Pro Sports: I just don't "get it"

All my life, I have been trying to wrap my head around why others enjoy pro sports so much. Except for racing (all types), boxing/fighting sports, I just don't "get it". Kids playing baseball, football (both kinds), [whatever]ball, etc. - I "get" that and enjoy watching kids go at it. But grown adults being paid bazillions to push a two bit ball around is beyond me. I cannot fathom why people pay a good percentage of their wages to be a spectator of most professional sports.

I expect that any adult being paid the astronomical sums they get (almost said earn), IMHO, should ALWAYS be flawless. So, to me, spectators are simply paying to see the mistakes which cause them to lose. Conversly, spectators of kids plying the same sport enjoy seeing them try or overcome various obstacles on their way to winning - or simply finishing the game.

Why DO grown adults enjoy watching a bunch of grown bazillionaires playing kids' games [indulge my premise]?

entertainment for the masses? The Roman circus redux? a distraction from world events? I have family members Stateside who know more about the going ons in professional sports than they do national and international events that truly affect their daily life.. Like you, I understand the lower level benefits of sports (building teamwork, esprit etc) but the fascination with professional sports of all types must be explained in some thesis some where..

Hmm, Maybe it's called entertainment. Some pay money to watch a movie, some pay money to watch a play, some pay money to watch sports. And then again all of it is big business. Sporting events, look at all who make money off of it, the vendors, the ushers, the parking attendents, tv, etc. etc. part of Obama's job creating maybe.

Exactly. *whew* Good to know I'm not alone. That's exactly what I mean. I am amazed at grown adults who know all there is to know about sports history, players, and statistics but are clueless about world or national history, government and it's leaders, basic economics, or what income taxes does or does not pay for. Things like that.

The Roman gladiator contests aka Ultimate Fighting (or whatever) caught my attention, too. Yes, I also see the parallel and what it may portend: a collapse of civil society. Not just that, but many things taken together are a rehash of what happened to the Roman Empire. But, there I go hijacking my own thread (lol!).

The fascination with pro sports. I just don't "get it"...

I'm guessing you were "fat boy against the wall" when you were a youngster Khondahm.

I am amazed at grown adults who know all there is to know about sports history, players, and statistics but are clueless about world or national history, government and it's leaders, basic economics, or what income taxes does or does not pay for. Things like that.

My own personal point of view KD, is that I can clearly understand why people would want to watch/listen to/discuss things about major sports. Have you ever been in a "small town" the week or so before the local team plays the "big boys" in the cup? The town centre will no doubt be decorated in the local team colo(U)rs, the local shops will get players to "visit" their shop at a given time, there will be a vibrant atmosphere around the whole town, with spending increasing and a "feelgood" factor affecting all the residents.

Now I really CANNOT understand anyone who has the slightest interest in Politics or Religion, as they must already know that they are being fed a load of b*ll**** and lies and yet they still go back to get more.
What is the point in "knowing" about the govt. or it's leaders? It doesn't matter who is in power Tory/Labour/Rep/Dem/Red/Yellow the only thing you can be sure of is that they will end up better off than when they started and that "joe public" will end up paying for their extravigant lifestyles.

At least most sportsmen have to have a little bit of skill to do what they do, as opposed to Political and Religious leaders who only have to be able to keep a straight face whilst lieing through their teeth.

Stattointhailand how right you are.

There was a time when I was stationed in Texas, that watching any team beat the Cowboys was worth the investment of time.
When Tiger was in golfing form, despite having little/no interest in golf, I enjoyed watching him demolish his opponents, with some of the most incredible shots.
I don't know the first thing about soccer rules (what's it mean to be offsides??), but I can enjoy watching a Manchester United game, just because they seem to handle the ball so much better than most any other team.
Ali/Tyson, when they were in form, were worthy of a few hours (sometimes minutes) of viewing.
Federer vs. Nadal or Nadal vs. Djokovic.....I could watch that for several hours and never think once about the amount of money they make.
It never bothers me if a team or an individual player is drawing mega-gazillions of bucks......as long as they/he delivers when it comes crunch time.

As for wasting my time watching cars race around a track, I could do that for a few minutes. I'd never waste a bag of Doritos doing it, though.

In the end, I guess I'm not much of a sports fanatic, but have no problem with the elite pros rolling in the dough.

You mention "sports", but I think that the "sports" part of it is no longer first priority. What's more important these days are: politics, power of the organization/club and sponsorship. Sponsorship not with the function of supporting a sports club but for media exposure of brandnames.

Soccer players have become more like a bunch of millionnaires who get paid millions for media exposure, it's not so much about the sport anymore.

I believe to each his own.I believe baseball and football wern't invented for kids.I would like nothing better than to play baseball again,not softball,and i'm near 60.
As far as watching it on tv,people love it.i would say if your not into watching sports turn the tv to another channel.

Actually, khondahm, you do get it, at least when it concerns racing and fighting sports involving people who get wads of money. You just don't get it when it involves other sports.

For me, I find car racing absolutely pointless. I like watching baseball, Canadian and U.S. football (U.S. college ball), the Premiership, international hockey, the olympics, the world cup et al. It is fun, sometimes exciting and in baseball the strategy behind playing offence and defence is fascinating. For the first time this year, I saw a no-hitter live when Verlander of the Tigers shut down the Toronto Blue Jays. The ticket, behind home plate, was $9.

For me, in my head and for example only, I suppose auto racing and boxing sportspeople are earning their gazillions because if they screw up, they're dead or surely can be severely injured and the entire event relies on them being near-perfect at all times to win. I think they are worth the X number of hours I worked to pay for a
ticket. I think they earn what they get and they often must pay their support staff directly. Yes, the arguement can be made that a football (either type) player can be injured, has to pay trainers and other staff, blah, blah, blah; but as just a
cog in the wheel of the team machine the risk and effort does not justify the unholy sums some of those people get. In fact, a large part of their salary negotiation is based on the player's draw [hype] factor. I would think Beckham and the like should be scoring 3+ goals per game based on his pay. I would think ridiculously paid baseball players should never strike out an no-hitters should be common because the pitcher should be that good. I would think a wide-receiver should never miss a pass and a lineman should never miss a tackle. Tennis players and golfe like racers and boxers, I think, are paid fairly for their efforts. If they don't win, they don't get paid. IMHO, all sports should be like that. Then perhaps games will be more appealing to watch. I do not begrudge any athlete getting paid whatever they can get from endorsements. Have at it!

But it's not just about the money.

At the professional level, teams should be staffed with only the best of the best. So, basketball players should all have stats like Jordan or close to it. I find it hard to believe players with less than "triple-doubles" every game are allowed to be on the team - nevermind allowed to start. I think every offensive person on a soccer team should be scoring and defense should be blocking them. At one time I honestly thought that was the reason for such low scoring games - perhaps it is (?). I've tried to keep my eyes open for many a pro soccer game, but I just can't do it. These pro players can't seem to get that ball into that humongous net. I could understand if the net was the size of a hockey net, but sheesh that thing is HUGE and the guys have been kicking that ball and doing all sorts of circus tricks with it all their lives, but just can't seem to get it into that whale trap at the other end of the field (! + zzzzzz).

I'll pause my diatribe here. (typos courtesy of my iPhone)

Galee wrote:I'm guessing you were "fat boy against the wall" when you were a youngster Khondahm.

No, I was quite handsome in my nerdy glasses and a terror on the chessboard. After getting contact lenses, I spent my time collecting phone numbers from chicks who went to games to see the jocks play. I played for fun with friends and was pretty good at (American) football, but never had an interest in playing on a "real" team.

"If you can't be a jock, be an athletic supporter!" - my jock cousin

"basketball players should all have stats like Jordan or close to it"

If everyone played like Jordon or Tiger or Ali in their prime or Rooney......then there'd be no fun in watching sports. I rarely feel there's a player who's so bad that he doesn't deserve to be on the field......even the bad players are better than 99.99++% of the rest of the world. But it's the rare individual who can consistently play well above the <0.01% of the others who I enjoy watching.....especially when the pressure is on.
The 2008 Wimbledon final between Federer and Nadal was a classic.....the last thing I thought about while watching that game was how much money they're making. No matter how much, they weren't making enough!

I can understand your point Khon Dahm; however, my perspective is a little bit different. I played and watched sports as a kid. Guys in professional baseball, with the exception of a Mantle, Mays, Banks, Kaline; football and ice-hockey were making the same salary as everyone else. American football players often came to Canada to play because they made more here than in the U.S.A. Tobin Rote, Cookie Gilchrist, Dave Mann, are some of the players that come to mind. What did they make in Canada? Maybe $6-10,000 a year.

Most ice-hockey players had other jobs in the off-season to add to their meagre salaries of $5-6,000/year.

Whatever Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain made in their day was not enough. They were outstanding at their sport.

Yes, sports players are overpaid these days, as are rock musicians, movie stars, many bankers and corporation heads, but that's show biz. Elvis kind of 'all shook up' the entertainment industry.

Baseball is still good live entertainment at a reasonable price. Gee, it even cost $30/hr. to go bowling whether 5- or 10-pin.