b.k. barunt wrote:I seem to be missing that crucial element of the human psyche that causes inordinate fascination with watching someone else play a game. WTF? Am i the only one? Is no one else out there dumbfounded by this incredibly boring social phenomenon?
Honibaz
Im not dumbfounded by it, because I understand it completely, and it makes sense. It is the perfect medium for social interaction, because there are NO real stakes.
You can argue passionately about it, you can overreact about it, you can go as far as getting into fights for it, but in the end, its all based on a mutually constructed fantasy, on which to connect with other people.
You cant do it with other subjects like politics, because once the argument is over, real emotions may not fade whereas, only the true personality disorder types, and there are plenty of them, will really care if someone is stupid enough to be a Yankees fan or not....actually...that one is more difficult to ignore but you get my point.
I like sports, I enjoyed playing a variety of them, and I enjoy watching them at the stadium etc. but at the end of the day for me, they are millionaires playing catch, and I dont have real time to devote actually really caring one bit about them.
I do however enjoy when the home team wins, because the mood of everyone in the home town is positive, so even without watching, caring, or even knowing, you participate in the ups and downs of their wins or losses.
There are many good things about these sports, and mostly it is for the kids, because its the best way to get them to communicate, and contribute to society in a seemingly meaningful way....but when peoples lives actually revolve around them, it does seem a little silly.
The thing is, everyone has their hobbies, and there are people who take politics more seriously than sports, but they are doing the same exact thing as those watching sports. They just tell themselves its different because, the game might matter more, even if their contribution to the game is exactly the same: ZERO.