Are you fans of sports you play?

I’ve always wondered about whether famous atheletes are fans of the sports they play, or just see it as another job. For the average person who participates in sports, do you enjoy the sport as a spectator? If not why not? Did playing a sport convert you into a fan of the sport? And do you know of any big name atheletes who are not fans of their sport?

Yes, why not? I am the great fan of EA Sports game. I most like FIFA.

lulz - very good.
Pretty much yes for me, although it’s a good question. My main sport is mountain biking and I’m certainly a fan, but it’s not something that really works as a spectator sport, certainly not on TV. I’ve been to watch a few pro races and there’s a good atmosphere though. Downhill racing is more TV friendly, but as a very small sport in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t get great coverage. Would still prefer to actually go and ride my mountain bike than watch cycling by a factor of 1 million, but like I say it’s not the best spectator sport. I’m a huge fan of the tour despite not doing any serious road riding myself.

I always enjoyed playing football (soccer) a lot more than watching it. I grew up going to the game and following a team and it is deeply emeshed in who I am in some ways. Going to the game with my Dad and friends at home, then meeting up at away matches when I moved away - it was very important to me. That being said, it never compared to playing the game.

You can sometimes tell athletes who are mentally disengaged from their game by seeing how they deal with injury, because that’s when the TV cameras aren’t there. Their was a Scottish footballer called Duncan Ferguson who played recently - one of the game’s more colourful characters. An aggressive and violent person who did a stint in prison for an assault during a game, he was also the most naturally-talented big man to come out of UK football in the last 20 years. He had a good career but was still a massive underachiever due to a succession of injuries. Never anything massive, just wee niggling bollox that kept him from establishing the sort of tough, durable match fitness you need to play football at the top level. One of his managers (Jim McClain) observed that Duncan didn’t really like football - didn’t watch it when he was out injured. It seemed like he never put the hard work in to rehabilitate injuries because deep down he didn’t have the commitment to the game.

I deleted the post Busy Scissors replied to because it was spam.

Generally speaking, yes, I am a fan, principally I suspect because I can really appreciate the more advanced moves the pros can manage that I can’t. This applies to football, tennis, badminton, snooker, pool, table tennis, rugby, cricket, and any number of other sports that I have tried my hand at. The one exception is croquet, the only sport (well, perhaps “game” rather than “sport”) in which I can claim to be an expert. I really enjoy the challenge of playing, but watching others play, even (perhaps especially) at the highest level is usually quite boring, and I would never go to watch a match rather than doing something else. Croquet is best enjoyed by text commentary, where you can do something else while waiting for something interesting to happen.

I like to play golf, but I really couldn’t care less about the PGA. Same goes for tennis. There are a few other sports I like to play but do not follow their pro leagues, if they even exist. The sports I regularly play and follow as a spectator are baseball, football (American) and basketball.

I like bicycles and I usually follow the various races that are going on. The Tour de Suisse had a nice surprise winner a few days ago.

I also drag race a little, but I don’t really care to watch it on tv. I’ll watch just about an other kind of auto racing though.

I play tennis, and I enjoy watching Wimbledon and the other major tournaments. But I don’t keep a close eye on the overall yearly tennis calendar.

When I was in my 20s I played football, and watched highlights and the odd international match, but I never religiously followed a team.

I play baseball and golf. My love of Major League Baseball is the stuff of legend.

However, I have absolutely no interest in professional golf.

Hockey, which I do not play and haven’t for eons, I really enjoy watching. My softball league is also the local old-timers’ hockey league and I’ve been asked to join for years, but I have no interest in doing so.

Strange, I guess.

The only sport I play is curling, and it’s damned hard to be a fan in the United States, because it isn’t on TV. Of course I watch the one time when it is on, during the Olympics.

The only “sport” I do anything close to playing would be cycling and I have no real interest in watching it.

I’ve played beach volleyball competitively for 7 years now (not at the pro level), and have only watched it on TV a couple of times. I don’t think it translates very well to TV, plus the production value is really low. I don’t really go out of my way to watch it in person either, as watching it just makes me want to play. I do like cheering on my friends when they play tournaments, though.

I watch lacrosse when the NCAA tournement is on TV, but I don’t actively seek it out at any other time. It’s not that fun to watch with people who aren’t into it, and there aren’t many people who are into it in Arizona.