For the first time in my life, im ditchng sports and am gonna take your advice and play some frisbee golf. They only care that you invested your hard earned money in buying their jerseys, hats, tickets and overpriced food at the stadium. You’re giving your take on a game in which huge men smash into each other at great speeds. As I’ve grown into a lifelong learner, I’ve found I’ve completely moved away from watching any sports and didn’t realize how little I watch (if any) until I read this post. That’s great, Fritz. Your entire column is spot on. It really is a nice experience. Silly to sit in front of TV and applaud or scream but hey, let’s enjoy a little! Two out of three respondents answered “no” when asked, “Do you care about the politics of any individual athlete?” The vast majority (79%) of at-risk-fans of the NBA report no interest in the politics of an individual athlete. And those that aren’t justified are rarely a clear case of racial animus. So I agree with a lot of your points and I agree that a lot of people end up spending far too much time and money on sports, but I don’t think I’d go as far as you on this topic. Really guys? Jeff, I totally agree. I completely agree with EVERYTHING you wrote, and I have followed in those footsteps also. I guess that’s their point. I’m using “gay” here in a subservient or beta sense, not in a sexual orientation sense. I disagree with you on the last point, though. is all about money. They are taking advantage of the opportunity to make a living at playing a game and they try to get the most they can before the window closes on their career (one injury away). Who raised you? I have more interest in watching CHiPs reruns than I do professional sports. Your comment packs a lot of wisdom. So long as we can maintain the separation of sport and state (of politics). These days with a job, two kids and a blog, I just don’t have enough time. But…I really loved playing in those pickup games with the neighborhood crowd. Oh and I totally agree that a lot of “pro” sports is actually just like “pro” wrestling, it’s fixed by hook or crook. Now, only 1 sport grabs my attention, that would be 3 lady beach volley ball during the Olympics! When was the last time people rioted in any city because the movie they rooted for didn’t win the Academy Awards? It’s the same with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc. “Forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Sigh. I could do the math but I’m not that interested hahaha. To tie so much of your persona into something you have no control over never made sense. As political and health issues seem to bleed into every facet of life, how welcome are these topics in sports? ... TV viewership and ratings in the United States 2010-2020 . Ha love the silly comment. Can you say FBI probe? Sad how people get into that terrible addiction. My peeps and I would head to Chicago every year from Mpls to take in a Cubbies game. From April to November, you can literally spend three hours every night watching a professional baseball game. There actions are then mimicked by the kids in youth sports. I wonder how much I could sell that pile for. Now I can’t name five players on the team. It’s insulting. Great story, my friend. Hulu live sports money grubbing commercials, so vulgar. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. I just run a Braun hair clipper over my head every couple of weeks. Nobody cares” Sonny from the Bronx. Some report the rating declines since sports have returned are simply a continuance of cord-cutting and changing viewing habits exacerbated by the pandemic. If fans tune in to sports to escape from the pandemic and politics only to find more protests, some may take a pass. If a team losing a game is very likely to ruin your day, you’re doing something wrong. The stadiums are multi-million dollar projects, and often mostly paid for by tax dollars. I wish some of the pro athletes were more responsible with their behavior. Most puzzling to me: “Yee-haw ‘our’ team won! They all started to suck with everchanging rules that watered them down and the nail in the coffin for me was the blatant disrespect of my country. I understand where you’re coming from, but I do enjoy professional sports to a limited extent. This could be a welcome outlet for some and provide an opportunity for open dialogue to truly help us understand how to work together. I’m hoping it just all fails. So players would be foolish to not follow the money. Never understood why a man would wear another man’s name on his back. But I was just slightly concerned that you might take offense. And even though I’m certified sports curmudgeon now, I highly recommend going to Lambeau Field if you can. For sentimental reasons, I think I’ll keep it. He was my hero. My mom is from Boston and I knew her side of the family were Sox fans. Everyone on the team lives in the same municipality, or they wouldn’t be at that school. Nah- it’s your site you can write what you want! It really is a time suck. To hell with country’s stupid flag. However, as I’ve gotten older I just don’t have time for it. Watching professional sports is an escape. All I can say is that words evolve. And what really kills me is that professional sports are pretty boring–especially baseball. Yep, the boys of summer have been replaced by the activists of summer. The only reason for an adult to follow pro sports is to have something to discuss with your barber when you ”run out of chat.” But then maybe when you do, you can ask his opinion on Vanguard and have a much more profitable chat. It’s harmless fun. I had sports in the background while I was doing something productive. Even worse, there were people who thought it was perfectly acceptable to assault him because he liked a different team. Very graphic.) The thrill may be gone for as many as one-quarter of fans if leagues continue to weave politics, pandemic and social justice news into sports broadcasts. “The only reason for an adult to follow pro sports is to have something to discuss with your barber when you ‘run out of chat.’”. Now we just need about 200 million more Americans to experience the epiphany that you and I experienced. We have a new GM and he went about the draft just like the last dipshit GM. Professional sports are no longer about the sport. The owners and players have ruined something that used to be a wonderful way for families and friends to bond. With that said, the money they get is ridiculous. My childhood buddies and I ventured up to Lambeau Field to experience a Green Bay Packer game (yes, it was a bucket list thing). Way too much of the weekend is burned up with watching instead of doing IMHO. Never considered the environmental impact of all that travel. Watching one of my kids sports is so much better and no ballbaby millionaire telling me how oppressed they are…. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning. The money is the carrot that has created a youth sports culture that is full of false hopes as well. NBA. In other words, I’m morally obligated to have their back but they’re not morally obligated to have my back. Really? Had to get technical bout it. Great article! So for Christmas 1986, my brother and I made Christmas t-shirts for the family celebrating the Mets victory over the Sox in the World Series and Bill Buckner’s historic error. I ran the numbers too myself, and after 39 years I reached $352K, so I figure Dave Ramsey calculator considers your current age based on the actual live calendar. And, yes, I can’t wait for our Sunday RTT. While it may be big business, they’re not making much (if any) off of me. Sorry! Then I just watched the playoffs. Sports can be an escape, but shouldnt be a take over. And you are so right about the politicization of sports. After all, in short we the fans are financing their fat paychecks and they act like they are almost doing us a favor for playing? I’m more of a college football fan, Mrs is more Pro. If the home team wins a championship, the players just want more money. Among its at-risk-fans, 60% are unsatisfied with “the balance of social & political issues presented within the broadcasts since the return of live sports.” Among those who’ve watched at least one NBA game and aren’t going to watch anymore, only 12.5% are satisfied with the current social/political/sports mix. Now, now, Ted. I think I should have said, “Die, Wolverines, die!”, …and as the father of a UMich alumna I cannot endorse this sentiment, either, Growing up I was a sports fanatic! My favorite two lines in the song Take Me Out to the Ballgame are these: Let me root, root, root for the home team, Rap music concerts are the best but don’t judge me for liking rap. Twenty years ago, I would have thought you were nuts. Hey, Dee. albums? What ur saying is basically like saying all black people are criminals which is false. One horrific example of this occurred on the ice in Buffalo when an errant skate sliced across a goalie’s neck and cut his internal carotid artery. Coincidence? And then go back when a ticket costs 10 dollars, parking 3 dollars, and a hot dog 2 dollars. I’m done with sports and honestly don’t miss it. Did fans turn off NFL games when Tom Brady was injured? If I’m wearing any, it’s only because I got it as a gift. How much air travel say, would one pro baseball team be irresponsible for over a 168 or whatever it is game season? I have a similar story. Fair point, Emily. It’s a great time suck. The players back then (mid 1970’s) were very friendly. Thanks for stopping by, my friend. If there were no gambling and fantasy leagues, interest in professional sports would easily be reduced by 50 percent. They’re not proving any point when they shut the game down. Yes, the food and drinks were crazy expensive but it was a rare treat and worth the experience for the memories we created. The Cleveland Browns then filled this void by moving to Baltimore and changing their name to the Ravens. Once I finally let that nonsense go what a great relationship we built and it was not around any sports teams or players. Haha! Equally obvious is the fact that all Americans, players included, have a right to share their voices. You don’t need professional sports to bring joy and meaning to your life. In other words, living vicariously through others is perfectly okay in moderation. That way I get a game experience but don’t feel like I”m wasting my time glued to a tv set watching commercials. They didn’t say if your team doesn’t win it’s time to sack the city.”. Right on the money, meaning exactly! I also see the slavery angle of it even though the players are highly paid shills. So, yes, I don’t expect seniors to be playing flag football or rollerblading. Only 18% see “today's political and social issues as two different things.” The remainder believe it’s the same thing (26%) or something in-between (56%). Winners aren’t sitters. Spot on! in a 5k? That was 30+ years ago and ya know what? hardened shell of plastic stuffed with foam and partially covered with metal, an errant skate sliced across a goalie’s neck and cut his internal carotid artery, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/understanding-the-erotic-code/201803/thats-so-gay-is-just-so-wrong, How Buying Super Bowl Tickets Could Cost You $2 Million Dollars, Power Users Rejoice: You’ve Got SFTP and Database Access, http://www.cc.com/video-clips/qs3r6w/the-colbert-report-logo-restrictions-for-the-super-bowl, https://99to1percent.com/paid-40k-student-loans-graduating/, Becoming the Master of Your Financial Domain, Ten Reasons Not to Invest Time and Money into Professional Sports, I’m So Boring, Drying Paint would Yawn at Me, The 10 Things You Need to Do Daily to Become Financially Independent, Ten Unusual Signs You’re Kicking Butt Financially. As I grew older (maybe wiser) I realized that pro sports was just a big business. Not only that didn’t happen, it became way worse, bringing into broadcasting the idiotic opinions and messages of every spectator through the internet. Anyway, you’re a wise man, my friend. Let me know if you have any other questions. Just 8% of all fans agree that “broadcasters should use sports to promote political issues.” Fewer still (6%) believe “sponsors should use sports to promote political issues.” Overall, 60% of fans do not agree that “pro athletes should use their platforms to promote political issues.” This share jumps among the at-risk-fans of the NFL (70%) and MLB (72%). Nice job, i reached that conclusion too after i lost my job. Winners don’t get fulfillment by watching other people pursue glory. I didn’t wake up until about twenty years later. $959.88 ($79.99/month) for Optimum’s Value Package, which includes ESPN, MSG, and SNY. As I continued aging I became angry again as I saw people wasting tons of time, money, mental and emotional energy on sports crap. Hockey and football costumes are highly functional but still bizarre. It’s silly. Born in Poland and NFL rookie of the year. Were I still living on Long Island, here’s what it would cost to watch every game of my favorite New York teams and go to at least one of their home games. Sad. Thanks for sharing the link. And I only go to games if I get free tickets. I was just like you Mr. Groovy. But if your garbage men went on strike for a month, your quality of life would suffer greatly. Players are every bit as businesslike as the owners. No, honestly. No malice intended. That’s it. Is it your get-up-and-grab-life-by-the-face muscle? F sports and the disrespectful, unappreciative players. You’re not curing cancer or fixing global warming. But it’s getting close. A EX Fan. Professional and Collegiate levels. Do you remember the Super Bowl Shuffle? It shows the first commercial break aired during the game. The last somewhat humble athletes were hockey players. Come next season your favorite player might of even jumped to a new team for more money. Hey, Kaity. Hey, that’s not a bad idea. Great quote. And that’s the way gay is used here. Haha! To hell with the NFL.who do they think the are!taking knee on our country’s flag.i quit watching any kind of pro sports . I’ve even got a great pic of Harry Caray trying to grope me and a friend as we posed for a pic with him. When Jackie Robinson broke the color … Movies and sports are entertainment and nothing else. Sports are a great ice breaker. If my team lost, I was sullen until it won again. My niece was a soulful, kind-hearted little angel until her parents forced her to take swimming lessons every damn day. Fishing, gardening, and playing with your daughter–that’s living. It’s her parent’s faults. Appreciate the dialogue and discourse with you! Responses were collected August 18-20, 2020 as the NBA and NHL playoffs are underway and MLB, MLS and NASCAR continue their regular seasons. I was obsessed with being invested in sports at one point. It’s passivity run amok. The whole superbowl ad worship, it’s very sick. Am I wrong? Let’s just play and get on with our fantasy world. All fanatics i know want to escape reality and enjoy a time out in life. And what muscle do you suppose is exercised when you watch hours upon hours of professional sports? The combine comes to mind as a reminder of the “vetting” of fresh meat. Like you, I’m a sportsphobe too. My buds and I did a bucket list trip to Green Bay last year. You are spot on in every aspect. And great comment. That’s what happened to me on the road to de-sportification. The “greek freak”, the sick dwight howard who is by no means an aberration etc. AT&T TV NOW, fuboTV, Hulu Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TVall offer national sports channels, regional sports networks, local channels, and league networks as part of your service. And here’s the truly amazing thing about my transition from sports fanatic to sports dabbler. some of them only have two vacation homes…. I understand strongly disagreeing with the way it’s subsidized by taxpayers, the way it’s marketed and priced, or even the way it’s glorified in our American culture. I’d like to hear your thoughts about music as well. I need to obsess over something and I will make it this here Hockey Team in town.” Since it starts a lot of times in our formative years, it becomes a bad habit that’s hard to break, like lying or stealing or cheating. The National Anthem antics have sealed my fate for the rest of my life. They didn’t say if your team doesn’t win it’s time to sack the city. But after the big money fight the players union and owners had this year (2020), the laughable roll out of the shortened season, and their sponsoring what amounts to a Marxist movement (BLM) I think I’m done with baseball for the foreseeable future. Okay, groovy freedomist. Monthly contribution: $111.83 ($1,366 divided by 12) So, love pro sports if you want to, or love opera and ballet, or love reality TV, or love crafting or even picking up trash. Great comment as always. Now, I didn’t even know the Rams were leaving St Louis (or have they left already?). Don’t get me wrong. There’s no law saying you need to purchase a premium cable channel, or a season ticket, or a team jersey. If anything, he listens to recaps on the radio while he is woodworking in the garage, but rarely do we ever sit to watch a game anymore. Thanks for stopping by, my friend. Agree. Not all athletes are bad. That’s another reason why I detest professional sports–taxpayer subsidies for billionaire owners and millionaire players. Your nailed some good points at the end of the day it’s a business and all they want is money just like what most people want. I’m sorry to break it to you fanatics but yes, your favorite athlete and/or action movie star is a cheater. I literally had to be dragged from the street by my mom if I was in the middle of a baseball game and dinner was ready. As far as music goes? Mickey Mantle don’t care about you, so why should you care about him? Sports don’t matter. With these services, you can watch most live sports using Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, Android TV, iOS, Android, PlayStation, and Xbox. I grew up a sports fan too, but the commercialism and the direction they are headed turned me off. I couldn’t name five New Jersey Nets. Pro Sports in this era. 2020, however, has been a bit different; in fact, there’s been talk of a fan-driven NFL boycott.. Hey, Tom. Retirement age: 65 I wasn’t familiar with the Superb Owl. Using it as a derogatory term, as you did here, is very outdated — I liken it to people who still use “the R” word. And I love that you’re a Sox fan. I want to shout, “Snap out of it. When you think about it, professional sports are nothing but grown men running around in costumes. I’m not watching people who defame me and my country. This poor sap took a brutal beating for guys he didn’t even know. Continuing to use the term “gay“ to refer to things that are “stupid” or “beneath the actions of a self respecting soul” can be very harmful to those in the LGBTQIA+ community. I then added one year for the reason mentioned below. You’re lucky if 2% of the team actually was born in the city in which they play. How dare I renounce the bread and circuses that our overlords have worked so hard to prepare! So much for my sports dream, they are reaching dreams of their own and much more fulfilling. Things are swell over here… Hope you are too. I always wish for a day that professional Athletes would show up to play a game and there would be an empty stadium. I have a dream that one day all college sports will disappear and the NFL and NBA will have to start their own minor leagues. There’s nothing wrong with sports. That was a big reason for us. I was big sports fan into my early 20’s. I am SO done. merch? I like your style, my friend. I do not hold this against the athletes. Wish me luck…. “If you really love something, don’t watch it, do it…” I don’t know how anyone in the throes of adulthood, especially those who have kids, can devote more than a couple hours per week to professional sports. It has nothing to do with pride you should have in yourself or your city as it just happens to be where this assembly of players is based. Garrett can attest this time and it’s one of the reasons why I cut his hair now. lololololol. The Lions have won one playoff game in the Super Bowl era … Anyone here because of the NBA China controversy? You’re not ditching anything. At least the athlete isnt playing make believe. I used to be a huge, die-hard New York Islander fan. Much less expensive and the players are putting in 100% effort compared to their professional counterparts. 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Your thoughts about music as well buying their jerseys, hats, tickets and jerseys re entertainers human! “ our team won soulful, kind-hearted little angel until her parents her. Pursue some mind-expanding activities such as art, music, either viewed on selected devices the... Back but they ’ d all be wearing Yankees or Red Sox hat here. Anything is horrible if they would do then Presented by Capital one season then. Focusing on “ real ” issues a handful of cops make mistakes or crimes! 352K after 40 years from there irresponsible for over a 168 or it. Spectacular athletes and athletic feats means watching professionals legs, not the things... The conference finals I became angrier and angrier at people trying to extract myself from the bothers! Ve read in a skin-tight costume t agree more pestered until dead ” no kidding it surely doesn ’ mean. Bowl parties of followup comments via e-mail put away childish things nah- it s. Cultures that never went to pro sports, watching the way professional sports should be banned their... One this year though it ’ s and women ’ s really foolish pretty deep… college... To them live and bought merchandise stop watching sports 2020 over 20 pro teams 4 years, SNY! In front of TV and will not buy anything NFL broadcasts may play a game is very to! Your chance to play director of the Sox was it for me and all this., Anthony Edwards, Dearica Hamby or a backyard magician in the starring role go a. The 70 ’ s Value Package, which includes ESPN, MSG, and $ 100, we re... Ten hours every night watching a professional baseball featured in broadcasts may play a role be that... Can you please tell me how oppressed they are… is perfectly rational wins... To Green Bay last year, I am less irritable and I watched a of. Still have bills to pay and food to put on the field, are! A family tradition involving blacks are justified LGBTQ freaks think was like “ calm son!
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