Hey, boys!

[Nicole]

I'm Nicole and I'm new to the forums (obviously). I can't wait to get to know everyone!

[HugeFanOfBadReligion]

Hello Nicole, welcome to Sports Suck. Feel free to introduce yourself in the introductions thread. Enjoy your stay!

[Earl]

I'm Nicole and I'm new to the forums (obviously). I can't wait to get to know everyone!

Welcome, Nicole! Although the currently active members of this forum are only a relatively few in number, there still is considerable diversity among us. I assume you won't think me self-centered if I describe myself, since you did say that you want to get to know us. As you can see, I serve as a moderator in this forum; but my opinion doesn't carry more weight here than anyone else's. I'm a 60-year-old man, but I look more than ten years younger. I've been happily married for over 30 years, and am the proud father of two wonderful daughters. A visitor to this website might assume all the members of this forum to be sedentary, but that is not true. Several of us work out. For over two years I've been working with a personal trainer at a health club on a bodybuilding program and have been gratified to see some results, although I haven't reached my goal yet. I love working out! On "off days" I usually take a brisk, nonstop walk in the neighborhood. I exercise mostly for the sake of my physical health.

Where do I stand on sports? Well, the other members here consider me to be a "moderate," although I must say that I do have strong convictions. I believe the label "sports hater" is too vague and gives rise to misunderstanding. I object to the excesses of the sports culture. I don't object to ball games. I view athletes as individuals, not as members of a group. I won't knock a guy or gal just because he/she participates in a sport, but neither will I put all athletes on a pedestal. A particular concern of mine has been the need to reform mandatory sports-based P.E., since (as I've observed over the years) it fails the needs of nonathletic students and often hurts these kids. I think the old P.E. should be retained as an elective for the athletes and other students who want to participate in sports and that genuine fitness classes should be available for nonathletic students -- fitness classes that recognize the different needs of individual students and, most importantly, give them a choice.

This is all that I shall say now. Welcome to the forum, Nicole!

[i_like_1981]

Welcome to the forum. Here is the basic information on me: I'm 29 years old, 30 in four months, I live in the UK and I reside on my own in a flat. Basically, living in a culture that is so dominated by things I really couldn't care less for - Z-list celebrities constantly making fools out of themselves, trashy reality TV and soap operas, and naturally, PROFESSIONAL SPORTS, has cost me quite a bit of faith in the modern world and I often feel separated from my peers. I'm not completely isolated from the people in my office, but as my interests do not correspond with theirs, I just can't make the most meaningful or faithful connections with them. I just don't care about which dickhead football player is getting sold to which team for a price that literally makes the Prime Minister's annual wage looks like peanuts. I really don't care which overpaid losers are going to represent England in a foreign tournament and eventually lose. I'm really not interested in chugging enough beer to have a bath in and yelling at a screen at men I'm never going to meet in my life. I just don't understand why sports have become so big and dominant in modern society, and why people felt the need to make bloody BUSINESSES out of them. Seriously, physical activity is good, but what the hell is the point of putting so much money and hype into it that people who aren't interested in it are bound to be classed as losers or weirdos? I'm sure many people around the world think sports are the best thing on earth, but the truth is, they have a dark side. And that dark side can be felt the hard way by so little as admitting you're not interested in sports!

Best regards,
i_like_1981

[Nicole]

Thank you for the warm welcome I am 23 and in my first semester of grad school studying Biochemical Engineering, so that takes up the majority of my time. I guess you could say I am a bit of a nerd - my favourite movie is Star Wars lol. Like you, Earl, I am also very interested in keeping fit. I have never had a weight problem, which I attribute to my fast metabolism, but I still like to work out 3-4 times a week. What else? I am not found of sports (clearly), I really have a hard time not crying from boredom whenever I am forced to watched a televised (or live) game. I have never been good at any sports either. However, I do enjoy swimming and bowling

[Earl]

Hi, Nicole. I'm quite impressed with your academic progress. I wish that I had become a chemist. I'm sure you'll continue to do well. I work out at a 24 Hour Fitness health club. My first trainer had me use an arm band that was able to make some kind of measurement of the number of calories the wearer's body burns in each 24-hour period. I was amazed that my body was burning that many calories, but my trainer told me that his body also had a high metabolic rate as mine did. (He was still able to develop his physique, though.) He wanted me to use the arm band to subtract the number of calories my body burned so I could subtract them from the number of calories my body consumed for each 24-hour period to make sure that I would have a calorie surplus (at least 150 calories), which is necessary for muscular development. Yeah, I sure know why some people really have to watch what they eat while other people never seem to put on weight. (But I'm not complaining!) I wonder if there's any correlation between having a high metabolic rate and having a nervous disposition (e.g., being easily startled). I wouldn't be surprised if there is such a correlation.

[Skul]

Why was this made in Forum Games? Moved now.

Anyway, welcome to the forum, Nicole!

[ChrisOH]

Hi Nicole!

I'm 40 years old, male & married. I'm trying to "come clean" from sports-watching and joined this site hoping to get some support in my quest. I've always felt like I had to watch sports to fit in, and be "manly". But I never felt like I belonged with the yelling-at-the-TV, hoot-and-holler-when-we-win, down-in-the-dumps-when-we-lose crowd. In fact, I became increasingly embarrassed to be associated with them.

The thing that really got me to seriously consider quitting sports-watching was the LeBron James situation (pro basketball), with him leaving Cleveland for Miami last summer. Here in Cleveland, it was all that was on the news for days -- and not just sports news, regular news! The day after he announced he was leaving, an entire hour-long newscast was devoted to how much of a "traitor" he was, and taking calls and texts from sports bores on the subject! It was similar in the newspaper -- front-page articles about it, editorials, etc. It just seemed like such idiocy to me -- why does a millionaire who bounces a ball for a living have such power to grind an entire city to a virtual halt? Did these people actually think this overpaid self-promoter cared about them in the first place, beyond how much money he could squeeze from them in ticket sales and merchandising? And why did the press buy into this circus instead of covering important news? I just wanted no part of any of that nonsense.

I thought it would be hard to give up watching sports and was prepared to go through some sort of withdrawal, but you know what? I've found I actually like not watching sports! So many more interesting things to think about, talk about, and do.

Well, that's everything (or at least a good bit) about me you always wanted to know (or not) but were afraid to ask!

[recovering_fan]

The thing that really got me to seriously consider quitting sports-watching was the LeBron James situation (pro basketball), with him leaving Cleveland for Miami last summer. Here in Cleveland, it was all that was on the news for days -- and not just sports news, regular news! The day after he announced he was leaving, an entire hour-long newscast was devoted to how much of a "traitor" he was, and taking calls and texts from sports bores on the subject! It was similar in the newspaper -- front-page articles about it, editorials, etc. It just seemed like such idiocy to me -- why does a millionaire who bounces a ball for a living have such power to grind an entire city to a virtual halt?

Cleveland should serve as a warning to all sports fans. THIS is what you're setting yourselves up for.

[recovering_fan]

Thank you for the warm welcome I am 23 and in my first semester of grad school studying Biochemical Engineering, so that takes up the majority of my time. I guess you could say I am a bit of a nerd - my favourite movie is Star Wars lol....

Welcome to the forum, Nicole. I'm recovering_fan (or "RF" for short, as it sounds like it could be a nickname in, say, a Dallas boardroom).

Here's my bio from the Introductions thread:

http://www.sportssuck.org/phpbb2/viewto ... 837#p19837