Are you familiar with the concept of reward? Nobody forces these people to do these things. They choose to do it. They choose to do it because they find it rewarding. In terms of cost-benefit, to them the rewards (be it fame or reaching one’s goal or achieving superiority in a task or whatever) far outweigh the costs (having a blown knee, a bunged-up arm, whatever).
Most people don’t get killed or even paralyzed doing sports. OTOH, there are plenty of people who do nothing sporty at all and still suffer painful ailments through no fault of their own.
We are fragile beings. We can be taken out at any time. Some people like to squeeze every bit of reward out of life they can, even if that means they trade that for some painful joints later in life. If all you can see when you watch sports is pain and injury, don’t watch. Others who watch share the victor’s joy at success or get a thrill out of seeing a mere human surpass odds or are inspired by the courage of someone who chooses to try something very difficult and manages to succeed.
Sure you can live in a box and hide from life. And you could still be stricken by an aenurysm or get cancer. So why not go for the gusto while you can? You cannot guarantee your health or well-being. There are some sports I choose not to engage in because of the chance of injury, but I don’t think ill of others who do. And I do one sport which is hard on an existing injury but I love it and the delight of doing it outweighs the resulting discomfort. I also have great faith that medicine will be able to repair me as new discoveries are made.
Well, except for boxers - that is a ‘sport’ that I think is pointless and stupid. But then I’m kind of against a sport whose whole point is to do damage to another human being. Even wrestling isn’t that bad.
If you had ever been beaned, you might not have the capacity to type to provide your response.
Of course they enjoy the prospect, if the injury happens to the opposition. It may be nasty and ugly to watch, but it’s a plus for one’s own team. That’s how we set it up.
As has been said by others, people don’t tend to watch sports because they think self destruction is fun to watch. They enjoy watching them, first, because they enjoy rooting for a team (even when those teams are the Redskins and the Nationals. <sigh>), and also out of admiration for the skills of the players.
When we watch a pitcher pitch a no hitter, or a receiver catch a long pass, or Tiger Woods score a hole in one, we get excited and admire them, because most of us don’t have the skills to do such things, and because it’s a joy to watch a qualified person do something well. It’s the same reason that people watch chess grandmasters play, it’s the same reason people watch cooking shows, and it’s the same reason schools pick valedictorians.
We see in these people the traits we wish we could have in ourselves, we salute their accomplishment, and are awestruck that they can make things we know are so complex seem so simple.
Cite? Badly damaged, inevitably? This is Great Debates. When you make statements like this, you are supposed to support them. You’ve be asked, now you’re supposed to produce. Was Joe DiMaggio badly damaged when he died at 84? Ty Cobb at 74? Red Grange at 87? These are just three that popped into my head. I think they disprove “inevitably”. Can you provide statistics on golf injuries, tennis injuries, or even football injuries?
You can’t see it yourself or you can’t accept that other people do? Because, clearly they do, so if you can’t see it, then you’re just denying reality. Why do people slow down to look at car accidents?
You keep making insinuations that all athletes get “damaged”. Let’s see you back that up with some stats. And don’t forget the risk/reward aspect. Most athletes lead full, successful lives and many of them make tons of money playing a game. What’s not to like about that?
Basketball, baseball, golf, to name just a few. Win one PGA tournament and you typically make $1M. Not bad for a weekend’s worht of work doing something most of us have to pay to do. And let’s not forget soccer, which is only mildly popular in the US but is hugely popular in the rest of the world.
Why? I don’t know. I simply observe that there is. Why do we like to gossip? Why do we slow down to look at car accidents. Why do we go to slasher movies? It’s obviously something innate in our species, since it seems to be univerally found in all cultures.
I ski, often in the trees and occasionally in avalanche terrain. I do this because it is exceptionally fun, but I certainly recognize the risk. I’m equipped with helmets, shovels, avy beacons, etc and hopefully enough knowledge to not get hurt or killed. There are many times when I turn around rather than continue because I’m not comfortable with the risk.
Others have different levels of acceptable risk. They may choose to continue where I turn around, or they may never entertain this type of leisure activity.
Your premise seems to be that I should instead get my outdoor exercise by X-C skiing on groomed terrain. It’s probably healthier for me, better exercise, and much lower chance of injury. But it’s never going to happen. That doesn’t interest me, and backcountry skiing does. So, where do we go from here?
It has been explained to you. They enjoy it. In some cases, because it makes them pots and pots of money and gets them girls. In other cases, for sheer love of the game itself.
People watch it because they enjoy watching it. They appreciate the skills involved in playing the sport at a higher level than they are personally capable of.
I’ve been beaned, and in 20 years of playing baseball, I’ve seen dozens if not hundreds of people get beaned. None have suffered any permanent damage from it. Almost all just shake it off and run to first base.
Your concept of "damage’ is weak and unsupportable. May as well rail against the use of paper due to the possibility of paper cuts, or advocate the eating of raw foods for fear of the possibility of getting burned.
Because they’re not as good at the ones that don’t cause physical damage. Or maybe they just don’t enjoy the other sport as much. Is it your contention that every football player could switch to another sport and be just as good or that every sport is equivalent to every other sport?
I guess I’ll try one more time. Do you really think that most professional golfers, baseball players, soccer players and tennis players are permanently damaged by their participation is these sports? If so, can you offer any evidence for that belief?
Why do people enjoy watching the ballet, when all those dancers have foot and ankle injuries! Why do people enjoy listening to the orchestra, when there are so many traumatic French horn lip-splitting injuries every year? Why do people read romance novels, when the risk of paper cuts is so high? :rolleyes:
Nothing, I don’t think you’ve grokked the flaw in your argument. You claim that all the sports you listed “necessarily” lead to “inevitable” injury, and that the resulting damage is “severe”. This claim is false. They occasionally lead to injury; except for boxing and football, they rarely lead to injury. Moreover, the vast majority of such injuries are mild, rather than life-changing. When asked to justify your claims about sports injuries, you’ve only repeated the claim over and over. Repetition is not justification.
As for me, I’ve dabbled in a sport that many people consider danger, mountain climbing. But in fact I know that as long as I avoid a short list of world’s most dangerous peaks, the risks of mountain climbing are low. The thrills are great. Standing atop a 15,000-foot peak is a thrill that can’t be matched by any other experience. Hence I do it. If I somehow manage to freeze to death or get eaten by a bear in the process some day, well, there are worse ways to die.
Exercise is also dangerous to some extent. Joggers have feet and knee problems from repetitive stress, weight lifters strain, pull, and even tear muscles. We are not immortal beings, use of our faculties wears them down, even wears them out eventually. I’ve known plenty of hip replacement/knee replacement recipients that were not athletes or even big game players. It’s just the way it is, IMHO.
We…are…animals. Seriously, we are, and for some reason we like violence. It’s possible it’s because nature is inherently extremely violent, and a few hundred million years of evolution have baked that into our very being.
To answer your question “why participate in a sport that has a risk of bodily harm”, well the answer is clearly that the risk to reward ratio is tilted toward the reward side of the scale for those that choose to participate. Very simple.
Every jobs carries some risk of injury. I could get into a car accident driving somewhere, or wind up with carpal tunnel syndrome from all the typing, among other things. I suppose the carpal tunnel is very likely, if I live long enough. Granted that’s not as severe as some sports-related injuries, but all people assume some risk. Police and firefighters can be wounded or killed in the line of duty. Athletes risk more severe injuries than most of us, but they do so for the chance to get rich - and most people would do the same, if they were able. Why are you so hung up on this “damage?” Driving your car to work is probably more dangerous than playing a sport for a living.
I don’t enjoy watching the damage. Maybe I’m pretentious, but I like watching poetry in motion, and seeing athletes do remarkable things and try their hardest. I enjoy competition and I enjoy everything that goes with rooting for a side.
Of physical competition , no. Of physical development, yes. Yoga is an excellent example. Walking for the pleasure of it is another. Both work out the body in gentle but strengthening ways. There is no need to compete, or to become the “best“ at these activities, to the expense of one’s health.
Not that either activity can’t be abused by fools. A “Power Yoga” has emerged out of New York City in which the individual can practice the exercises in order to become a more successful, highly energized, asshole. Yes, it can be used in such a way. And competitive walking reveals itself as comically absurb upon first viewing.