pompous broadcaster spout off his opinions about them. And what makes all of this such a farce, what actually makes me feel embarrassed to hear grown men talk this way, is the fact that none of it matters, in the slightest bit. 

It really reminds me of the emperors new clothes. If you notice, whenever they interview a player, he always behaves as if it really matters whether or not his team wins. The interviewer also, behaves as if this is the case. It's like in this one area of life, it is acceptable, nay, obligatory, for grown ups to play make believe and pretend that the outcome of baseball/basketball/football/hockey games is somehow of great importance to the world.

Personally, I believe it stems at least in part from the fact that people want it to matter so much, in order to give meaning to their miserable lives which are desperately lacking in meaning. Those who have found real meaning in life, never get too worked up over the outcome of sporting events, even if they still enjoy watching sports.

I have wondered how it would go over if during an interview a player when asked for example, how he felt about a difficult loss, alluded to the fact that he couldn't care less about who won. It was just a game for goodness sake and the whole point was just to have fun while getting some exercise and fresh air.


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## BTAG

My life would be insanely boring without sports. I wake up and watch Sportscenter every morning, or First Take, or NFL Total Access, and then whenever any game is on, regardless of sport, I watch it. I have the smallest Eddie George jersey in the history of the world. I've had a Steve McNair(RIP), Eddie George, and the Freak Jevon Kearse poster on my wall for more than half of my life. Now I'm a giant Chargers fan. I go to multiple training camp practices a year, multiple games a year, and FanFest every year. I prepare for the NFL Draft by writing multiple pages of information about players, and dream of being a GM.

I'm the same with other sports too. I watch all 82+ Clippers games, and I've been doing that since they were horrid. I watch as much baseball as I can, and cheer on my Mets, regardless of how terrible they are. I spend the rest of my time home messing around with my fantasy stuff. I wouldn't have a life without sports. I'd come home, play games for a couple hours, and then be bored until I fell asleep. It's such a huge part of my life, and as someone else has said, its a positive escape from what I go through on a daily basis if anyone saw the thread about my dad.


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## Recipe For Disaster

BTAG said:


> My life would be insanely boring without sports. I wake up and watch Sportscenter every morning, or First Take, or NFL Total Access, and then whenever any game is on, regardless of sport, I watch it. I have the smallest Eddie George jersey in the history of the world. I've had a Steve McNair(RIP), Eddie George, and the Freak Jevon Kearse poster on my wall for more than half of my life. Now I'm a giant Chargers fan. I go to multiple training camp practices a year, multiple games a year, and FanFest every year. I prepare for the NFL Draft by writing multiple pages of information about players, and dream of being a GM.
> 
> I'm the same with other sports too. I watch all 82+ Clippers games, and I've been doing that since they were horrid. I watch as much baseball as I can, and cheer on my Mets, regardless of how terrible they are. I spend the rest of my time home messing around with my fantasy stuff. I wouldn't have a life without sports. I'd come home, play games for a couple hours, and then be bored until I fell asleep. It's such a huge part of my life, and as someone else has said, its a positive escape from what I go through on a daily basis if anyone saw the thread about my dad.


Its interesting to hear from someone who doesn't share the sentiment of this thread. How old are you and how long have you been watching sports? I used to be a huge baseball fan myself and football also, so I have some idea where you're coming from. It wasn't about cheering for a specific team for me either, I just enjoyed the game. But it is something I outgrew after I realized how ultimately meaningless baseball was to me. Having social anxiety especially, I realized that I was just trying to escape from the pain in my life by losing myself in sports when what I actually wanted was to be doing other things like getting a girlfriend and learning new things.

Anyway I am not trying to tell you that you should stop liking sports. From ages 11-18 sports were a huge part of my life and I don't regret that or feel like I shouldn't have wasted so many nights watching baseball on tv. It does provide an escape and one that is a lot more positive than using drugs or spending money on things you dont need.

But I also feel like it is better if we can learn how to live our lives in such a way that we dont require a regular escape and instead learn to accept life for what it is, whether pleasant or unpleasant without the need to get away from what is unpleasant. Then we can use our time in more constructive ways and self centered activities that dont accomplish anything for yourself or for anyone else like obsessing over sports, begin to seem pointless.

I just hope you hear what I am saying without getting offended by it. I am not trying to judge you for how you spend your time, because believe me I have certainly spent my time in awful ways and less constructive ways than watching sports. But I would say that if there is one thing Ive learned it is that it is better to meet life head on and then try to flow with it, rather than seek to escape from it. Spending inordinate amounts of time on entertainment is not good for us. Our society is addicted to entertainment because it has lost sight of the meaning and the beauty that lies inherent in life.


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## KelsKels

trolololololololo said:


> I can definitely relate. I can't watch a whole soccer match without becoming bored. It's like... why am I doing this? I can't even be in control of the players.
> 
> I think watching or reading fiction is as pointless though. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy a movie every now and again. But I can't stand reading fiction. It feels dead.


I like that your name is troll.. yet you reply to the longest posts and give real answers. I didn't read the whole thing.. just the first 2 paragraphs, honestly. But some people really enjoy sports and have fun rooting for their team, even if it doesn't always work out. You cant really say "its not worth it to like sports" just because that's how you feel. A lot of others would disagree.


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## BTAG

I'm currently 19, and I first started watching sports the 99 season when I was 5. I was a big Titans fan(Steve McNair is my favorite player of all time, and I distinctly remember sending hand written letters to individual players in crayon) and I remember crying for an hour straight when they were a yard short in the Super Bowl. I say it's an escape now, but that's because it's something that I've loved for so long, I can fall back on it when times get rough. If I had the best life in the world, I would still watch a ridiculous amount of sports. I see the point that you're making about it being a meaningless escape, but just like gaming I love it too much to ever give it up.


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## F1X3R

> My falling out with fandom started with major league baseball and the Yankees and if I could pin point the time when I started to just reject watching the sport and team entirely it was probably the 2011 ALDS against the Detroit Tigers. The Yankees lost the series in 5 games in a series that lasted a week. In one week's time, a season that lasted 162 regular season games over 6 months or so was over in what seemed like a flash. The entire season was a waste, for the fan. For the player the season was a year's worth of work and they got paid handsomely for it, the fan is just left with a lighter wallet, a post season hangover of disappointment, and the realization that they just wasted hours upon hours following a team in a failed season.


Tigers fan here...you sound like a typical Yankee fan. :teeth

Also a lions fan...I understand the pointless feeling after losses. Getting invested for every single game seems too much, but sports fans live for the "big game", those are the most cathartic and only last a few hours.


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## Gavroche

To chime back in here; I think people might be confusing what my point is. I'm not saying sports are bad and that you should stop watching them all together. My point is that it's not good to be obsessed, and that being a die hard fan (most of whom seem obsessed to a degree) doesn't really pay off in the end. I'll still watch sports, football is my favorite, a sport I love for the game itself, it's the only sport I can really intently watch even when my team isn't playing, but I'm finished with letting it affect my life, and I'm done letting so much of my time be consumed by it and other sports. 

And perhaps like many here, I became an avid fan of many teams in part due to boredom in my own life and sports was an on going thing that was easy to get into and occupy myself with. But oddly enough, as someone who has rolled his eyes at the crowd that has their eyes glued to "keeping up with the kardashians," "the real housewives of (insert city)," and any other reality show predicated on stirring up drama, I began to think that scoffing at the people who watch these shows might be somewhat hypocritical of me, because in the end, how is sports all that much different? 

Sports writer, Dan LeBatard, often refers to sports as a "soap opera for men" and I think he's right. Most of the talk in sports is rarely on the actual athletics or competition, I'd say most of the talk centers around the drama. And when I look at it from that perspective, I simply start to lose interest. And I think about all the actual drama in the world, and it's sad that many of us will get outraged when an official makes a bad call, or act like we just got told we have a terminal illness when our team loses a huge game, but many of us won't feel a tenth of those emotions when we hear about actual issues that those close to us have. An extended family member could die, maybe one we knew and were familiar with, but were not that close to and I think many of the sports obsessed would have a greater emotional impact from a missed field goal by their team to lose a football game.


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## fonz

Yes,I agree the NFL is the exception of the American sports - every game is like an event,particularly MNF. I could never get into baseball (well not regular season anyway) because of the huge number of meaningless games. This is part of the reason why tennis is my favourite sport - every tournament is a chance for a player to make a good run or even win a title. If they do badly,onto the next one.


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## coldsorehighlighter

The fun thing about being a fan of a sports team isn't really the end point(winning or losing), it's more about the journey.

I was raised a Boston Bruins fan since birth(born in 1984). My dad grew up a Bruins fan in a family with 4 brothers who were fans of the Montreal Canadiens(one was for the Toronto Maple Leafs). In 1988, I was 4, and Boston went to the Stanley Cup finals, and lost. In 1990, they did the same thing. I barely remember those years.
Cheering for the same team is a bond I share with my father. The Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011, after years and years and years of disappointment, and watching that happen is a top highlight of my life, and always will be.

Being a fan is only a waste of time/money when you get no enjoyment out of it...and even the losses are enjoyable in the grand scheme of things, because that's what makes it all worth it when your team does win.

The OP, being a Yankees fan, I can understand...most fans of that team only become fans of that team because it gives them the best chance at "winning"...and once the Yankees go a few years without being good, their "fans" take off.


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## Claudia87

I think people do get too emotionally invested sometimes. I've been guilty of letting the outcome of hockey games dictate my mood. I was nearly suicidal when the Devils lost in the Stanley Cup final a couple of seasons ago. But on the other side of it I'm always looking forward to that "high" of winning again, so I continue to watch, mood swings and all.


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## coldsorehighlighter

Claudia87 said:


> I think people do get too emotionally invested sometimes. I've been guilty of letting the outcome of hockey games dictate my mood. I was nearly suicidal when the Devils lost in the Stanley Cup final a couple of seasons ago. But on the other side of it I'm always looking forward to that "high" of winning again, so I continue to watch, mood swings and all.


Getting suicidal over anything is obviously being way too invested(although pretty neat to hear coming from a Devils fan haha). But I kinda like being invested to the point where it emotionally affects me, because it works both ways. The happy feeling you get when your team wins is directly proportionate to how awful you've felt all the years they've lost, leading up to that win.


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## Claudia87

the cheat said:


> Getting suicidal over anything is obviously being way too invested(although pretty neat to hear coming from a Devils fan haha). .


Maybe I was embellishing a little...but trust me when I say I was no treat to be around for a couple of weeks after that loss!


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## coldsorehighlighter

Claudia87 said:


> Maybe I was embellishing a little...but trust me when I say I was no treat to be around for a couple of weeks after that loss!


Haha I understand. After the way the Bruins lost to Chicago this past season, I handled it surprisingly well...the combination of winning in 2011, and knowing they'll compete again this coming season, helped a lot.

But when Boston blew the 3-0 lead to Philly in 2010...yeah, I was pretty catatonic. But again, I love that...


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## chaosherz

First, as a very new baseball fan, I do not understand why they play so many games during the season. Seriously, can someone explain it to me? Is it because baseball is so much less physically demanding than almost all the other major sports? Is it just tradition? Or are they just greedy and want to make money? Because seriously, playing a game almost every day throughout the season is just stupid. I really can't imagine how someone could watch every single game of their team. I mean, who has the time? The unemployed or retired are the only people with that much time on their hands!

Anyway, I think you make great points Gavroche. Sports really is a soap opera for men. It gives them something to obsess about and channel their own unrequited dreams of sports stardom that almost all men had back when they were boys, but obviously 99.9% of them never achieved.

I consider myself a casual sports fan these days, and I really have noticed how much less interested I am compared to when I was younger. I have never been one of those obsessive sports fans that you talk about, probably because I was never any good at sports, but I have enjoyed watching several sports over the years. And I like watching the major sporting events when they come around (summer and winter Olympics, World Cup, the grand slam tennis tournaments).

The only sport I have followed constantly since I was a boy is F1 motor racing. Thankfully there are only 16-19 races per year, each taking about 1.5hrs, so it isn't a huge time commitment. I used to obssess over it (e.g. post in forums, subscribe to a magazine and buy merchandise etc) but as I got older, my interest has waned. Now I don't think about the sport at all, except when the race is on.

But I think the obsession you talk about is more related to team sports, and that is something I have never understood. The one team sport I am a fan of is Australian rules football, and this year I have attended all the 11 home games of my team. While I know most of the players, I don't know all, let alone their numbers, positions, or any other details about them. I just don't care. I just enjoy the game for the 2.5hrs of entertainment that it is each weekend. I see people (and it is usually men) around me in the crowd, screaming their heads off, telling the players what to do and not to do, berating the umpires and opposition players, and just generally making a dick out of themselves, and I think, seriously? 

The way people worship the players to me is silly. I often just stop and think to myself, this is so childish. Grown men running around after a ball like little boys. Taking it all so seriously that they get themselves into petty fights like cavemen. All over a football game. It really is pathetic. And yet they are among the highest paid people in our society. I never buy into any of the hype of the sport. I don't worship the players, want autographs, photos or memorabilia other than a couple things like a scarf and T-shirt. When I meet another fan of the sport or team, I don't want to discuss them in detail, I really don't care. 

I see sports like a movie or TV show, it is something you watch for the entertainment and then that's it, it's over. You might occasionally talk about it with someone else who is a fan, but you don't need to spend hours obsessing over it, let alone letting it influence your mood if they win or lose. Sports is just a game. Just entertainment to pass the time and give us something to enjoy in life. Just do it in moderation and you will be fine.


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## anonymid

chaosherz said:


> First, as a very new baseball fan, I do not understand why they play so many games during the season. Seriously, can someone explain it to me? Is it because baseball is so much less physically demanding than almost all the other major sports? Is it just tradition? Or are they just greedy and want to make money? Because seriously, playing a game almost every day throughout the season is just stupid. I really can't imagine how someone could watch every single game of their team. I mean, who has the time? The unemployed or retired are the only people with that much time on their hands!


Well, for one thing, yes, it's not as physically taxing as sports like basketball and American football, so it's possible to have games every day without the quality of play suffering all that much.

Second, any one baseball game (at the professional level anyway), even between the best team and the worst team, is very close to a coin flip, much more so than in other sports anyway. Think of it this way: in a typical NBA basketball game, each team will have about 100 possessions in which to try to score; in a Major League baseball game, each team has only nine, so there are far fewer opportunities for the superior team to assert itself, and thus a greater chance that the inferior team can benefit from some lucky bounces and win the game. If a typical basketball lasted only nine possessions, there would be a lot more upsets, and it would take a lot more games for the best teams to distinguish themselves. And if a baseball game lasted 100 innings, the better team would win far more often, and it wouldn't take nearly as many games for the best teams to distinguish themselves.

Another factor is that because baseball is turn-based, the best individual players can't dominate one game the way they can in other sports. In basketball and in football, for example, you can put the ball in the hands of your best player almost whenever you want or need to; in baseball, you can't do that--whereas LeBron James and Peyton Manning can have the ball in their hands on every play and dictate the action, Miguel Cabrera can only bat when it's his turn to bat. He only has a chance to make an impact four or five times a game. Pitchers do have that kind of every-play influence, but because of the taxing nature of pitching, they can't play every day. So, in baseball, the responsibility for winning is shared much more evenly across all the the players on the team than it is in other sports. So, again it just takes a lot more games for the most talented teams to separate themselves from the pack.

*Long story short: there's a lot of random variation involved in the outcome of any one baseball game, much more so than in other major team sports. So it takes the accumulation of a lot of games over a long season for the differences among teams to really emerge.*

Incidentally, for that reason, the baseball playoffs are pretty much a crapshoot. Even a seven-game series is hardly enough to distinguish one team from another.

As for being greedy and wanting to make money: every pro sports league wants to make money. If the NFL thought it could make more money by having teams play every day, it would. Ditto for every other sports league.


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## gather

Like football.


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## Jeff

One need not look any farther than the recent Brazilian soccer beheading to see how unhealthy a sports obsession can be. I personally think human beings have some innate deep animal like desire to belong to something, to pick a side. You see it in everything....sports, politics, religion, etc.


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## Callum96

I haven't bothered reading everything you wrote, (it's extremely boring) but I got the jist of the point you're trying to make. 

You seem incredibly bitter. Oh, and ignorant. 

Why does it matter to you so much that some people get more enjoyment out of a certain thing than you do? Why do you care enough to write an essay about it? As you said - there's so much to see and do out there in the world - yet you're spending your time writing an essay criticising people for having a hobby. The futility of this argument is astounding.


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## Jeff

Callum96 said:


> I haven't bothered reading everything you wrote, (it's extremely boring) but I got the jist of the point you're trying to make.
> 
> You seem incredibly bitter. Oh, and ignorant.
> 
> Why does it matter to you so much that some people get more enjoyment out of a certain thing than you do? Why do you care enough to write an essay about it? As you said - there's so much to see and do out there in the world - yet you're spending your time writing an essay criticising people for having a hobby. The futility of this argument is astounding.


You missed his point by a long shot. Try actually reading someone's post before going on a forum, especially one for social anxiety, and calling someone ignorant....because failing to do so makes you look...well...._ignorant_.


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## Callum96

Jeff said:


> You missed his point by a long shot. Try actually reading someone's post before going on a forum, especially one for social anxiety, and calling someone ignorant....because failing to do so makes you look...well...._ignorant_.


I agree, it was ignorant of me. But having read the whole post, my opinion hasn't changed whatsoever.


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## vanilla90

Was an interesting and insightful post, I learned something there. Although to play devils advocate, I do believe there is one exception, football (soccer). Not to be rude, but it is a sport that hasn't been "Americanised". When I look at sports in the US, they don't have the passion, the emotion and fire that a soccer match in Europe has. I'm not a die hard soccer than, I follow my team every Saurday on tv and a few times a year take a trip down to London to watch them play. Our stadium isn't hugely impressive, but even then the atmosphere is something you have to see to believe. Our cultures are different here in the UK, and being a die hard sports fan is much less stupid in the land of tea and scones.

I don't think it's absurd to be a die hard sports fan, sure people could be spending their time and energy into something more productive... But it's life. We're stuck on a floating rock in space, we're walking stick's made of water and there is a giant ball of fire a million miles in the sky... Who is to say what is right, and what is wrong when the absurdity of life is FAR more absurd than being a die hard sports fan. In the end, there isn't a feeling in the world better than your team scoring in the last second of the game. For that one short moment, nothing in life matters. You can forget about your crappy job, your lazy wife, your annoying neighbours, your countries next stupid war, your washing machine, your tax repayments, your golfing buddies, your car's wheel rim that needs reparing, your dying relative, your ever lowering savings and your ever rising stress. Because all those little worries, in my opinion, are far more time destroying than being a sports fan.


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## AussiePea

The issue I have with most American sports is how much stoppage there is in them, there is just no flow to the games at all with so many time outs and what not and that kills the experience for me completely and I do see it as being quite a large waste of time and feel those sports could be consolidated into being a much better flowing and action packed experience which does not soak up as much of this important time which could be used doing other things. 

On the other hand I love what sport offers in regards to the tension, passion and competition and I believe it's a healthy thing to have because it offers people an outlet from the grind of day to day life. I also believe the social benefits of sport cannot be underestimated and it does a lot for bringing people together in various ways, something I don't think you get with things such as games or movies.

At the end of the day it's all about what makes people happy though and if someone is happier "wasting" this time watching sport all day long than doing other more "productive" things than surely that's still the better alternative? 

On top of that my life and career revolves around a sport so I guess there is bias in there!


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## flarf

man who cares what people decide to distract themselves with.

a baseball game is meaningful. so is whatever book oprah is talking about. some people like to do a lot of drugs. 

it is nice to have something to care about.

walt whitman liked baseball.


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