Why are people so engulfed by sports?

Sounds like someone was always picked last during gym class.

I believe in balance, which includes mind, spirit and body. Athletics is the celebration of the body and cultures have appreciated athletic excellence throughout history, including the ancient Greeks (original Olympics) and the Romans (gladiators). Pretty much every culture has had their own physical competitions.

Not only do I appreciate athletic prowess, such as speed, strength, coordination, teamwork and grace, I like the excitement of rooting for the local team.

Sure, it really isn't important in the greater scope of things, but that's exactly why it is important. I can't concentrate on important things 100% of the time and sometimes I want to spend my time simply enjoying myself.

And if I want to spend some of my time watching sports and you can't understand why, that's your loss, not mine.

I don't understand why you think these are mutually exclusive. Can you explain why if I like watching sports I can't appreciate other men (and women) that have other talents?

I basically agree, though I can understand how people get sucked into it. They are a good diversion, and also a microcosm of the silly ways people divide themselves into nations, races, ethnic groups, etc.

It's a hobby...If you support a certain team, then you would have a general interest in whatever sport that team plays.

It may be boring to you, but who are you to judge?

What do you like doing? Please let us know, as I may think that it's "boring" and "juvenile" too.

For most it is just an escape from day to day life. It is also exciting and provides a fun time and focus for so many other things.


I can see how people can think they are pointless. However, I see many good things sports are used for.

You posted an interesting question here that I think deserves a reply. To give you my background, I am from Alabama which is a football state. I'm an Alabama fan, myself, but some are Auburn fans, and we give credit that is due to all the schools in the state.

While it is a football state, other sports certainly deserve the credit that is due also. The reason for this is simple actually. We have a huge respect for the hard work, dedication, and pride that it takes to step onto a field of any kind and give 110% effort to something bigger than yourself, which is the team you're a part of.

You see, that pride and dedication in yourself and your team transfers over into everything you do in life. Most people will never play at the college level. Some will never play period, but any and all individuals can appreciate learning the lesson of being truly dedicated to the job in front of you and performing at the highest level possible.

I understand that alot of people across the country in this generation don't know who Bear Bryant was. He set the standard at The University of Alabama when he was there. He built men on his football teams and taught the lesson that the level of effort required to win national championships at the college football level was meant to be applied to anything you pursued in life after football was over. That lesson was also transferred to alot of people in the state of Alabama, inspiring alot of us to give 100% to our chosen careers and family lives. When you watch the players on tv and know how hard they worked to get to the level they are at, how hard they pushed physically and mentally on the field and how they applied that to the classroom and succeeded there as well, it inspires you. It does me at least, and I think it actually inspires most people.

One more thought before I sign off here. It has been said that athletics can bring out the best in people and the worst in people and I believe that's true. When you are around an athlete that has learned the character lessons on the field he should learn, it is obvious and he gains your respect immediately. I'm afraid that for some athletes the opposite can be true, and their ego comes out more than character does.

As I said in the beginning, your question is interesting and I like to address it sometimes because even in Alabama there are those who don't understand why athletics and football are important. It's an appreciation of the pride and dedication and preparation it took to perform at the highest level you can. A football game only lasts a few hours but the lessons learned last a lifetime.

I don't really like spectator sports either. It appeals to a very base human instinct, left over from our cavemen days when it made survival sense to be all caught up with the tribe. It's the same reason people obsess about celebrities, too.

Some might call it juvenile to denigrate things other people enjoy just because you don't understand the appeal.

Just sayin'...

I don't care for competitive sports, either. But I don't see anything wrong with liking sports. At all. As Kurt pointed out ....balance - a little work, a little play, a little mental, a little physical. I think Scott had some pretty good insight into why at least learning to play is a good idea.

I think Baseball and American Football is fun to watch even if I don't understand anything of it. :p

But soccer which I uderstand, is boring and I hate it!

Sorry but I think you're completely wrong. Unless you're English I could never explain the passion I feel when we take the field, say in a rugby match against France. The overwhelming desire to stuff one of our oldest enemies. The build up to the game and everything makes your hair stand on end, but it isn't just a game of rugby, it's about our history that goes back 100s of years, and still not letting them get the better of us. And it's the same for them.

It will be the same with the Ashes starting tomorrow. I hope we stuff the Australians 5-0 and send them home with their tail between their legs, but it all comes down to the history and rivalry between our two countries that helps make people so passionate.

That's one of the great things about being English. So many countries around the world play the sports we do, mainly thanks to the British Empire, that we always seem to be involved in some battle somewhere and I love it.

I suppose being Canadian or American it's different because you only really play sports amongst yourselves, but you get the idea.

Even watching the two videos below now still makes my hair stand up, and I've seen them plenty of times before, but unless you're English you'll never understand.

I guess us silly sportsfans should cast aside our immaturities and spend all our free time working on our monosyllabic vocabularies.

I will say this: I've never been swallowed up by a football game, but I've been engrossed by a few.

Throughout history I suppose there has always been a sport which human likes to follow. We as humans love to "team" and feel part of a community so what better way to do this by joining a team?

I rarely watch sports but I just LOVE playing basketball. It always makes me relieve my stress.