Sports Fanaticism

I don't have a problem with sports. I enjoy watching sometimes. It can be fun. I have a problem with people attaching extreme importance to sports.

This puts me completely out of sync with the dominant local culture here, where almost everyone seems to believe that if you or your child plays sports, you have a close family, and you have a good social life at church, then you have everything you need for a great life, and everything else is pointless. Most of them are unwilling to discuss any other topics in polite conversation. I don't play sports, I don't have a family, and I don't go to church. To my neighbors, that makes me a nobody. A successful marriage, a successful business, and a full and interesting travel schedule count for nothing.

Recently, on one of the hottest days of the year, I drove past a huge complex full of many soccer fields, full of idiots trying to play a seemingly pointless game that they will never be good at, pushing themselves dangerously close to a heat stroke. But they would say I'm the crazy one. Fucking idiots, I say.

Nearly all the live music clubs and bars have closed down because they conflicted with everyone's kid's sports schedule. And the people get all the live music they want at church, with free babysitting.

 

I know we live in basically the same geographical region but I'm really curious to find out your exact location. of course I understand why you wouldn't want to share. I say that because I can relate to the sports fanaticism on a certain level ( I enjoy watching college football but there are some people I refuse to watch a game with because it ruins their entire day if their team loses) but I can't say its gotten to the point here where it has ever closed down bars or live music clubs.

I can definitely relate to the church culture. Religion in the south is so...boring. I know some people become so jaded with religion they feel something more akin to hatred but for me southern Christianity has always just bored me.

if it makes you feel any better I think you're a very interesting woman and would love to have a neighbor like you.

 

"Loyalty to any one sports team is pretty hard to justify. Because the players are always changing, the team could move to another city…you’re actually rooting for the clothes, when you get right down to it. You’re standing and cheering and yelling for your clothes to beat the clothes from another city. Fans will be so in love with a player, but if he goes to another team, they’ll boo him. This is the same human being in a different shirt, they hate him now! Boo! Different shirt! Boo…"
— Jerry Seinfeld

And in regards to the kids playing in the heat, well, I'm surprised that is actually allowed to happen?!?! It seems very unsafe for the kids.

 

Other than live music clubs closing down, I see pretty much the same situation here.

The big topics of discussion here are basketball, football, hunting, jesus, and gaming. I don't hunt, I do try to stay fit, but I get no satisfaction from talking about walking, running, or whatnot, and I don't do the gaming thing (maybe a little when I retire ). I do like basketball and football (I still shoot basketball by myself, sometimes), but I can't find anything to say about either after a few minutes.

I'm not going to get started on the church goers; my blood pressure will go up, and I will ruin your thread.

At least before I transfered at work, I had some deep conversations on shift with a couple of coworkers, and some coworkers did some hiking like me. I mentioned something about hiking at Red River Gorge the other day at my current workplace, when asked about my plans for my upcoming days off - my response was met with a change of subject to "war craft" or something.

I really feel like an outsider at work and my new neighborhood now. Although it wasn't much better before.

I'd say it's worse for you than it is for me, Karen. You have a lot more to talk about. I haven't traveled nearly as much as you. I couldn't imagine how you would feel living where I live.

 

Given that my Basketball team just won the NBA Finals for the first time in my lifetime, and the first title in 40 years, it's difficult for me to understand not liking sports. I mean The Warriors just capped off a season where their star player won the MVP, which an MVP from this team has also not happened in my lifetime, set the single season 3 point record, set the single playoff 3 point record and led a team to the 3rd most wins in NBA history at a somewhat relatable 6'3 (weighing less than me), which is fairly small by basketball standards. I found the path to the title inspiring, with several other storylines along the way.

Commentators frequently said their style of play is not fit to win a title, that their inexperience at times deep in the playoffs was going to catch up with them, etc.

So the perseverance, overcoming of adversity, passion, dedication, etc. Is something I think a lot of people admire about sports, kind of the response that speaks for itself, in regards to the instance of these people playing soccer you saw and the "sport they'll never be good at." Given that we live in a society, which is based on competition in pretty much every industry, I think sports offers something people can usually integrate into their own lives in a matter of degree. Sports is also good exercise, I personally find playing sports far more fulfilling, than say going to the gym or jogging, even if it's just for fun.

Sports is similar to music in many aspects, both a form of entertainment, can be unifying to a community, also both are an escape. I probably agree that Having sports talk shows ramble on about rather insignificant logistics of sports teams and debate alot of sports news is probably a bit superfluous, and an unecessary distraction to perhaps bigger issues in the world, but same can be said in regards to music and debating the 10 best guitarists of the 70's or best albums of the 80's, or why music isn't as good as it used to be, and what not.

I don't really know how church culture is influenced by sports and I've never heard of a music club being shut down due to conflicting with youth sports, seems like issues specific to your region.

 

Good lord! Just move, it sounds horrible there. There are better places out there.

I hate when sports fans say "we" when talking about a group of oversized jocks that they are not a part of. Just because you live in the same city as a sports team does not make you a part of said sports team.

 

I've lived in three places within the four hour driving route from Charlotte to Raleigh, and I have two old friends who also live in different spots inside that zone, and it's all pretty much the same everywhere. Same culture, same economy, same weather. The people are here because the jobs are here.

Thank god, it's not a long drive to the mountains or coast, where everything is completely different. Much more interesting people and places, but not much of an economy, which is why both areas are loaded with retired people and students.

It's actually worse than that. Visit almost any museum, play, concert, art exhibition, or historical attraction, and it's obvious that they're getting by only because of subsidies from the local Arts Council and trust funds from the estates of dead industrialists. It's downright lonely in all those places. Sometimes in a museum, it's just me, my husband, and a couple of security guards.

But on the way home, I'll drive past sports fields where the stands are packed, even at minor league baseball. Minor league baseball? WTF is that about? If your team wins a lot, all the good players go to the major leagues, so you need for your team to lose, but losing sucks. So, what do the fans hope will happen? It seems like a crazy, pointless system, but people keep buying tickets by the thousands. And if you do find a bar that isn't dead, most likely it will be a sports bar where most of the guys are glued to whatever happens to be on ESPN, no matter how obscure the sport, or what country it's in. To me, that seems like a pathological obsession. Why would an American care who's the fastest motorcycle rider in northeastern Brazil? It's not rational.

Religion obsession just makes the sports thing harder to deal with. Boston is one of America's most sports-obsessed cities, but at least they go to bars and socialize when they aren't at a game. I enjoyed hanging out there. All kinds of interesting people go to bars in places like Boston, Memphis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. Around here, it's mostly the kind of people who wouldn't hesitate to steal your wallet if they thought they could get by with it. We have liberal churches for people who don't honestly give a shit about Jesus, but know you have to play the game one day a week to meet quality people. I used to be willing, but not anymore. I just couldn't respect myself if I did that. My parents played along. I'm done.

That's such a sweet thing for you to say! :cheers2: It does make me feel better. Well, we can always hang out online.

 

Why I italizcied "my" in regards to the Basketball team. :rofl: Comedian Whitney Cummings had a pretty funny bit on males talking about their team as they are a part of it.

But it's kinda similar to saying "we" in regards to country for like an event that happened before you were born or not involved with.

 

I haven't seen it I will try to find it on youtube.

And I hate when people use we in almost any case where they weren't there. Sports fans just do it the most.

 

http://youtu.be/rxCHvtc9I6c

 

I love that quote! :rofl: He says so many things that make me think, "I wish I'd thought of putting it that way!"

On the weekends, there's actually more adults than kids! They should know better! Soccer field after soccer field, side by side and end to end, almost as far as the eye can see, with not a shade tree in sight. The air is so heavy with humidity that you can feel it pressing on your face, and the weather people on TV are saying, stay out of the sun if you can. A month from now, who's going to remember or care who won or lost any of those games?

I guess these people just feel incredible social pressure to conform. Or they're bored out of their fucking minds.

At work, one woman's husband is having knee replacement surgery because he kept playing amateur softball into his forties, after a doctor told him his knee couldn't withstand it. Most sports games are designed for children. The joints of mature adults can't tolerate the abuse. I can see taking the risk if you're a pro, making a million dollars a year.

 

That's another thread, for another day. When I do that one, feel free to vent as much as you like. I think we both have plenty of old stories. Venting now and then is good for you.

I see an appalling lack of knowledge and interest in diverse destinations and activities that are only 2 or 3 hours away. People in the office say things like, "You're driving three hours each way, to spend a day in the middle of nowhere, and you're not spending the night?" Well... you can't explain that to people who don't get it. They never will. They'll invest half a day in a Panthers game, including being stuck afterward for a hour and half in traffic, trying to get out of Charlotte. That's fine if that's what they want to do, but they should respect my choices too.

I'd much rather spend time on an uncrowded highway, listening to good music, than stuck in gridlock in the city. To me, that's restful and fun. Rooooooooad triiiiiiip!

About the music thing... One time, I had a conversation about this with a guy at a sports bar, who didn't get music clubs. He said something like, "There's no scoreboard in there. No winners or losers." I replied, "Everybody in there is a winner!" He laughed and said, "That's such a liberal bullshit answer. Life is a competition." And then he turned away. He'll never get it. No use trying to explain it.

 

I like them too. I just see them as one enjoyable thing among many in a well-balanced life.

 

I know, right? He really is brilliant in his own way..

 

I tried that once. I spent several years living in one of my favorite mountain destinations. The economy was tough, the winters were long, brutal, and often boring, and I missed having easy access to everything a larger city has to offer. I learned that no place is perfect. I need to travel some, and I need the internet.

Also, sports obsession is a growing national problem.

Some of the best places to visit are some of the worst places to live full-time, such as New Orleans. And... who wants to be at the coast when it's cold? It's depressing.

:rofl: :cheers2:

 

Lmao that was great!

 

I don't live in the US, but I live in a big city where sports and religion aren't that popular (winters are cold but not on the west coast which has a similar atmosphere). OK maybe not the sports, but we don't have that kind of fanaticism here about it. I'm sure there are places you could find that you would enjoy.

Honestly the US has never seemed like a very nice place to live to me for the reasons you stated.

 

I think that in some places,the lack of wanting to explore new things, and lack of having an open mind is the cause of the non-well-balance that some people enjoy. Where I live, living your life through your children's sports achievements becomes an attractive way of life when you've been brought up not realizing that you can continue accomplishing things (experiencing new things too) indefinitely, yourself. You can't really blame them a whole lot.

It is frustrating being the outsider of a group of 'one way to do things' people. At least I can get excited and fit in around ncaa basketball tournament time though,lol.

 

The sports industry learned to advertise like cigarette companies...they target the youth. They give them heros, and dreams of fame.

Plus, it could be in us all to be competitive by nature (especially guys, maybe - I'm still undecided about this ). All it takes is a spark though, and with a little cultural expectation and advertising, mass fanatics are produced.

 

Oh, I can be competitive, in business, for sure. That puts food on my table and pays my bills. Nobody is going to make me look like a loser at what I do for a living. I'll play a little bit dirty, if that's what it takes.

I don't want anybody to get me wrong, I've had a lot of fun with sports, I'm just not willing to let it dominate my life, and I don't think it's a good idea for anybody to do that. I'm used to being the only female in a group who can talk sports in detail. I've been to my share of Hornets games, seen many of the NBA greats play in person (Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaq, Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Reggie Miller, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan), watched the Panthers defeat Dallas in the playoffs, the year that Brett Favre won his only ring, watched and admired Pete Rose enough that I wanted to poke his eyes out for betting on baseball, and could spend half an hour explaining why the Saints should have used the franchise tag on Jimmy Graham. When NASCAR drivers walk into local restaurants (semi-regularly), I recognize about half of them. But... I've spent many, many hours of this year on other things.