Understanding the Sports Fanatic

[The Vorpal Tribble]

With the Superbowl coming up, I just had a question, what is it that makes so many thousands so completely crazed over a sport? I know many who will take the day off work or plan an entire week around a big sport's event that'll last maybe an hour or two.

I personally love to play sports, and even coach soccer... but I personally couldn't care less if, say, the World Cup was coming along. I might glance in at certain times, watch it out of idle curiosity, and then wander along to do something else.

The only exception is the Olympics, love watching it... but I still don't even approach crazed. Just a heightened interest. Wouldn't bother me if I missed it, just go 'awww' and thats that.

So please, can an enthusiast explain things to me?

[Raistlin1040]

Can't really help you. I'm only watching for the commercials and Tom Petty. I'm a fanatic around the World Cup though.

[RandomLogic]

Its about getting together with friends and food and beer!

Mainly because it isn't my team thats in the SuperBowl, but I still love football. Watching sports provides an escape, just like D&D and comics and whatever else does it for most of us, football does it for just about everyone else. Including me, I <3 football.

In the words of Rick James, "its a celebration *****es"

I don't do fantasy football or any of that though, I can see where that takes too much work. But look at the flipside, is memorizing all those D&D rules any different from memorizing players and stats and picking the best team?

Just two sides of the same coin, entertaining oneself.

[XiaoTie]

Can't really help you. I'm only watching for the commercials and Tom Petty. I'm a fanatic around the World Cup though.

Hell yeah! After South Africa's cup it will be held here in Brazil :thog:

Getting back on topic. I think a sport fanatic is kinda like a music fanatic. It is something people love to play and love to watch.

[ZombieRockStar]

Don't know about football, which is the world's second most boring sport to watch, and I'm having trouble being excited about hockey, what with my team being second-last in the East and very little hope of making the playoffs, but in general it's just something you attach yourself to and you try and feel the competitive excitement vicariously.

[Shraik]

Might as well have an easier time trying to understand This
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED_pU2oDnug

[Bor the Barbarian Monk]

VT, you are not alone. As I posted in RB:


Sorry to interrupt, but could someone...please...SAVE ME FROM THE SUPERBOWL! :smalleek:

This sporting event is occurring just a few short miles from where I live, and the city of Phoenix has gone insane. I turned on the news last night, expecting the usual focus on all that is Phoenix, AZ, with maybe a minute or two taking a peek at world events. Instead, of the 35 minutes of news, about 25 minutes was dedicated to the parties, who was at the parties, where the parties are, and when the parties begin and end. Much to my regret, about 120 seconds of this non-stop stupidity was about Paris Hilton being in town. This was the news?!? :smallconfused:

Okay. That's it. Sorry for the rant. On you go with whatever it was you were talking about, and thank you for your time.

- The Mismanagement

Oh...and Shraik? That's obviously the Spanish version of "Louie, Louie" set to a new beat. :smallbiggrin:

[Mephisto]

Can't really help you. I'm only watching for the commercials and Tom Petty. I'm a fanatic around the World Cup though.

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/super_bowl.jpg

[EmeraldRose]

I dunno even which teams are in honestly. I stopped paying attention once the Saints were out. Well, and I suppose Andre's Vikings as well...:smallwink:

I'm sure he'll have it on, and I'll watch the commercials.

Hopefully next year, my Saints will show better.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

*snickers at the pic*


Getting back on topic. I think a sport fanatic is kinda like a music fanatic. It is something people love to play and love to watch.
Hmmm. Don't understand them either. I... can't say I'm a fanatic of any kind of entertainment.

I'm a freak :smallfrown:

[North]

Sports are todays Gladitorial Battles. Its watching A list stars compete in a team duel against each other and who will overcome. Even when I watch my team play and lose (happening to often recently:smallfrown: ) and see the other team pull a great move, I can be amazed and respect them for it. Even if I do hate them as well. :smallbiggrin: Then you get the feeling of camraderie of being together in bar with a bunch of other strangers, yet this one team brings us all together in a moment of connection.

I was up in Fort Mac taking care of a store during the Oilers cup run. Didnt know anyone up there, which sucked. Went to Montanas for dinner and to watch the game. Halfway through the first period, we were winning this one and everyone was cheering. A fairly largish group just invited me to sit with them, have some beer and nachos, since they saw I was just hanging by myself. Had a great night, mets some great people and got to watch a great game.

[Raider]

Well, it let's people believe they are part of something big and you can spend time with friends. I mean I play 2 sports but I only glance at their respective competitions

O by the way I can't stand people who when speaking of their team say "we". YOU ARE NOT ON THE TEAM YOU DOLT!

[Rare Pink Leech]

Regarding the reason why people throw huge parties to watch a game, I think it's become a cultural event, really. Especially for the Super Bowl. I know people who go to Super Bowl parties even though they don't like football. It's a good excuse to hang out for a few hours in a fun atmosphere, eat food you really shouldn't, and drink. It's like any other party, really - you just need an excuse to through one, and I guess the Super Bowl's as good a reason as any.

[FoE]

What makes anyone excited about anything? It's escapism, the thrill of competition, sharing in the charge you get from your favourite team's victories, etc. etc. We can look at sports and say, "God, what's the big deal about tossing a leather ball around a field?", but really, what's the big deal about comic books? Star Wars movies? Anime? Dungeons and Dragons? Some people look at this stuff and say, "Why would anyone waste time pretending to be an elf and fight evil wizards?"

[Zombie pixe]

true. FoE has a real point.

with that i think he has killed the thread :smalltongue:

but still, i suppose we could argue over how D&D is better than physical sports... :smallamused:

[ZombieRockStar]

Regarding the Superbowl itself, I'm not watching it, even for the ads, which are just as stupid as regular TV ads, but with a bigger budget. That said, I still hope the Patriots win because it'd be nice to see what a perfect team looks like.

[EmeraldRose]

Honestly, I've been a sort-of fan of the Pats since they came from behind to win as the underdogs in the '03 Bowl. Granted, I'm not enough of a fan to make a big deal out of it, and they're like 3rd at least on my list, but I still hope they win.

[Telonius]

Large public event, elaborate ritual surrounding it, particular chants and songs, traditional food and drink associated with it, expressions of loyalty to the group (and the nation, at the outset), sometimes even special clothing worn by the most enthusiastic... I've seen more than one social psychology paper likening modern professional sports to a religious function. Might help explain the phenomenon.

[Lyesmith]

...That's actually a remarkably scary similarity.

...Whats with "watching for the adverts?" i'm a brit, so i have no idea about the superbowl.
Explain for your ignorant former masters?:smalltongue:

[Raistlin1040]

The Super Bowl is one of the most watched programs in America. Therefor, companies spend a LOT of money to make awesome ads to get their product out there. Sometimes they suck, but sometimes we get the Magic Fridge. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dHaOwC_4No)

[Lyesmith]

...Oh my god!
Colonial adverts are awesome. :smallbiggrin:

[Raistlin1040]

Here's someone's list of last year's top 10.

Right here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACZgJAlPP-4)

[Zar Peter]

I took the day off work tomorrow just to watch the Superbowl (it ends at three in the morning here) but I don't call myself a fanatic. I just like to watch sports. Don't even have friends with me this year, sitting all alone in front of the TV.
I also like to watch the real football, but again, if I miss a match my life isn't ruined. I'm no fanatic, I'm just sport interested.

[Ted_Stryker]

Regarding the Superbowl itself, I'm not watching it, even for the ads, which are just as stupid as regular TV ads, but with a bigger budget. That said, I still hope the Patriots win because it'd be nice to see what a perfect team looks like.
How would you know what a perfect team looks like if you don't watch any of their games? :smallconfused:

I think "sports fanatic" is just a subset of "fanatic." The Super Bowl has become a kind of secular holiday in the US; lots of people watch the Super Bowl having never watched any of the games that determined its participants, so there's a cultural element in play there.

[Jalor]

Regarding the Superbowl itself, I'm not watching it, even for the ads, which are just as stupid as regular TV ads, but with a bigger budget. That said, I still hope the Patriots win because it'd be nice to see what a perfect team looks like.

Actually some of the commercials are pretty funny.
For example, the GoDaddy commercials featuring Candice Michelle.

[Aramil Liadon]

I love to play sports, but there's no way I'd say it's fun to watch them. I only ever watch the Olympic figure skating, and occasionally the free-style ski-jumps or snowboarding. Beyond that, I can't see the attraction.

[Icewalker]

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/super_bowl.jpg

Damn, you beat me to it! grr!

Yeah, I don't really get them. I watch for the commercials, but even then sometimes I just don't watch at all.

[Pwenet]

I'm sitting here on my laptop while the game is on my TV because my folks wanted to watch it.

Thank goodness for laptops!

[RTGoodman]

I don't consider myself a sports fanatic by any stretch of the term, but I do enjoy watching the occasional (American) football game.

I'm actually trying to watch the Super Bowl right now, but apparently there's something wrong with the cable or TV service, which means I see about 2 minutes of game/commercials and then about 8 minutes of frozen picture. And, without even being a huge football fan, it still somehow makes me madder than anything else has recently.

[KuReshtin]

I can't really speak for any other sport, but for me, American Football is a sport that epitomises team work and tactics, while adding some good old fashioned brute force and full contact collisions.

I'm one of those people that usually takes the Monday after the Super Bowl off since it finishes at about 3:30 or 4am over here. That didn't work out this year, but I'm still watching the game and will still get into work tomorrow morning at 7am. It's gonna suck to get into work, but it's going to be worth it.
After all, it is the biggest annual sporting event in the world.

And while the game's on tv, I've got my laptop, being able to browse forums and stuff as well.

[Brickwall]

I'll help you out with the following statement:

Sports fanatics are nerds.

In every way, if you substitute a sport in where normal nerdy obsessions are for traditional nerds, they're nearly indistinguishable. Their earlier lives may have been different, and they don't tend to hold academia or arts in the same respect, but otherwise, it's the same. And last, their obsessions are considered the 'norm', so they are extremely public about them (think nerds WITHOUT social stigma. Scary, eh?). Also, they have more sports nerd friends to get stupid with.

Understand now?

[Zarrexaij]

I don't understand it much myself. I love playing soccer and tennis, but I don't find much interest in watching a bunch of guys or chicks play a game.

[Jalor]

The two above posters are both right, and very much so. I myself never understood watching sports, and sports fans are quite similar to, say, anime fans.

[averagejoe]

I'll help you out with the following statement:

Sports fanatics are nerds.

In every way, if you substitute a sport in where normal nerdy obsessions are for traditional nerds, they're nearly indistinguishable. Their earlier lives may have been different, and they don't tend to hold academia or arts in the same respect, but otherwise, it's the same. And last, their obsessions are considered the 'norm', so they are extremely public about them (think nerds WITHOUT social stigma. Scary, eh?). Also, they have more sports nerd friends to get stupid with.

Understand now?

Not really. I don't get what is more traditionally thought of as nerd fanaticism either.

[KindaChang]

Not all have the 'nerd' level of fanaticism. Just the ones that play out a baseball game with their baseball card collection.

What?

[Ted_Stryker]

Well, you missed a whale of a ball game if you didn't watch the Super Bowl tonight.

I disagree with the nerd analogy. In sports fanaticism, there's an element of the love of competition with some tribalism mixed in there that goes beyond social awkwardness or being socially outcast.

Part of it is just the love of the game; I don't know of any other way to put it. If I could explain it further, I would be a poet, but I really can't. *shrugs*

[Half-blood]

Well, you missed a whale of a ball game if you didn't watch the Super Bowl tonight.

I disagree with the nerd analogy. In sports fanaticism, there's an element of the love of competition with some tribalism mixed in there that goes beyond social awkwardness or being socially outcast.

Part of it is just the love of the game; I don't know of any other way to put it. If I could explain it further, I would be a poet, but I really can't. *shrugs*

...What? that's what (in my opinion) being a nerd Is! you don't make for example...Pun-pun to feel good about yourself, its so you can gloat. I'm no sports fan. and the analogy might be wrong, but your post is going along with the post of Brickwall.

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

With the Superbowl coming up, I just had a question, what is it that makes so many thousands so completely crazed over a sport? I know many who will take the day off work or plan an entire week around a big sport's event that'll last maybe an hour or two.

I personally love to play sports, and even coach soccer... but I personally couldn't care less if, say, the World Cup was coming along. I might glance in at certain times, watch it out of idle curiosity, and then wander along to do something else.

The only exception is the Olympics, love watching it... but I still don't even approach crazed. Just a heightened interest. Wouldn't bother me if I missed it, just go 'awww' and thats that.

So please, can an enthusiast explain things to me?

First of all, you must know that at least 95% of the hype comes from the media outlets making a story out of something that isn't there, or make one bigger than it is. For most, it's just fun to watch the game and hope it's good, as it's not really been in recent years. Or this year, to root for (or if you're not from Massachusetts against) The Patriots try at the perfect season. Secondly, I believe this is the most bet on single sporting event in the country. Sports betting is a multi billion dollar a year industry in the country (and a lot of people are very sad tonight in Vegas), so, those who do that for a living or bet on sports a lot in Vegas, this is an extremely important day.

Now as for sports fanaticism (I mean fan is short for fanatic after all), I think that most people don't go as overboard as you think. I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority root for teams in the area where they grew up. Many times, it gives someone a sense of pride to root for a team and believe in something greater than yourself. This was never more evident than after 9/11. Professional sports gave NYC something to rally around and be proud of, something to take their mind off they events that had happened. It gave them hope. The same can be said with the Saints and the city of New Orleans last year after Katrina. Or you grew up playing sports and have a love for the game. I myself played baseball for over 10 years, hockey for 7, football for one, soccer for one (I don't like soccer at all, but will watch the World Cup), ran cross country for 3 and track and field for 6. I've been going to Twins games (baseball for those of you who don't know) since I can ever remember. I am a huge Twins fan and have a great love for the game of baseball. I get excited when pitchers and catchers report to spring training as I know the start of baseball season is only around 6 weeks away. I like baseball so much that I even chose a major, and am attempting (for a while at least) to work in professional baseball as a groundskeeper. I also have been watching a lot of Wild (hockey) games lately. In fact I rarely miss watching a game that's on. I"ll also watch the Vikings in the fall. I'm not a huge basketball fan, but I hope the Timberwolves do well (lately they should be re-named the Timberpuppies, but they seem to have come together as of late). But I digress. Anywho, I think a large part of things is what you grew up with. I was always involved in sports as a kid, and grew up watching everything from golf to baseball to hockey, and whatever else I could find. For the average person, I think professional sports are an escape, a way to find something to enjoy something they once did/played, have fun, and socialize.

P.S. I have one very succinct opinion on fantasy sports. A wise man once told me, those who can't play, play fantasy.

[Castaras]

Sports fanatics are weird. Never understood why they got so worked up about x and y going up to the semi-finals of z-cup for whatever.

Football, for instance. Just some random dudes kicking a ball around. What's so exciting about it? :smallconfused: