# What are your sports? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 5, 2006, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536 "2006-06-05T21:15:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mayo\_Speaks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mayo\_Speaks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mayo_Speaks)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/21 "2006-06-06T05:30:13Z")
It’s all abut NBA basketball. I love NCAA basketball (growing up in central Kentucky and then going to the University of Louisville will do that to you) and NCAA football. I’m not terribly athletic, but I’ll never pass up a game of Ultimate (Ultimate Frisbee isn’t the correct name, btw) and I play ping-pong better than anyone I know. When I was a foreign exchange student in Hong Kong, they had me play a match against the best player in the school, with about half of the student body watching. I’m proud to say that I . . . only just barely lost. But I only follow the NBA religiously, and my team is the Dallas Mavericks. I’m no Johnny-come-lately, either. They’ve ben my team since the mid-90s when they were certifiably awful. But now, as you might have noticed, WE’RE IN THE NBA FINALS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY! And we’re playing a team on which Antoine Walker is a vital cog. It’s a great time to be me. We are all Nowitznesses. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/22 "2006-06-06T05:36:43Z")
A lot of them. Tennis has to be numero uno. ---
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/23 "2006-06-06T05:42:45Z")
**Played:** Soccer, Football, Track (Indoor/Outdoor), Volleyball, Swimming **Obsessed with:** Giants football and Mets baseball (and for once I am not crying) **Follow:** International Soccer, College Basketball I will watch any sport that I come across including golf and bass fishing. Of course, I will not sit there for very long watching bass fishing but I do admire the struggle. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/24 "2006-06-06T10:11:43Z")
Good to see all the Giants fans in the thread. Makes sense, as Big Blue was _by far_ the most watched team in the NFL last year. In descending order of how invested I get, along with who I root for: NFL Football (Giants, Jets) Men’s Tennis (Federer, Baghdatis\*) NHL Hockey (Rangers) Women’s Tennis (Hingis, Sharapova) Olympic Hockey (USA, plus any team with a Rangers goalie - Lundqvist wins gold!) World Cup Soccer (USA) Women’s Beach Volleyball (Never seems to be broadcast, though.) I don’t care a whit about any other sport, and am actually antagonistic toward many of them. While I would like to see the Mets and Knicks do well, I find watching either MLB or NBA games painful after only a few minutes. I loathe college sports with a passion, as the uneven playing field offends me on a visceral level. (Much like MLB.) I don’t consider curling a sport, but I’m a big fan when the Winter Olympics roll around. I watched a lot of it in 2002, and then way too much this year. Similarly, I don’t consider racing in any form to be a sport, but I am a huge fan of downhill skiing, and not just limited to the Olympics. - Have you seen this guy’s girlfriend? Holy shit, she might be the hottest woman on the planet! Sadly, he’s already been eliminated from the French Open. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/25 "2006-06-06T11:32:51Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] I bleed Yankee pinstripes. [/quote] Me too. [QUOTE=What Exit?] {The Yankees Win, The Yankees win, 13-5 over the Redsox} [/QUOTE] There are two things I despise about Yankee games. First is the warbling of “God Bless America” in the seventh. When there are two outs, it’s time for a bathroom / beer (last call!) run, just so I miss this song. Second is an announcer trying to steal thunder away from the team’s accomplishments with his own catchphrase. Mel Allen didn’t need it. Phil Rizzuto / Bill White / Frank Messer didn’t need it. John Sterling doesn’t need it. Someone should cut his mike after the last out in a Yankees win, or just let them pipe in Sinatra, like at The House That Ruth Built (and coming soon, The House That Jeter Rebuilt). ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/26 "2006-06-06T11:42:00Z")
Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball Baseball ! Baseball! Baseball baseball baseball? Baseball, baseball. Baseball! ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/27 "2006-06-06T12:45:56Z")
Do: Cycling Watch obsessively: Cycling Watch more than most people I know: Sumo (explaining it to Japanese people never ceases to feel strange), Track & field Enjoy watching: Soccer (J-League and international play), F1 (for work reasons) ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/28 "2006-06-06T14:26:34Z")
**Play** : Motorcycle Road Racing (Canada and U.S.). Of course I’m always down for a game of basketball, tag football, and the like. **Watch/follow Obsessively** : AMA/Parts Canada Road Racing, Moto GP (Hail Rossi), World Superbike, Irish Road Racing and Isle of Man TT **Watch whenever its on because its so cool** : TECATE Baja 1000, World Rally Championships **Will watch, but only in person, not on TV** : MLB, NFL, NBA ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/29 "2006-06-06T15:11:07Z")
Played: Football, Baseball, Track, Basketball, Golf Follow closely: NFL (Cowboys), MLB (Astros, Rangers), PGA, NASCAR, Indy, Olympics (summer & winter), NCAA football & baseball Could care less about: Soccer, Hockey and, especially, the NBA (thugs) ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/30 "2006-06-06T15:31:11Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] Like most Americans, I want my sports stars to have some seemingly supernatural human ability in terms of stature and skill. We can just rule out soccer right there because I wouldn’t appreciate it if someone pointed out that some guy of average height and build (or less than even!) was a professional soccer, lacrosse or some other fringe sport athlete. That is no good to anyone. I live around many New England Patriots football players and I tend to run into them at places like Home Depot. Their extraordinary stature tells the tale even if the gold chains and flashy cars fail to. My in-laws live door to Tom Brady, the Patriots quarterback and he is also huge and intimidating in person. That is the only way I can appreciate it. I am 6’1’’ and I cannot respect any midgets below me no matter their skill level if I believe I might be able to take them down at will. Professional sports are supposed to be about extreme size and ability, not some nancy-boy doing delicate things to some piece of arbitrary equipment. That would rule out baseball as well. That leaves American football, basketball especially, and heavy-weight boxing no matter the height. Gymnastics would also qualify in the reverse because it depends on wispy people do extreme things against gravity. Hockey almost qualifies because I do recognize them as real bad-asses but then I realize it is the Canadian version of one of hundreds of dangerous redneck sports that happened to catch on and it loses its appeal somewhat. Also, they don’t have to be unusually heavy, tall, or anorexic and developmentally stunted to succeed. [/QUOTE] There’s superhuman and then there’s superhuman. Cricket’s a fun game for people of no more than average size to do great deeds; for instance, Don Bradman stood five feet seven and could have spanked anything you or I bowled at him off the park all day without effort, while Malcolm Marshall, a West Indies quick bowler about four inches shorter than you, could probably nominate _which one_ of your ribs he was going to break with a quick ball. (A slight exaggeration but a pardonable one.) Mere stature isn’t all of where it’s at - there’s also speed of arm, flexibility of wrist, and hand-eye coordination. Bradman’s boyhood amusement was to knock a golf-ball against a water-tank and hit the rebound with a round stick the thickness of a broom handle - and he got to be able to keep that up for hours, which makes clear the dearth of amusement for a young lad in Cootamundra in those days, and explains why when he actually stepped on a cricket field the ball looked about the size of an airship to him. I used to play rugby but am too old, fat and slow for it now; still enjoy the occasional game of cricket; enjoy but make no claims to be any good at table-tennis; and will watch football if there isn’t any sport on TV. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/31 "2006-06-06T16:26:12Z")
I’ll steal **Ellis** ’ method – In descending order of how invested I get, along with who I root for: Football: Die-hard Giants fan, Dolphins fan-by-proxy. Will watch any any game at any time, however (hell, I followed the entire NFL Europe season this year) Basketball: Nets/Knicks fan. Will occasionally watch a regular-season game, try to attened at least one game each year. Will watch the playoffs pretty religiously until my team(s) are eliminated. Then I usually lose interest. I’ll try and catch a deciding Finals game if I can, though. Baseball: Three or four Lakewood Blue Claws games each summer. I’d rather watch just about anything before watching baseball on TV, but live games are fun. I’m not about to go up to the city to watch a game, so I root for the local Triple-A team. [QUOTE=Ellis Dee] Good to see all the Giants fans in the thread. Makes sense, as Big Blue was _by far_ the most watched team in the NFL last year. [/QUOTE] I like the stat, but I’m curious as to where that info comes from? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/32 "2006-06-06T17:40:11Z")
[QUOTE=Hal Briston] …snip… Baseball: Three or four Lakewood Blue Claws games each summer. I’d rather watch just about anything before watching baseball on TV, but live games are fun. I’m not about to go up to the city to watch a game, so I root for the local Triple-A team…snip… [/QUOTE] Minor Nitpick: The Blue Claws are a single A team for the Phillies. Trenton is AA and will probably be your clsest team soon. Bonus is the Thunder are a Yankee Farm team and the Quality of play is much higher for AA over A. Sorry for the Nitpick, Jim ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/33 "2006-06-06T17:56:29Z")
Rodeo; specifically calf roping and team roping, but I’ll watch any of it. I’ve been background support for competitors, I’ve announced and helped put on Junior Rodeo, I watch it in person whenever I can, and I watch it on TV whenever it’s on. And if hunting’s considered a sport, that too. I hunt deer and bear and the occasional upland game bird. I fish too. I don’t watch much of either of those on TV, but I read up on them a lot. And spend a LOT of time bullshitting with various other fanatics about it. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/34 "2006-06-06T18:00:57Z")
I’ve played soccer (and miss it) and martial arts. I’m still marginally involved in martial arts (between schools at this point). In order of preference, I’ll watch: Hockey, baseball, basketball, soccer. Even those, I generally just have it on in the background. Everything else just bores the crap out of me. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/35 "2006-06-06T18:02:58Z")
I take my kids to one or two Pirate games (baseball) each year. This year it will be Father’s Day. During football season, if my kids wanna watch the Steelers, we do that in front of the TV. If someone gives me tickets for the Penguins, I am happy to go. My son (12 years old) is a bowler, so I go to his tournaments. I like to canoe, sail, and kayak. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/36 "2006-06-06T18:44:08Z")
**Play:** Ice hockey. I still have no idea why I started in the first place, in my 30s–but it looked like fun, I tried it, and now I’m addicted. I do a little mountain biking too, but I need to get into better shape to do that anything like seriously. **Watch (obsessively)**: Nothing. The closest I get is following the Sharks, but even then it’s not obsessive. I watch games if they’re on and I’m not busy. The thing that separates it from the category below is that for the Sharks I actually pay attention to when the games are on, instead of just discovering them while channel surfing. **Watch (casually)**: Hockey in general (NHL). Again, if it’s on and I have nothing better to do, I watch it and enjoy it. American football, same. I also like to watch the Olympics when they’re on. Sumo wrestling is fun. **Dislike:** Just about all professional sports except hockey and football. No offense to fans, but I find soccer, basketball, baseball, auto racing, tennis, and golf to be mind-numbingly boring. Some of them are fun to play (softball and tennis come to mind) but watching somebody else do them–no thanks. Got more interesting things to do. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/37 "2006-06-06T18:47:53Z")
[QUOTE=Hal Briston] I’ll steal **Ellis** ’ method – In descending order of how invested I get, along with who I root for: Football: Die-hard Giants fan, Dolphins fan-by-proxy. Will watch any any game at any time, however (hell, I followed the entire NFL Europe season this year) Basketball: Nets/Knicks fan. Will occasionally watch a regular-season game, try to attened at least one game each year. Will watch the playoffs pretty religiously until my team(s) are eliminated. Then I usually lose interest. I’ll try and catch a deciding Finals game if I can, though. Baseball: Three or four Lakewood Blue Claws games each summer. I’d rather watch just about anything before watching baseball on TV, but live games are fun. I’m not about to go up to the city to watch a game, so I root for the local Triple-A team. I like the stat, but I’m curious as to where that info comes from? [/QUOTE] Dude, I went to school in New York and had to watch some Knicks games. They suck. They suck bad. They suck for the forseeable future. You have my condolences. Trevor- a Pistons fan ---
**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/38 "2006-06-06T19:34:40Z")
I follow college football and college basketball religiously. And I’m lucky enough to be a Florida Gator fan, the only school in my lifetime to win outright national championships in both sports. I’ve been watching a lot of the NBA playoffs this year. I’ll usually watch the NFL postseason as well. My interest in hockey has declined dramatically this year. I watched the baseball playoffs back when I had a DVR, but it’s not worth it if I can’t fast forward. I am very excited about the World Cup, but that’s about the only soccer I ever watch. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/39 "2006-06-07T08:08:29Z")
[QUOTE=Hal Briston] I like the stat, but I’m curious as to where that info comes from? [/QUOTE] From [here](http://cbs.sportsline.com/nfl/teams/report/NYG/9268128): > [@cbs.sportsline.com](#): > > –Some TV news: The Giants were the most-watched NFL team on television last season, with the Philadelphia Eagles a distant second. The Chicago Bears and the New York Jets were third and fourth. I found it memorable because the Giants were #1, but unforgettable because the Jets were #4. The Jets?! They sucked so bad that not only did I literally fall asleep during at least half their games last year, but my buddy the Jets fan didn’t even watch them at all after Thanksgiving. How in the hell did the Jets come in at #4 during a season when they demonstrated by far the most ineptitude of any team in the league? Don’t talk about QB injuries; everyone was healthy on opening day and they looked like Keystone Kops out there getting shut out by the Chiefs. How many snaps sailed right over The Chad’s head? Pathetic. On an unrelated note, booooo on Hingis getting knocked out of the French Open. Federer, OTOH, looked almost superhuman against Ancic yesterday. Can’t wait for the inevitable Federer - Nadal showdown in the finals. ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536/40 "2006-06-07T18:10:48Z")
**Play:** Rally. I also bowl some, bike some, hike some, I’ll basically do whatever. I have no aversion to sports. **Watch:** Rally, and any other form of auto racing where people turn both left and right (sorry NASCAR, though the road races are interesting). I am also very, very interested in figure skating. 😕 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-sports/359536.md?page=3)