Friendly Debate From a (casual) Sports Fan

[SkarrSF]

Obviously, it doesn't make much sense for one to register here if he/she is a fan of sports, but I'd like to discuss a few points and get some feedback. For the sake of time on both ends, I'll keep things brief.

1. I noticed on the front page of this website that at least a portion of users associated with this site wish to remove sports from schools. I feel as though that by removing sports from schools, it restricts students who would otherwise participate in them from expressing themselves and having fun. The rules in place that mandate student-athletes to maintain a certain GPA certainly aren't perfect, but (to an extent) ensure that the majority of student-athletes are performing adequately on whatever court/field, but also in the classroom. The income a school may receive from hosting sporting events can be healthy if it is spent appropriately - which, in my experiences, it isn't. I'm currently a member of my high school's band (marching band as well!), that is historically one of the better bands in our area, and our band room is literally falling apart, our school instruments are old and in need of repair; all the while our school endlessly spends money on our sub-par football team who is notorious for a brawl they participated in last year and with athletes that DO fit the stereotype .

2. Live and let live. Obviously, my intrusion - however good and honest the intent - goes against that, as I am inquiring on the positions you take, but a few posts I've read on this forum make me feel as though some of you take a somewhat extreme position on the subject. I'd just like to clear up any misconceptions or be given a reasoning for why you've taken the stance you have.

3. Stereotypes: they exist for everything. That doesn't make them true, nor does it make them appropriate (in my opinion). I'm curious to hear justification for the very small amount of "hate" I've seen. I'm sure most of it is just light-hearted joking, but I'm still a curious person

I'd also like to add that I maintain a GPA of over 4.0, claim an ACT score of 32, *plan* on attending Vanderbilt University to *hopefully* double-major in Computer Science and Mathetmatics, and still have time to casually enjoy watching and participating in sports. Not all of us fit the stereotype


Thanks in advance!

[Earl]

Welcome, SkarrSF!

I noticed you were online; so, I thought I'd leave this brief message.

I'm eating breakfast now. When I finish, I'm going to have to step away from the PC for the rest of the morning. I will respond to your post later this afternoon.

In the meantime, have a good day!

[HugeFanOfBadReligion]

Hello SkarrSF, welcome to the forum! Your post seems extremely reasonable and I agree with pretty much everything you said, so I won't make this post very long as I have little to add to this discussion at the moment. However, I'm sure you'll soon encounter at least one member who is a lot less tolerant of sports and who may challenge your post.

By the way, good luck for your plans in university.

[SkarrSF]

Welcome, SkarrSF!

I noticed you were online; so, I thought I'd leave this brief message.

I'm eating breakfast now. When I finish, I'm going to have to step away from the PC for the rest of the morning. I will respond to your post later this afternoon.

In the meantime, have a good day!

Looking forward to your response!

[Earl]

I appreciate your civility, SkarrFF. Good post! As you undoubtedly know, civility is frequently lacking in online boards.

Obviously, it doesn't make much sense for one to register here if he/she is a fan of sports, ...

Unless, of course, one is a troll and/or an outraged sports fan who wants to hassle and insult those of us who actively support this website. Before I came on board, there was a high-school football player who posted in this forum under the username "samdaman" who was quite an unforgettable character. He was a stereotypical bully. Sad to say, some people are walking stereotypes (or parodies). He was banned in 2007 after he had created a phony account for the purpose of attempting to gain the confidence of the Admins. His vulgar posts are something else!

... but I'd like to discuss a few points and get some feedback. For the sake of time on both ends, I'll keep things brief.

Don't worry about posting "mini-essays," as a 4chan troll once characterized our posts. As for me, I won't be stating all my views related to the sports culture in a single post.

As HugeFan said of himself, I don't think you and I are going to have much of a disagreement.

I don't favor taking team sports out of the schools. Of course, you also know there's no movement to do that. I believe a wide range of extra-curricular activities should be provided. There are problems when the local community places more emphasis upon sports than academics. I realize that simply having team sports is not the cause of this, but wrong attitudes on the part of those who influence the schools.

What I do have a big problem with is the role of sports in mandatory boys' P.E. Since I'm very busy this evening, I'll say my piece on this issue in another post. I'll just say the following for right now: A junior-high or high school's football program, say, will not be adversely affected if P.E. is not mandatory. No school athlete ever had to be forced to participate in sports. Except in very small towns, there will never be a shortage of boys who want to play football.

I'd also like to add that I maintain a GPA of over 4.0, claim an ACT score of 32, *plan* on attending Vanderbilt University to *hopefully* double-major in Computer Science and Mathetmatics, and still have time to casually enjoy watching and participating in sports. Not all of us fit the stereotype

Congratulations are in order as to your academic achievements! When I was your age, my academic performance was only fair. That was because I had personal problems. But my two daughters, Earlette No. 1 and Earlette No. 2, have done extremely well! They both graduated with honors from high school. No. 1 graduated from a university magna cum laude with a degree in mathematics, and was also inducted into Phi Beta Kappa -- which, as you know, is the national honor society that was founded in 1776. No. 2, who is now attending the same university, will also be inducted in April. Please forgive a proud father's boasting. They are far better human beings than I was at their ages.

Thanks in advance!

You're welcome. Sorry I don't have time to type up a longer post. I'm planning on posting tomorrow. I have more to say. Thanks again for being civil.

[SkarrSF]

I appreciate your civility, SkarrFF. Good post! As you undoubtedly know, civility is frequently lacking in online boards.

Obviously, it doesn't make much sense for one to register here if he/she is a fan of sports, ...

Unless, of course, one is a troll and/or an outraged sports fan who wants to hassle and insult those of us who actively support this website. Before I came on board, there was a high-school football player who posted in this forum under the username "samdaman" who was quite an unforgettable character. He was a stereotypical bully. Sad to say, some people are walking stereotypes (or parodies). He was banned in 2007 after he had created a phony account for the purpose of attempting to gain the confidence of the Admins. His vulgar posts are something else!

... but I'd like to discuss a few points and get some feedback. For the sake of time on both ends, I'll keep things brief.

Don't worry about posting "mini-essays," as a 4chan troll once characterized our posts. As for me, I won't be stating all my views related to the sports culture in a single post.

As HugeFan said of himself, I don't think you and I are going to have much of a disagreement.

I don't favor taking team sports out of the schools. Of course, you also know there's no movement to do that. I believe a wide range of extra-curricular activities should be provided. There are problems when the local community places more emphasis upon sports than academics. I realize that simply having team sports is not the cause of this, but wrong attitudes on the part of those who influence the schools.

What I do have a big problem with is the role of sports in mandatory boys' P.E. Since I'm very busy this evening, I'll say my piece on this issue in another post. I'll just say the following for right now: A junior-high or high school's football program, say, will not be adversely affected if P.E. is not mandatory. No school athlete ever had to be forced to participate in sports. Except in very small towns, there will never be a shortage of boys who want to play football.

Thankfully, being in marching band has allowed me to avoid the otherwise mandatory P.E. class offered at my school. I did, however, have to take wellness, where we DID have to stretch, walk a mile, etc. but it wasn't much.

I'd also like to add that I maintain a GPA of over 4.0, claim an ACT score of 32, *plan* on attending Vanderbilt University to *hopefully* double-major in Computer Science and Mathetmatics, and still have time to casually enjoy watching and participating in sports. Not all of us fit the stereotype

Congratulations are in order as to your academic achievements! When I was your age, my academic performance was only fair. That was because I had personal problems. But my two daughters, Earlette No. 1 and Earlette No. 2, have done extremely well! They both graduated with honors from high school. No. 1 graduated from a university magna cum laude with a degree in mathematics, and was also inducted into Phi Beta Kappa -- which, as you know, is the national honor society that was founded in 1776. No. 2, who is now attending the same university, will also be inducted in April. Please forgive a proud father's boasting. They are far better human beings than I was at their age.

You have every reason to be proud!

Thanks in advance!

You're welcome. Sorry I don't have time to type up a longer post. I'm planning on posting tomorrow. I have more to say. Thanks again for being civil.

If I come to another community's board, I can't expect civility if I'm not civil myself.

[ChrisOH]

Hello SkarrSF! Sorry I'm a little late jumping into the conversation here, but just wanted to address a few points that you make:

Obviously, it doesn't make much sense for one to register here if he/she is a fan of sports, but I'd like to discuss a few points and get some feedback. For the sake of time on both ends, I'll keep things brief.

1. I noticed on the front page of this website that at least a portion of users associated with this site wish to remove sports from schools. I feel as though that by removing sports from schools, it restricts students who would otherwise participate in them from expressing themselves and having fun.

For Little League baseball and other sports leagues for younger children, the leagues are privately funded through local business sponsorship, "pay-to-play" fees, and fundraisers. (I'm not certain, but I believe some communities also sponsor public leagues through their parks and recreation budgets.) All of this is done without school involvement -- so why, at middle- or high-school age, does it suddenly become the responsibility of the schools to provide organized sports? If the youth leagues can find funding elsewhere, why couldn't this be done for all ages, including high school and college?

Of course, that would be my ideal setup -- I don't expect it to happen anytime soon.

2. Live and let live. Obviously, my intrusion - however good and honest the intent - goes against that, as I am inquiring on the positions you take, but a few posts I've read on this forum make me feel as though some of you take a somewhat extreme position on the subject. I'd just like to clear up any misconceptions or be given a reasoning for why you've taken the stance you have.

Personally, I'm fine with the "live and let live" attitude. My position on sports is largely as follows:

1) At the age of 40 (about a year and a half ago), after varying degrees of sports interest over the years, I found it was taking up far too much of my time to keep up with. The games started to seem boring and monotonous, yet I felt a compulsion to keep watching them to maintain a sense of "manhood". Which brings me to point number...

2) Interest in sports is set up as a false test of masculinity far too often. At one of my workplaces, I was criticized heavily if I didn't watch a particular baseball, football, or basketball game (I wasn't supporting my city, a "real man" would be watching the game, etc.) But when I thought about it, what is it about watching other men play children's games that makes one a "real man"?

Some people on the site have been pretty badly ridiculed or bullied for not being interested in sports, so they quite naturally have an antagonistic attitude toward it. There's quite a range of attitudes among the regulars (of whom there are far less than in the past), anywhere from simple lack of interest to outright hostility toward sports.

It's worth noting, too, that much of the homepage of the site is meant to be tongue-in-cheek. I doubt anyone here seriously expects to eradicate sports from society (even if they'd like to!) Essentially, this is just a ranting site for a few people who feel alienated by the sports culture, for whatever reason.

Hope this helps answer some of your questions!

[Fat Man]

OK, the Fat Man going to jump in here now and splash all the water out of the pool.

I noticed on the front page of this website that at least a portion of users associated with this site wish to remove sports from schools. I feel as though that by removing sports from schools, it restricts students who would otherwise participate in them from expressing themselves and having fun.

And, I feel that by having sports in school, it destroys the lives of the good students who would rather study hard in their academic subjects, such as science and math, so that after they graduate and go to college, they'll be better able to get decent jobs and support themselves, and live a decent life.

OK. When I was in high school, I was unable to express myself.

One day, when I entered the art class, I discovered that my oil paintings were destroyed by the school bullies.

So, I don't give a flying fucking Hootenanny in Hell if drooling morons want to express themselves. They can just shut the fuck up and go die!

Fuck your sports!

If you want to play children's games, then fucking go back to fucking Kindergarten!

HEY! That's what the fucking Republicans who are running this fucking country into the fucking ground should be doing!

They all should all go back to fucking Kindergarten and play in the fucking sandbox!

No wait! I take that back!

Those fucking Republican pedophiles should be kept as fucking far away from children as fucking possible, and be locked up in a fucking cage in the fucking zoo somewhere in fucking Washington DC.

For Little League baseball and other sports leagues for younger children, the leagues are privately funded through local business sponsorship, "pay-to-play" fees, and fundraisers. (I'm not certain, but I believe some communities also sponsor public leagues through their parks and recreation budgets.) All of this is done without school involvement -- so why, at middle - or high-school age, does it suddenly become the responsibility of the schools to provide organized sports? If the youth leagues can find funding elsewhere, why couldn't this be done for all ages, including high school and college?

Yeah! I concur!

If they want to have their fucking sports in middle or high school, then they should raise their own damn money for it by either selling pencils from a tin cup, or doing The Hoochie Dance out in the streets!

But if they come knocking on my door to solicit for money, I'll just do what I do to Jehovah's Witnesses when they knock on my door. I'll just grab them by the scruff of the neck, and the seat of the pants, and give 'em the ol' heave ho, and drop-kick 'em out into the street in front of a fucking bus or something!

[DanTran]

I have seen this many times as a lurker. Why do sports fans come on here and try to convert us? Do we go to their sports forums and bother them?

[Fat Man]

I have seen this many times as a lurker. Why do sports fans come on here and try to convert us? Do we go to their sports forums and bother them?

Well, it's obvious.

Sports is a religion!

And like all religions, they have evangelists who's job it is to preach to us, and covert to their religion.

When they preach, their message is not salvation. No, their message is that those of us who don't like sports, that we are fags, and unpatriotic.



Sports also has it's own version of the Inquisition.

In our high schools, the non-athletic kids, the science nerds and techno-geeks, they get their heads bashed against their own lockers, and are sometimes even dragged into the locker room to get beaten and sodomized while the coach (their priest) looks on and even encourages it. Some girls in high school have even been beaten and raped.

Also, sports makes a lot of money from their TV broadcasts just like religion with Pat Robertson's 700 Club. That fucker makes millions of dollars every year, and he's an ignoramus who doesn't know jack-shit.

So, isn't it obvious?

Sports is just another religion!

[Earl]

I have seen this many times as a lurker. Why do sports fans come on here and try to convert us? Do we go to their sports forums and bother them?

Excellent questions!

Of course, we don't go to their forums and bother them. Well, there is one exception to this rule: One of our formerly active members (i_like_1981) did go to a particular forum where a former troll of this website (Samdaman) had placed membership after being permanently banned (after several failed attempts) from the forum. Samdaman was a walking negative stereotype who actually helped this website, which certainly was not his intent. Anyway, '81 had gotten there too late. He tried to catch up with him at a Chicago Bears website; but a moderator or an Admin there blocked him when he tried to register to become a member, saying "We don't like 1981" (which, I must admit, is funny).

I've never understood the desire to visit a website that is known to be offensive or at least on the surface appears to be potentially offensive (at least in the eyes of the beholder, to use a trite phrase). Seems to me there are websites representing every offensive or evil cause or idea. There are racist websites. There are websites for hardline Communists. There's even a website or two for pedophiles. During the mid-1960s when my sister was a college student, the John Birch Society once falsely charged her in public with being a Communist and tried to blacklist her. Needless to say, I've held the John Birch Society in utter contempt for decades; yet I've never felt a desire to harrass their website. Why should I waste my time?

My guess is some sports fans are extremely insecure and/or extremely intolerant. Again, this is a mystery. We have no power over them (except online in forum posts by hurting a sensitive guy's feelings), but they have a lot of power over others.