Same here...sometimes you can't get away from it very easily, such as when you're visiting someone who has sports on, or in a restaurant (even non-sports-themed restaurants seem to have a TV tuned to sports now, ever notice that?). At someone's house, I try to engage in non-sports conversation with someone, or at a restaurant, to sit turned away from the TV, if possible, so that I won't be tempted to distraction by what's on the screen.Stardust wrote:
It started as a few things about watching sports annoying me, the more I watched the more my dislike grew until I'm where I am now..I won't watch sports unless I'm forced to, which usually means if I'm at someone's house or at the laundrymat..
I've never been to a live professional football game, but have gone to high school games with my wife (she was in marching band in school and likes to go for the band reunions and performances at homecoming). It can be quite tedious to follow a game when you don't have the announcers "pumping it up" ("Ahhhh..what an incredible catch he just made down at the 20 yard line!") and the endless replays from every possible angle to fill the downtime between plays when they're huddling up, walking down the field, etc. I'm sure all that is intentional, to create the illusion that what's happening is much more exciting than it is.I think my reasons for turning away from sports can be summed up as..
Announcers - I don't need some ex jock telling me what I just saw!! Hello, I sitting here watching what just happened! Towards the end of my sports watching days I would mute the sound and put some music on..
Couple pet peeves here:
When they have to put the words "reverse angle" on the screen during a replay -- couldn't someone figure out by looking at it that they're seeing it from the opposite direction?
The inane interviews before and after games, and at halftime with coaches or players -- "So, what do you need to better in the second half, coach?" Um, maybe score more points than the other team? What insightful answer do they expect?
Ah yes...here in Cleveland they still talk about Browns games they lost 25 years ago as though it happened yesterday, and that it ruined the lives of everyone involved or who saw it. Also, one of my big reasons for souring on sports in the past year was the whole LeBron James situation in basketball. When he announced he was leaving Cleveland, all the local stations broke into programming to report live on iit, and get "fan reaction." The next day, one station took up an entire hour newscast reporting on it, and taking calls from fans, etc. This was a regular newscast on a regular TV station, not ESPN or another sports-only channel. They acted like it was a war breaking out or a presidential assassination or something, the amount of coverage they gave to it! This was right at the time when the BP oil well was still spilling millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, putting the environment and people's livelihoods in severe jeopardy -- and a basketball player changing teams warranted this kind of coverage?Hype - This one is probably self explanatory..But the hype over a big game like losing was the end of the world or something..Come on, wake up, it's only a stupid game..How long is the pre-game for the Super Bowl? Give me a break!!
Yes, and a big reason they make so much money is because of TV deals and endorsements, so watching it just perpetuates that cycle. Also, merchandising is a big cash cow for the sports industry, so I've tried to make a point of not wearing sports apparel when I go out. (The clothing I still have with sports logos on it, I just wear around the house or use for yardwork, etc.) I actually kind of get some satisfaction when there's a "big game" and I go out and see people decked out in "their" team's gear, and I'm just wearing my normal clothes!Overpaid athletes - I really have no desire to watch a bunch of millionaires chasing each around like idiots..millionaires paid big money to play a game..
Yes -- like you mentioned earlier, there's a whole world out there to enjoy and explore. Following four sports (or even one or two, for that matter) takes up a huge amount of time if you're going to be a "serious" fan. Just the sheer volume of it got to be too much for me, even aside from all the other factors we just covered!Boredom - and this is a big one..I came to realize that there are much more interesting things for me to watch on my tv than sports..and less time consuming too..I used to be one of those guys who would watch game after game after game on the weekends..I wouldn't even venture outside..What a waste!
Thanks again for your insights, Stardust...hope you'll keep them coming!
I'm fat and sassy! I love to sing & dance & stomp my feet & really rock your world!
)