Comment by sien
4 months ago
I've played football (soccer for Americans) with people who were very good who didn't watch the game at all. Similarly for basketball.
People watch sports because it gives them an emotional investment in something that has a new result each week, is not scripted and shows incredible skill and fitness.
It's also a lot healthier than the people who follow politics like sport. They get moral when their team loses.
Do you watch TV, Internet videos, film, or read books ?
That's just another form of entertainment.
Agreed. I'm actually not a tribal person by nature. So I never actually "identify" with any particular sports team. It's usually a per-race narrative that I latch on to.
Like this most recent F1 race, the main thing I cared about was that the Williams team got on the podium (1st, 2nd, or 3rd). Because they were a hugely successful team in my childhood, so I wanted to see them succeed again after 15 years of horrible performance, often finishing absolutely last.
Next week, it might be another narrative I latch onto during the race. It absolutely is entertainment for me. I rarely ever care about any single team.