So you're not good at sports: it's a very small part of life.

[Dave1982]

Alright everyone, I've just had to delete several posts from this thread because people were replying in-thread to posts they found offensive instead of using the report button. Additionally, this thread is NOT about whether pro/college sports are fundamentally bad; that falls under "societal woes" and is most definitely a Fratching topic.

If I have to delete any more posts this one gets closed. Let's get back to the original topic of an SC thinking that not being a sports fan is a bad thing.

[Geek King]

I am, believe it or not, actually kind of a sports guy. Except I'm only into off-road racing.

<waits for the cricket chirrups to subside>

yeah...not on the tube very often.

I'm not even into the stadium racing. No, I want real off-road, like the Baja 500/1000 or the Paris/Dakkar Rally. It's a shame they closed the Pike's Peak Hillclimb. They'd at least show that on television every year.

[Andara Bledin]

I am, believe it or not, actually kind of a sports guy. Except I'm only into off-road racing.

Well, then, it might mean something to you that my uncle used to be head of Roger Mears' crew.

He's actually in a Penzoil (I think) commercial in the passenger seat of the truck while doing some offroading for the commercial shoot. He spent the entire time white-knuckling the dashboard, 'cause actually doing offroading scared him.

^-.-^

[Cat]

I cannot stand people who mock you if you don't like their interests...even if its something "most people" enjoy.

I do like baseball, but only if its the Yanks/Mets/Red Sox playing....I have no interest in other teams. (ok, the phillie no hitter was neat)

I have recently fallen in love with soccer, and can pretty much watch any game and be entertained. (Poor Revs, bad season)

I do not get American Football. Nope, not at all. And I tried to watch tennis, but I just got real bored.

To each their own

[wheeitsme]

I am, believe it or not, actually kind of a sports guy. Except I'm only into off-road racing.

<waits for the cricket chirrups to subside>

yeah...not on the tube very often.

I'm not even into the stadium racing. No, I want real off-road, like the Baja 500/1000 or the Paris/Dakkar Rally. It's a shame they closed the Pike's Peak Hillclimb. They'd at least show that on television every year.

I know somebody who did Baha once. Too bad they're prolly gonna have to discontinue the race for awhile. Way too dangerous right now.

I also got to be part of a pit crew for the Las Vegas 300. Our guys did it on a bike. Didn't finish, though. Part way in one of our drivers comes in, fuels up, and then goes to start the bike again. No kick start. It was somewhere out on the track. And NOBODY had a spare. We had to go hang out on the Vegas strip for the rest of the day.

My husband's best friend's Dad took us to this: http://40yearstoglory.blogspot.com/

[protege]

I'm not even into the stadium racing. No, I want real off-road, like the Baja 500/1000 or the Paris/Dakkar Rally. It's a shame they closed the Pike's Peak Hillclimb. They'd at least show that on television every year.

Cool. I'm into vintage sports-car racing. But, you don't see that on the TV either. Sure, there's the 30-second clip when the PVGP footage is on the news, but that's not the same. Other than being trackside for 2 days, that's about it. What's fun about that, is that you can't see the entire course from one spot. A couple of corners maybe, but that's it. You don't know who is leading, until you hear the cars in the distance. Plus, there are usually a crapload of clubs and owners with various cars on display. Oh, and if you're lucky (and know where the gaps are), you can take a couple of laps around the course the night before

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I have done something nobody from the University of Minnesota has done in 7 years (to be 8 after tomorrow).

I TOUCHED PAUL BUNYAN'S AXE.

It was at the Wisconsin State Fair a couple years back. It was UW day and they happened to bring the axe as part of their display.

I just hope tomorrow the angry Minnesota fans will keep the chair legs away from the UW faithful's eye sockets.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Chalk up another guy who doesn't give a rip about sports. ....

Movies, now...that's another matter.

I assume you mean movies about sports? I'm yet another guy who doesn't care about sports, but does enjoy some of the movies made about sports. One of my favorite old time movies is Kill the Umpire, and one I just bought is Mr. Baseball. It helps that both are also comedies.

As for not being interested in sports, that may change with the advent of the Lingerie Football League.

Also, I do like watching the Triple Crown horse races.

[Geek King]

Well, then, it might mean something to you that my uncle used to be head of Roger Mears' crew.

That is indeed actually pretty cool.

I was a big Ivan Stewart fan when I first got into it, but then so were a lot of people at the time. Nowadays, I just enjoy seeing all these drivers from different diciplines all over the world going at it. Where else can you see F1, NASCAR, Rally, and dirt bike drivers going against each other? I've kinda gotten into rally racing thanks to the Dirt games, but you don't get that much on TV, either. Ah, well.

[LingualMonkey]

Conversation with student Monday:

Me: How was your weekend?
Him: Well, the Packers lost, so it was pretty good.
Me: Oh. I didn't know the Packers were playing.
Him: You really don't follow football?
Me: No.
Him: You're a hockey guy.
Me: I don't pay attention to any sports, pro or college.
Him: We're going to have to work on that.

No, we aren't. I don't care. In my opinion, it's a waste of energy, a waste of mental effort, and a waste of time. You go ahead and enjoy it.

[ThanosIsKing]

Now I've got to say that I'm probably in a minority in this thread, being someone who likes watching a lot of sports, but with the exception of one team (the Cubs) it's mostly so I can laugh at the players who fail. I mean it, there's nothing I like more than to see one team get blown out, or to see a defence fall apart allowing the opponent to come back and win, etc. Sporting failures are hilarious to me.

Except when it comes to the Cubs. But then again, their failure should really be expected at this point.

[Jester]

I am definitely a sports guy. A football (American) fanatic, a baseball, basketball, and hockey fan, and a guy who goes from somewhat nuts during the rest of the season to absolutely nuclear during the Arizona State-Arizona football game. One of my two favorite tv channels is ESPN, and I often wake up to Mike and Mike on ESPN2. I play fantasy football every year, part of many of my vacations is sports (Football Hall of Fame, Baseball Hall of Fame, games, etc.), and I have enough sports teams t-shirts to clothe a small village.

Me: I don't know. I don't follow sports.

SC starts laughing his ass off and going off on how we have the Denver Broncos and yet I don't follow sports.

SC: You're probably a bookworm aren't you?

With all of the above being said, I think this guys is a world-class douchebag asshole fuckwad.

You can be a sports fan and still be annoyed and offended by other sports fans who act like idiots, towards those who aren't sports fans or to fans of opposing teams...or just idiots in general. For example, I am a diehard Oakland Raiders fan. And I will be the first to say that a lot of Raiders fans are fucking clueless idiots.

While I love sports, I rarely take it overly seriously. Other than the ASU-UofA game, I rarely get complete worked up over it. I DO yell at the tv during football games, often quite loudly (especially last weekend, when almost every football game, and every one that really mattered to me, went the way I wanted it to go), and I DO follow sports, and DO know quite a bit of sports trivia. My friend Frank even calls me--erroneously--"the football guru" (knowing more than he does about football isn't tough, really). But I am not JUST about sports. I am a foodie, enjoying eating and creating good food, am an avid reader (my living room is a library), and enjoy a wide variety of non-sports activities.

So to reiterate, this sports fan thinks the guy in the OP should be smacked upside the head several times with a large blunt object.

Why are we paying overgrown men to refuse to grow up and play a child's game when college money would be so much better spent on, I don't know, education, perhaps?

Note of clarification: college football players are not paid, and their sport actually draws money INTO a university.

I do agree, though, that pro athletes are paid way too much. After a player who I admire was given a new contract, I saw a fan in the stands at a game holding up a sign that read, "[Player's Name]: $30 million and worth every penny."

No, he's not. NO ONE is. Unless the guy is curing cancer or AIDS or bringing peace to the Middle East or some other war-ravaged area of the globe, he is not worth thirty fucking millions dollars. To even suggest that a guy who plays a game is worth that ludicrous sum is ridiculous....and this is from a guy who is a fan of both the game and the player!

As I said, even sports fans can think that other sports fans are idiots, and not just for rooting for opposing teams.

I can always tell when football season has returned full-force because my Facebook wall is BOMBARDED with status updates from all of my die-hard sports friends updating the game they're watching every few seconds or so.

I don't get this either, but from a different angle. Dude, if you care that much about the game, fucking watch the game. Stop updating your facebook status, you moron! I have updated my facebook status for a game....AFTER the game. As in, WOO HOO, we won! Yet more idiocy by sports fans, as reported by a sports fan.

I gave up on the Pirates years ago. There's no point in watching them--they're guaranteed to lose, no matter which team they play. 18 losing seasons, in fact.

No, 18 losing seasons in a row. Actually 56 total losing seasons, going back to their start as the Pittsburgh Alleghenys in 1882.

What? I TOLD you I'm a sports fan!

Baseball - I can watch it on TV, but I enjoy visiting stadium - but preferably not MLB stadiums - the crowd there has started to get ugly. AAA teams and alternative leagues are a kick.

Minor league games are a blast, and usually quite affordable, aka cheap. Back before Phoenix got the Arizona Diamondbacks, we had the Phoenix Firebirds (AAA team), and I would occasionally go to Scottsdale Stadium, get a ticket, and a hot dog, and a beer....and usually be out only about $10 or so. This was early 90's, so I'm sure prices have gone up since then, but I'm also sure they are still quite affordable compared to MLB games.

All I'm saying is that it looks erotic and that when you have grown men sitting around shrieking at it on a TV screen, the whole thing is also immature.

I like erotic and I like immature. And yet I couldn't give a hoot about mixed martial arts fights.

And thanks to hauntedheadnc's comments I really should pay more attention to Greco-Roman wrestling... mmm.

It wasn't Greco-Roman wrestling at all, but mixed martial arts fights, usually simply called MMA, though sometimes called UFC (Ultimate Fight Championships) or other brand names for them. Yes, I know this despite not being the least bit interested in any of them. I DO watch a lot of ESPN, ya know.

As for not being interested in sports, that may change with the advent of the Lingerie Football League.

Heard about this a while back when it was being formed. Caught some of it on tv for the first time when I was at my friend's in Phoenix for dinner a few weeks ago. I thought it was awesome. Her husband thought it was awesome. She, on the other hand, thought it was the "stupidest thing I've ever seen" and insisted we turn it off. The irony of all this was that she is a bit of a sports fan, but she is also a stripper and an adult film actress.

Me: I don't pay attention to any sports, pro or college.
Him: We're going to have to work on that.

No, we aren't. I don't care. In my opinion, it's a waste of energy, a waste of mental effort, and a waste of time.

Not a complete waste of time. Even if one doesn't like sports, it is hard to ignore the profound effect sports can have on society. See "Invictus" or the great "30 for 30" ESPN documentary on South Africa's rugby World Cup championship, or Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier in baseball, or Muhammad Ali's rise as one of the first black sports celebrities, or several other things that have happened where sports was more than just sports.

[Gibbo]

Where I am you can substitute sports for soccer. Everyone here assumes that you are into soccer and cannot get their heads around the idea that you might not like soccer or prefer another sport instead.

I used to be into soccer but I can live without it now. In this country it is all consuming and there is no escape from it. I can rarely watch a full game anymore and most players in the Premier League earn far more money than what their ability actually deserves. Rugby League is my favourite sport and I also watch the NFL.

Still there is no reason to have a go or laugh at people who don't like sports. It isn't compulsory, sports aren't that important enough for non sports fans to need to be converted and not liking sports doesn't make you inferior to those who do, so the guy in the OP was in need of a slap.

[Jester]

Where I am you can substitute sports for soccer.

Thank you for confirming that soccer and sports are indeed separate things.

...not liking sports doesn't make you inferior to those who do...

I have often considered two types of women awesome as potential girlfriends/mates.

The ones who share my love of football and want to watch the games with me, even if their teams are different from mine; and the ones that couldn't give a hoot about football, but don't begrudge me my obsession, and leave me to it, either indulging my obsession by hanging out and maybe getting me a beer from time to time, or by going off and doing their own thing while I yell stupidly at the tv as my team continues to suck.

The women I find horrible (that luckily I have rarely had to deal with myself) are those that hate football and do everything they can to pry their mates from the tv during football season. Hey, if I don't tell you not to do the things you love, don't tell me to not do the things I love, thank you very much. I pity the men involved with these women (and the few women who love football who are involved with this type of man).

[Andara Bledin]

The women I find horrible (that luckily I have rarely had to deal with myself) are those that hate football and do everything they can to pry their mates from the tv during football season.

See, this I have never gotten.

If you really love someone, shouldn't that include their love of whatever?

What is with people who get involved with someone and then try to change that person?

^-.-^