# What, for you personally, is the dullest televised sport? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 15, 2006, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687 "2006-02-15T21:18:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2006, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/21 "2006-02-15T23:15:41Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > I agree. Shall we rephrase it like “What sport do you like to play or watch in person, but on TV it’s coma-inducing?” I love playing golf. TV coverage is about as fun as static. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2006, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/22 "2006-02-15T23:25:41Z")
Soccer. I tried watching a World Cup once. Maradonna was on a break away with only the goal keeper to stop him. As he is running someone nudges him from behind. He drops like he was hit by a sledgehammer. He should have been in a diving competition. He’d have won gold. As far as I was concerned any sport that didn’t have a rule where such a blatant dive was penalized in some way wasn’t something I wanted to spend time on. Plus the whole game seems to be played in slow motion. Nothing happens for tens of minutes at a time, then someone scores and the crowd goes wild as if they all just won the lottery. Cricket. I actually watch this game. Not because I find it entertaining, but because I’m trying to figure out the rules and how they determine who wins the darn thing. I still haven’t figured it out. I’m not entirely sure they know themselves. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2006, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/23 "2006-02-15T23:54:25Z")
Golf, sailing and motor sports. It’s a toss up - if you can have three contestants in a toss up. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/24 "2006-02-16T00:01:02Z")
Bowling. All the appeal of watching other people eat hot dogs and drink beer and not getting any yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/25 "2006-02-16T00:38:33Z")
> [@YaWanna](#): > > I For instance, basketball, to me, is just a bunch of tall (grossly overpaid) guys in shorts running back & forth throwing a ball around. That’s the one. Any game where a foul can be called for touching your opponent’s jersey with your pinky is too wimpified for me. Followed closely by soccer. If it was any more dull the players would be dead. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/26 "2006-02-16T00:41:38Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > I agree. Shall we rephrase it like “What sport do you like to play or watch in person, but on TV it’s coma-inducing?” Golf. Love playing it but unless it’s a major tournament, I can’t bring myself to watch it. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/27 "2006-02-16T00:43:46Z")
You guys haven’t **truly** been bored by televised competition. One fine day, on ESPN2, I ran into the Magic: The Gathering Canadian Tournament. Magic: The Gathering. As a TV sport. I realized then that the west is doomed. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/28 "2006-02-16T00:49:58Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > You guys haven’t **truly** been bored by televised competition. > > One fine day, on ESPN2, I ran into the Magic: The Gathering Canadian Tournament. > > Magic: The Gathering. As a TV sport. > > I realized then that the west is doomed. dear gods, Canadians to boot? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/29 "2006-02-16T00:54:19Z")
I love playing golf, I have had a good time at a few golf tourneys, but TV coverage of the sport is awful. I fully realize that putting is the most important part of the game, but it is also the most boring. (Man marks ball. Man cleans ball. Caddy pulls the flag. Man replaces ball. Man walks to other side of hole, surveys the terrain. Man walks around green , kneels down behind ball, surveys terrain. Man lines up at ball… and backs off to take a few practice strokes. Surveys terrain again. Lines up at ball and ZZZzzzzzzzz…) I like watching pros hit 300 yard drives on TV. Anything with a full swing is interesting to watch. But, for some reason, 60% of TV golf coverage seems to be about putting. Whoop-de-friggin’-doo. (Whee, my 3,000th post. Almost as exciting as watching Davis Love III line up a 7-footer on hole #7 of the second round of a tournament.) ---
**Author:** ![DrLoveGun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@DrLoveGun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrLoveGun)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/30 "2006-02-16T01:11:13Z")
Car racing, especially NASCAR (The Big Left Turn), Golf, Tennis. Are we really calling fishing a sport? What about those hunting shows I find a 3 am? Booooring, but I don’t consider it a sport. You cannot have something be a sport if the average person gets drunk while doing it. I’m pretty sure that’s the law, but I can’t seem to find any mention of it. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/31 "2006-02-16T01:31:34Z")
Motor racing, more specifically NASCAR. I have actually been to various forms of car racing - speedway, drags and rally, to check it out. One visit was enough for each and they were all in some way interesting but I wouldn’t walk across the road to watch the Indy 500. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/32 "2006-02-16T02:22:52Z")
I originally came in to say baseball, hands down. But I read so many other good answers that now I can’t decide. The truth is, the only sport that I enjoy watching is american football and the rest are pretty bad. (OK, I have been known to watch nine-ball on espn2, but I was house-bound at the time and there is very little to watch on daytime TV) ---
**Author:** ![Queuing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/90ced4/32.png) [@Queuing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queuing)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/33 "2006-02-16T02:31:31Z")
> [@Ponder Stibbons](#): > > For me, it’s bass fishing followed closely by golf. Plus several activities that are often classified as sports that I just can’t get myself to call sports: Poker, Gymnastics, Ice Skating. > > And I despise golf far more than any of the rest because it is on TV all. The. F\*\*\*ing. Time. Poker I get. Gymnastics? Ice Skating (not sure what you mean by this though; figure, speed, hockey?) are not sports? huh? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/34 "2006-02-16T02:45:10Z")
Motor racing, horse racing and sports like luge or bobsled at least have the potential of horrifying accidents. With hockey, even if you can’t follow the puck, you can hope for a fight. For sheer dullness, I’d take televised billiards or poker. ---
**Author:** ![xbuckeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9e8a1a/32.png) [@xbuckeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xbuckeye)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/35 "2006-02-16T02:51:31Z")
NASCAR is great, so is college football. I can’t watch anything where there is half an hour of talk leading up to half a minute of event, like horse racing and most track and field events. I also can’t watch basketball (that is why I am doping right now) or professional football, golf, Indy or drag or F1 racing, bowling, baseball, basketball, or…well…I guess pretty much anything but NASCAR and College Football. In defense of NASCAR, it is more interesting once you get to know the drivers and crew chiefs and the science and strategy involved. Do you know why Knaus was sent home and how that is going to affect the Dayton 500, and the races at Fontana and Vegas? And there are wrecks and near wrecks, and blown engines and fires to get you through until you learn the lingo. NASCAR…casualty free for 5 years! ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/36 "2006-02-16T03:11:54Z")
> [@xbuckeye](#): > > In defense of NASCAR, it is more interesting once you get to know the drivers and crew chiefs and the science and strategy involved. Most sports become more interesting if you understand/appreciate what goes in to it. BTW, are we defending sports we like? ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/37 "2006-02-16T03:16:21Z")
I’ll go with tennis. With golf, I’m always thinking of how I’d hit the shot. Plus, many of the courses are scenic. Also, the cameras move around frequently to show the different players. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/38 "2006-02-16T03:24:11Z")
Motor racing just beats tennis then cricket as the top 3 most boring TV sports for me. ---
**Author:** ![mike1dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mike1dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mike1dog)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/39 "2006-02-16T03:56:12Z")
I remember once ESPN showed a Scrabble tournament. A game I hate to play in the first place. It was made much worse by the personality profiles of the players, all of whom seemed really cocky and geeky at the same time. I recently saw it on Cheap Seats, and it was as bad as I remembered. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687/40 "2006-02-16T04:13:37Z")
Despite what ESPN says, I cannot bring myself to call poker a sport. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-for-you-personally-is-the-dullest-televised-sport/344687.md?page=3)