Why does anyone care about watching sports?

[ninerbuff]

Right.....I think that's just one of the reasons we have a fat America....They're (we're) watching way more TV (stupid reality crap)....and not active....

You can be active and still watch a lot of TV. If you ate just your BMR calories you wouldn't get fat. It has more to do with over consumption than anything else. You could workout everyday and burn 3000 calories, but if you ate 4000 calories you would gain weight.

 

[Vendetta]

I don't care who dislike sports. I usually find those that don't like sports usually have flimsy bodies or are overweight......just kidding

Seriously if you don't like sports fine but its sillyness to be insulting or discount other people who do. The famous saying "don't knock it until you try it" comes to mind.

 

[ninerbuff]

I don't care who dislike sports. I usually find those that don't like sports usually have flimsy bodies or are overweight......just kidding

Seriously if you don't like sports fine but its sillyness to be insulting or discount other people who do. The famous saying "don't knock it until you try it" comes to mind.

Watching your team score and win is such a rush! Of course being on the losing end sucks. But it's always great to have a team you can relate to during their season and just enjoy them. Now can the NFLPA and NFL agree already so I can see what's happening in training camps!!!!!

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Only if you have a really shallow spirituality.

You only need that if you have a really shallow appreciation of sports.

I don't know any sports fans that consider it to be a spiritual experience.

Auto racing is probably the closest thing I have to a religion.

Edit: my reluctance to call it "spiritual" probably has more to do with my dislike of the word "spiritual" (I consider it to be vague, wishy-washy and generally useless) than with the profundity of my experience.

 

[Penumbra]

Auto racing is probably the closest thing I have to a religion.

Edit: my reluctance to call it "spiritual" probably has more to do with my dislike of the word "spiritual" (I consider it to be vague, wishy-washy and generally useless) than with the profundity of my experience.

Can you elaborate on how auto racing is like a religion for you?

What sort of experience do you have when you get involved in watching it?

 

[Erebus]

I personally don't mind what people watch so long as I don't have to. I feel the same about most sports as I do about Glee and the Twilight films, if other people want to watch it, fine, just don't expect me to have anything to do with them

There is however, one exception to this rule and that's football (soccer for Americans). I absolutely loathe football on every level. There's no other sport in the world that makes me angry simply hearing about it. Now this isn't due to any inherent problem in the sport, it's because of the utter stupidity surrounding it. Football Hooliganism and "Chav culture" have effectively conditioned me to detest football from a young age.
Don't get me wrong, I know intellectually that the majority of football fans are harmless and it's just something they enjoy, but I've just seen far too much **** over the years stemming from football culture to view football in a neutral light.

I don't know if this is a British thing or if other countries have similar problems with a certain sport, but when a major football match is on, the streets just aren't safe. People get beaten up all the time for wearing the wrong colours in the wrong place or simply for being in the way. The fact that somebody can be beaten to death over a ******* game sickens me.

Throw in the fact that chav culture is heavily influenced by football and there's another reason to hate it. Again, I know intellectually that a few chavs are decent enough and I'm actually friends with a few, but the subculture overall causes far more harm than good.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Can you elaborate on how auto racing is like a religion for you?

What sort of experience do you have when you get involved in watching it?

Not just watching it - I get involved: I'm not only a fan; I'm a race marshal, occasional pit/service crew, sometimes-competitor, race organizer... I cover the whole spectrum.

In a practical way, it really is a community, much like religion is. Maybe not so much as a fan, but definitely when you're directly involved. For instance, one marshal I work with was diagnosed with lupus a few years ago; within a few weeks of her letting people know, there were several teams sporting stickers on their car for a local lupus charity, and the next year, an annual fundraiser for lupus research was started.

Really, the main difference between our communities and religious communities is that our Sunday gatherings are a lot louder.

But as for the "spiritual" aspect, well, I think that racing is a powerful metaphor for life. It's very seldom that a person can truly find and push their limits in everyday life; racing is all about finding those limits and staying as close to them as you possibly can. I think that experience is tremendously profound, no matter what the context. To that extent, it doesn't really matter whether it's a car that lets you acheive this - auto racing is just one means (but a very effective means) to communicate the idea that what we consider our limits are often not limits at all.

Also, there's the experience of racing itself: when you're actually in the car and everything's "clicking", you end up in a state that's a lot like a mystical experience... or at least how I hear mystical experiences described. It's hard to explain, but it feels like simultaneous complete control but also complete detachment... focus and attention on everything around you, but also complete lack of focus on any particular thing. It's very powerful.

Like I said, it's hard to explain... still, it strikes me from all the discussions in other threads about the role of mystical experiences in shaping religion that many religions have been founded on less.

Actually, if you're really interested in it, the best expression of what I'm talking about that I've seen yet is Eric Bana's documentary "Love the Beast". His view isn't quite the same as mine (and a lot of the movie is about love of cars in general rather than racing in particular), but I think it does a good job of expressing the feeling.

It's on TV occasionally, and you can get it at the video store. You can also find it online if you look for it, but I'm not going to post any links for that.

 

[Vendetta]

Watching your team score and win is such a rush! Of course being on the losing end sucks. But it's always great to have a team you can relate to during their season and just enjoy them. Now can the NFLPA and NFL agree already so I can see what's happening in training camps!!!!!

Yeah Niner you're right, watching the Cowboys score on the 40 whiners is a rush! Lawl

 

[Kathryn]

Who are these "Cowboys?" Who are these "49ers?" Whodat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?

 

[Penumbra]

Whenever my partner gets into a game, I always cheer for the opposing team just to mess with him.

 

[Penumbra]

Not just watching it - I get involved: I'm not only a fan; I'm a race marshal, occasional pit/service crew, sometimes-competitor, race organizer... I cover the whole spectrum.

In a practical way, it really is a community, much like religion is. Maybe not so much as a fan, but definitely when you're directly involved. For instance, one marshal I work with was diagnosed with lupus a few years ago; within a few weeks of her letting people know, there were several teams sporting stickers on their car for a local lupus charity, and the next year, an annual fundraiser for lupus research was started.

Really, the main difference between our communities and religious communities is that our Sunday gatherings are a lot louder.

But as for the "spiritual" aspect, well, I think that racing is a powerful metaphor for life. It's very seldom that a person can truly find and push their limits in everyday life; racing is all about finding those limits and staying as close to them as you possibly can. I think that experience is tremendously profound, no matter what the context. To that extent, it doesn't really matter whether it's a car that lets you acheive this - auto racing is just one means (but a very effective means) to communicate the idea that what we consider our limits are often not limits at all.

Also, there's the experience of racing itself: when you're actually in the car and everything's "clicking", you end up in a state that's a lot like a mystical experience... or at least how I hear mystical experiences described. It's hard to explain, but it feels like simultaneous complete control but also complete detachment... focus and attention on everything around you, but also complete lack of focus on any particular thing. It's very powerful.

Like I said, it's hard to explain... still, it strikes me from all the discussions in other threads about the role of mystical experiences in shaping religion that many religions have been founded on less.

Actually, if you're really interested in it, the best expression of what I'm talking about that I've seen yet is Eric Bana's documentary "Love the Beast". His view isn't quite the same as mine (and a lot of the movie is about love of cars in general rather than racing in particular), but I think it does a good job of expressing the feeling.

It's on TV occasionally, and you can get it at the video store. You can also find it online if you look for it, but I'm not going to post any links for that.

Interesting information. Thanks.

Seeing as how you are directly involved with several aspects of the sport, though, I think that's different than having a spiritual experience simply by being a sports fan.

 

[Vendetta]

Who are these "Cowboys?" Who are these "49ers?" Whodat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?

Whodat got dem more championships then them saints? Lol by the way Cowboys beat them in '09 and.almost won in '11

 

[Kathryn]

Whodat got dem more championships then them saints? Lol by the way Cowboys beat them in '09 and.almost won in '11

Almost doesn't count in football.

Besides that, you're talking to a lifetime Saints fan. Do you honestly think that liking them more than the Cowboys has to make SENSE?

 

[blackout]

Interesting information. Thanks.

Seeing as how you are directly involved with several aspects of the sport, though, I think that's different than having a spiritual experience simply by being a sports fan.

What mass scale religion doesn't need bench warmers?

 

[Penumbra]

What mass scale religion doesn't need bench warmers?

Do bench warmers have a spiritual experience?

 

[blackout]

Do bench warmers have a spiritual experience?

lol.... i don't know, but they fill the stands
and the collection plates.....

 

[Vendetta]

Almost doesn't count in football.

Besides that, you're talking to a lifetime Saints fan. Do you honestly think that liking them more than the Cowboys has to make SENSE?

Of course it does..its your country's team lol

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Interesting information. Thanks.

Seeing as how you are directly involved with several aspects of the sport, though, I think that's different than having a spiritual experience simply by being a sports fan.

I don't disagree. I was just speaking for myself.

 

[Kathryn]

Of course it does..its your country's team lol

You mean my nation - the WhoDat Nation.

 

[Dirty Penguin]

I don't really get into any other sports watching other than football (American). I haven't really watched the college football. It seems like too much to try and follow. I'm not a basket ball person either. I've gone to a few B-ball, football and baseball games before but I don't see the point in spending money on a consistent basis to go and watch. It seems like too much of a hassle. Here's a question.....does anyone here watch the Summer and/or Winter Olympics? I try to watch and keep up with some events....but even with that I'm not totally into every sport presented.