Being a fan of a sport you have NEVER played (and never will)

The Game Room
1

Related to the FAQ “why root for a sports team” is the question, why follow a sport (and root for a team in that sport) that you not only have never played, but likely will NEVER play?

I’m a fan of baseball and of basketball, but I’ve played many a baseball and basketball game (more basketball than baseball). Part of the thrill of watching the very best athletes on the planet is to give concrete form to those backyard, schoolyard or ballfield fantasies: If I could hit like Mantle… Pitch like Koufax… Dunk like Jordan… Even my enjoyment of football, which I have a cursory but non-zero interest in watching, derives from having played a few pickup games in high school.

Recently, I saw a friend of mine who for as long as I’ve known him has been apathetic, even antagonistic about pro sports, one of those “watching sports is a waste of time” guys. He now lives up near Albany, but was in town to go to Madison Square Garden for a sporting event. Surprised, I asked him what event? (Surely not to see the Knicks play?)

Nope. For the PBR (Professional Bull Riders). :eek:

This guy grew up in NYC, never learned to ride a bicycle (much less a horse), and is about as likely to get on the back of a bucking bull as I am to go skydiving. Yet he is now in the habit of going around to various cities around the country to see the major events.

At its core, it must be a form of appreciation of athleticism beyond our personal abillity, like watching the Olympic Decathlon. Still, I find it interesting when someone “gets into” a sport they not only have never tried (to the extent of traveling to follow the circuit), but literally cannot or will not ever try. At least as far as the Decathlon goes, I can imagine giving each of those sports a try at a very beginner level, even the pole vault.

2

That’s an excellenet question. While I’m mostly a fan of socer, baseball and football, three games I love to play, I’m also a fairly avid hockey fan. I’m not a good enough skater to even play hockey recreationally, and the few times I did try to play while I was a kid didn’t work out very well for me, even skating aside.
Then again, the joy I derive from playing a backyard game of two hand touch is almost completely divorced from the mentality I get of sitting down to watch a game. The two are almost only connected by the fact that they’re seasonal activities. However, I usually don’t find myself wanting to go out and play softball by the time the pennant races are starting, which is the time when I start watching every single game.
Do you really feel that playing a few pickup games of football in high school really piqued your interest in a sport, but that failing to have played those game would have meant your non-zero interest would be unfathomable?

3

Curling. Every four years I am memorized for hours by this sport.

4

NASCAR count? I drive a car every day, but never have competed in auto racing.

5

I never cared to play any sport, and the only one I had any real skill at was soccer. But I don’t like watching soccer.

I did play a little half-court and intramural basketball, but don’t care for watching it.

I played Little League baseball (as a benchwarmer) only because I was already a fan from watching it.

I can’t skate at all, but love hockey. Our school didn’t have a football team, but I don’t mind watching football (but I’m not really a fan).

For me, it’s a combination of the excitement of watching the sport and rooting for particular players.

6

I have never played a game of rugby. :eek:
However my uncle (who played 1st team rugby for a top club) took me to matches after he retired and explained the finer points of the game.

I passed the basic rugby coaching qualification and taught it for several years to school pupils (using the non-contact version for safety).

I am a huge fan and watch the Six Nations, the Super 14, the World Cup and every Sevens event I can.
I’m planning a trip to Hong Kong to watch the annual Sevens event there. :cool:

7

I guess one way of putting it is that, for those who are not versed in the game, watching pro players go about it makes the game look easy. I’ve never played golf (except for mini-golf), and even though I know it’s completely false and illogical, there’s a small part of me that watches even someone as exceptional as Tiger Woods drive and putt the ball that thinks, “I could do that, I just don’t wanna put in the time and effort”. Which dulls the edge of interest, you know?

Whereas when it comes to baseball or basketball, I’ve been “in the zone”, struck out batters, crushed home runs over a three story fence, gone 12-for-15 from the field including 3-for-3 from the three-point line and also blocked two shots (my BEST. GAME. EVAH). I’ve even more than once hit a circus three point shot from beyond half-the court line.

And yet, when I see elite pitchers alternating 95+ MPH fastballs with nasty, 75 MPH curve balls that look the same coming out of their delivery, or batters somehow crushing them 400+ feet fair, or recall seeing Michael Jordan drive hard on the baseline for a dunk, then in mid-air avoid committing an offensive foul by twisting around, changing hands and converting his move to a reverse layup on the other side of the basket, I stand in sheer awe in the knowledge that on my best day, with any amount of preparation and illegal drugs, and with any time machine to send me back to my physical prime, I could never, ever have done that.

As for football, I kinda sucked at it, but did play it enough to realize how hard it is for a QB to throw the football that far and that accurately under pressure and while standing on the field. And just having played the schoolyard game of Tag gives one appreciation for the running back’s game.

Maybe something like bullriding is just so far beyond his personal experience that it hits that feeling of awe from the other side: not only could he never have done that, he would never have even tried doing that.

8

Left it a bit late haven’t you? :slight_smile:

I don’t know if Sumo wrestling is a sport- I think it is myself- but there’s no way on earth I could have done it but when one of our TV channels showed it a while back I loved watching it.

It wasn’t just the wrestling itself but the whole history and background to it fascinated me.

9

:slight_smile: Annual means annual!

I still remember the try Fiji scored against New Zealand in the final about 10 years ago.
Fiji won a loose ball, but the resulting pass was high and so the Fijian player (with a New Zealander about to tackle him) didn’t catch the ball, but skilfully flicked it on.
This next Fijian was also closely marked and had had to turn sideways (thus flat footed). he passed the ball between his legs. Genius.
Then the Fijian winger outpaced the cover to score.

10

I am so far from an athlete it’s like I’m in a different universe. I was forced to try to play softball in school, a fruitless effort since with my uncorrected vision I couldn’t even see the dam ball. Never developed any other athletic skills either, have a very poor sense of balance (I trip over shadows), no particular upper body strength, poor coordination in general. Yet I have come to love watching baseball. It’s hard to explain, but it’s something about the grace and rhythm of the game, how it starts in spring and ends in fall, all those threes, and the fact that it is not timed, but allows each team a totally even chance at offense and defense. Go figure.

11

There’s a debate?

12

My favorite sport is baseball. I never played Little League, but I played many pick up games and I enjoyed it despite being a terrible player. My arm was weak, I was slow on the base paths and I had little power. My best position was third base coach. :wink:

I still loved playing and I could play second without embarrassing myself or I would get buried in Right Field.

I learned to chop the ball hard past the third baseman and despite my slow foot speed I could steal bases well when the games allowed it.

All that said, I loved baseball before I could play it. As a five year old I was already rooting for the Yanks and by the time I was seven I knew all the players and loved Thurman and Sparky Lyle.

My second biggest sport is football and **Big Blue ** is my team. I rarely played football and I did not even like playing football. I just enjoyed watching the Giants. I think for me it was a bonding thing. It drew me closer to my Father and older Brother. It was something to talk about with friends in school when baseball was over and I enjoyed the thrill of the game.

The Sports I was best at was Volleyball or Ping Pong and I find no enjoyment in watching either. I don’t think being a fan relates to how much you like to play a game.

Jim

13

Yeah, interesting point… my favorite sports pretty much track with the ones I played the most (or the most proficiently)… baseball, soccer, basketball, football, hockey. I’ve played all of these at least recreationally.

The only sports I really don’t like to watch are things I’ve never approached playing (golf, track, auto racing, wrestling).

So chalk me up as someone for who it does seem to have made a difference.

14

Boxing. I have curled, played baseball, golf. football ,soccer, softball. ran track, basketball etal. But I could not get into boxing myself. I do watch it on TV.

15

I once was glued to the sumo standings every day during a tournament and lived and died with greats like Asahifuji, Terao, Kyokudozan, Akebono, Takanohana, Takatoriki, and Kaio. I have never in my life had the desire to put on an incredibly skimpy yet cumbersome Japanese garment and get slapped in the face repeatedly and take painful tumbles on a rock-hard surface. (Never mind things like matawari…brrrrr.)

I used to follow the PGA Tour religiously despite the fact that golf has about the same appeal to me as watching paint by while periodially getting banged in the shins with a crowbar.

Why? Compelling stories, plain and simple. For sumo, it was the valiant struggles of the larger-than-life and universally misunderstood Konishiki, and later the flawed giant Akebono and likable ozeki-next-door Musashimaru. Naturally, this resulted in lots of local coverage…Ozumo Digest was shown here for a few years, believe it or not…and plenty to watch, analyze, cheer, gawk at, and talk about. Golf had all kinds of great stories pre-Tiger-Woods-Dominating-Everything. Colin Montgomerie getting no respect. John Daly looking like a hack some days and a master others. Mickelson’s valiant, seemingly hopeless quest for the first major. The mind-blowing, gut-wrenching, heart-rending, oh-my-god-this-can’t-be-happening '99 British Open finale, which etched a no-name Frenchman and a no-name Irishman into history forever and ever. David Duval’s long-overdue breakout. Retief Goosen’s “it’s a beautiful tournament, let’s have a fifth day” breakout. And the endless fount of drama and fury that is the Ryder Cup.

It’s the same with most sports, actually. I don’t care too much about football nowadays, but during the tail end of John Elway’s career, when he finally got a quality offensive line and running back, I was as rabid a Broncos fan as pepperlandgirl. And how the hell could I not pull for the Red Sox in '04?

(P.S.: Even if you aren’t an MMA fan, the early UFCs are worth watching for the sheer schadenfreude value. Hey, at least I don’t pretend that I can take Mark Coleman, bucko. :slight_smile: )

16

I think we all run, jump, dive, throw, catch, etc. at some point in our lives, even if we don’t organize those skills into a particular sport’s skillset in order to compete. Human beings are born athletes, having evolved over millions of years to play the sport of life. Even the most sedentary and out-of-shape among us can appreciate a diving catch, or a fast sprint around the bases or the crash of helmet on helmet or whatever. We all have the capacity to appreciate the archetype of man-against-nature or man-against-man (or even man-against-beast).

I truly believe that all those who claim not to “get” sports simply haven’t found their sport yet.

17

Australian Rules Football, for me, at least at one time. I remember watching ARF on the nascent ESPN and really enjoying it. I’d say the odds of this broken down 47-year-old US southern boy ever playing it are slim. Even so, it was fun to watch.

RR

18

Nice post, DrCube. Yes, the fundamental allure of sports is the admiration and vicarious thrill of seeing the human body execute intricate or extraordinary moves.

But to me there’s a difference between admiration (“wow that’s amazing”) and adulation (buying tickets, fan gear and traveling to see games and exhibitions). I watched the PBR event my friend went to the Garden to see on TV, it was broadcast on NBC or something (in HIGH DEF, woo-hoo!). I was impressed. But to move me to actually becoming a fan would require some other element.

There’s also the social element that my OP overlooked and others have noted, where one watches a sport and follows a team as a bonding experience with family or friends. AFAIK my Friend From Albany has not fallen in with a PBR sub-culture. Well, maybe he has, I only see him once a year or so nowadays. I should ask him how he discovered the PBR.

19

Add me to the list of sumo fans.

What I’ve recently realized is that when you watch the pros, everyone’s good. Even the guy who finishes last is still better than 99.9% of the people who haven’t made the pro level. When you start watching the guys who aren’t at that level, you begin seeing what skills make the pros good, and how many people (who are still competitive) don’t have those skills yet. I caught a pro test tournament on the golf network once and it was absolutely fascinating: some had control problems, some had power problems, some had everything down pat but cracked under pressure. These were things that you’d rarely ever see watching a Masters-level tournament, and it deepened the game for me a great deal and gave me a greater appreciation for what the Tigers and Vijays were capable of.

Something I’ve started enjoying recently on the weekends when there’s a sumo tournament is watching the NHK satellite broadcast that starts with the Sandanme ranks (if sumo were baseball, Makuuchi (which runs on regular broadcast TV and always gets newspaper space) would be the Majors, and Sandanme would be single-A, after the Juryo and Makushita divisions). It’s a mix of kids with skill but no size, kids with size but no skill, old guys with skill and cunning but fighting time and injuries, and very occasionally one who seems to have it all together and is destined for the big leagues. It’s very educational in showing what makes the difference between a star and a nobody, and quickly disabuses one of the notion that anyone could do it.