So... a confession of sorts.

[Tirvine]

You are not alone. The strike yesrs ago destroyed my love of MLB. I lost interest in the NFL when they turned into political trolls over Kaepernick. I enjoy basketball, NCAA and NBA, but do not follow any teams. I enjoy the PGA and the LPGA. I think the large group of young stars on the PGA tour (Rory, Dustin, JT, Xander, Morikawa, etc.) are a ton of fun. I also really enjoy seeing new names break through.

 

[DEPenguin]

Many years ago, back when the Phoenix Suns had Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson, I watched the NBA; as someone else wrote it was "entertaining". Sure, I played along with the expected fan loyalty, supported my team, but I always understood it was, by and large, entertainment--just as chariot races and gladiator fights were entertainment for Romans of antiquity.

Eventually I tired of watching the NBA and one day some co-workers and I scored some nose-bleed seats to a Diamondbacks afternoon game. I took my son, then all of about 7 or 8 I think, and we had a good time. Prior to that I'd never been to an MLB game . . . AZ didn't have a team until 1998. He was all of 6-years-old when they made the World Series--yeah, we watched that, too.

Over the ensuing years he's played ball (a leftie pitcher and first baseman), and we had many games of catch and batting practice. Been to a number of games, even got one in with my dad and my son--Dbacks got trounced by Cincinnati that game. Made a Cubs-Dbacks playoff game with mom and dad. My son and I even made it to some AZ Fall Ball games for a couple of years.

But he's grown now, has a wife and their own home. He just started working for the Pinal County Sheriff's Dept. We keep track of how bad the Dbacks are, and we nurture our dislike of the Yankees and utter distrust and loathing of the Dodgers . . . but we both know it's all about entertainment. Lessons to be learned from sport? Sure, undoubtedly. But they're only a fractional part of life, and for a fraction of mine I got to enjoy baseball with my son; some of my best memories, for certain.

Now? I dumped DirecTV because it was so damned expensive, so I dob't watch much television anymore, much less MLB games. I think part of my thing is simply getting older. Yeah, all the politics muddies the waters and sucks some life from the overall experience. As for the jaw-dropping salaries these guys get, I'll never see anything like it in my bank account, but then I'm no athlete either. I've made a life from reading and absorbing the people and experiences I'm availed of.

Somewhere down the road I imagine my son and I will take in another game, but I won't be parking myself in front of the idiot box for any games in the near future. I have stories to start writing then forget about, sunsets to enjoy and rare rainy days to breathe in. I am a work in progress, and with the help of my better angels I strive to become a better man--sports isn't a part of that for me.

 

[emwolf]

Growing up in Champaign, IL I followed the University of Illinois athletics and that was about it. Since I've started working for a TV station, I've had to become more versed in sports as that is a major component of what we sell. I still prefer college athletics to professional. There just seems to be more of an element of surprise to it. Pros seem too accomplished.

 

[trentr]

I quit watching baseball when they had the first strike, or the first one I knew of any way. Quit watching football when it became a platform for players to promote their political agenda and whine about everything. Back when players were loyal to teams and did not play somewhere different every year, it was more fun to me. When they done more playing and less whining. When there was more play time and less "locker room interview" time. Less trash talk on the sidelines. Blah blah.

Or I got older. IDK, but it does not interest me in the least. Sports that is. And it frustrates me so that our society puts more emphasis on sports than life and school even at the little league level (youngest is 11 and his games last until 10pm on school nights sometimes grrrr)

 

[DaveHStone]

I haven't watched a baseball game this year.
I watched maybe 3 March Madness games. Missed the finals.
No NBA.
Very little MLB.
Skipped the Masters.
No ATP or WTA matches.
Probably not going to watch much Olympics.... if at all.
Never really got into MMA or racing in a big way.
Did watch some NFL, NCAA Football, and NCAA Hockey but not like previous years.
Did not install ESPN, MLB, or NHL apps when I got a new phone a week ago.
Not sure when the next sporting event I will attend in person will be... maybe US Open Tennis... maybe Big 10 Football.

Maybe it was because of all the politics that invaded sports but I don't think that was the only reason... Whatever it is... I just can't get excited over it any more. The thing is though... I don't feel like there's something missing in my life. No big void.

Am I alone here?

FWIW, I've been watching a lot of snooker lately. It's probably the only sport/game that still gets me excited.

 

[MrSpeedy]

And it frustrates me so that our society puts more emphasis on sports than life and school even at the little league level (youngest is 11 and his games last until 10pm on school nights sometimes grrrr)

10 on a school night? For 11 year-olds? Ridiculous. Sadly, this is a problem in all youth sports, along with the insane cost. It once cost me $650 for my then 11 year old to play rec soccer. Thankfully, he didn't love it and stopped playing. And then there are the "living vicariously through my kid" parents screaming at the kids, the coach, the ref...I could tell you some stories from my time as a lacrosse referee.

 

[trentr]

10 on a school night? For 11 year-olds? Ridiculous. Sadly, this is a problem in all youth sports, along with the insane cost. It once cost me $650 for my then 11 year old to play rec soccer. Thankfully, he didn't love it and stopped playing. And then there are the "living vicariously through my kid" parents screaming at the kids, the coach, the ref...I could tell you some stories from my time as a lacrosse referee.

Now that I think of it... it may have been 9:30 and 10 by the time we grabbed taco bell (blek) and got home. But ya. And the tongue lashing the refs take, and some of the kids, is terrible.

When I played little league baseball, we got a hat and MAYBE a t-shirt. And a glove, but you used the same one for years. Now they have to have a new glove, new cleats, new pants, jersey, hat, ball bag, bat batting gloves, helmet, shades, cup..... really? sheese. How bout lets just have some fun learning to play ball before we turn it into the pros

 

[FarmerTan]

For what it's worth, when the MLB strike in the 90's happened I was listening to a talk show host that died not too long ago. One guess as to what his name is!

Anyway, I'm a Deeetroit Tigers fan. A decent pitcher for the Tigers called in. The now dead radio announcing harmless puffball and he talked for a bit. This pitcher said ALL the right things to keep me as a fan. Probably BEYOND ticked off the Player's Union though. He said where the union went wrong was in trying to align themselves with "joe lunchbox" - the guy who goes to werk EVERYday and punches a clock and makes diddly compared to a pro athlete. Back THEN the "minimum wage" for a MLB player was a million dollars I believe the pitcher said.

So as much as I hate whiners making ANY amount of money, I will take their side 90% of the time over the Ford Family that has done NOTHING for the fans of the Lions for 10,000 years.

Lots of pro athletes grew up as poor, and usually POORER than I did. So if they can negotiate a contract for millions and blow it, more power to them. I just wish there were more guys like Shaq out there who are still making bank. He LEARNED something in his time in the spotlight.

 

[Bobbers]

Over the last few years with more politics and social causes creeping into sports I have watched less sporting events. I watch sports to see the best of the best perform and to get away from the rest of the world for 2 or 3 hours. Some groups are making to harder and hareder to watch.

 

[trentr]

It is a different world. But there are still good athletes, I think. NOt sure if you know Shaun Hill? Played back up QB for the niners for a while. Seems like he may have started somewhere after that. Anyway... he does alot for the little league and kids around his/our home town. And I never knew him REAL well, but I played little league sports with him and such. Never knew him ruff up the ladies or abuse pharmaceuticals LOL

 

[jackgoldman123]

I went to a boxing match and a hockey game broke out

 

[trentr]

I went to a boxing match and a hockey game broke out

Only real hockey experience I have is Olympics on TV and Blades of Steel on Nintendo LOL. Start game and......commence fighting LOL

 

[jackgoldman123]

I loved NHL as a kid but it seems to be glorified fighting, apologies to all who love hockey but it does not resemble the game I saw as a kid.

 

[trentr]

I loved NHL as a kid but it seems to be glorified fighting, apologies to all who love hockey but it does not resemble the game I saw as a kid.

And this may be a bit of a tnagent and is not proven.... but I feel like boxing, mma, football, baseball, hockey....it is all going the way of the WWF. It is a made for TV show/Soap Opera orchestrated to get people stirred up for ratings.

Not proven, just suspicion and personal feeling. Opinions differ lol

 

[jackgoldman123]

Baseball fighting is so out of hand - again you could not pay me to attend a game! I cannot imagine taking my nephews to a baseball game and a fight breaks out.

 

[Doc4]

Are you able to catch any judo tournaments or competitions at all? If you understand the rules, that is a fun sport to watch. It's even more fun to participate in judo.

Or other martial arts. The hardest part for the casual observer is figuring out the rules. It seems that most martial arts make the competition about giving the best experience for the athletes rather than making it accessible for the casual observer ... I'm not complaining about that, just saying that the observer will have to put in more effort than, say, a sport where a ball crossing a line is a point and not crossing that line means no point.

Part of the joy in watching sports for me is watching people do things at the highest levels.

Since taking up golf I find myself watching a little when it’s on TV. The level of skill the pros have is amazing. If you play yourself, you can really appreciate it.

Yes. Almost anyone who enjoys a thing will also enjoy seeing those who can do that thing at the absolute highest level preform at that other-worldly level.

Back to the topic on hand...I've watched fewer and fewer sports as I got older. I just realized I'd rather spend my time actually doing something than staring at the TV watching other people do something.

When I was younger, I had more free time on my hands. Now, I seem to have so much to do that I really have to be careful with what I do with the limited free time available to me.

I loved NHL as a kid but it seems to be glorified fighting, apologies to all who love hockey but it does not resemble the game I saw as a kid.

IMHO, hockey is a lot less fight-oriented than back in the day. Sure, there still are some fights, but not nearly as many as in the past. Bench-clearing brawls have been banned for decades. The time of "the enforcer" seems to have passed. Heck, they don't even allow the defencemen to clutch and grab, and use their sticks with a little whacky-whack, the way they used to.

 

[Chandu]

I'll probably take in some local non-pro baseball this summer and that's about it. I still like NFL football, but not the politics crap, so I've watched less of that. Slowly and surely the $$$ and the politics are taking the enjoyment from all professional sports.

 

[FarmerTan]

I stopped enjoying Olympics when pro Athletes could play hockey and basketball.

Jim Thorpe should come back and haunt the IOC, the jerks.

 

[hairless wonder]

Are you a judoka? Do you follow the IJF tour? Well, actually I was one of the IJF live commentators for about five years.
I had been training at the Kodokan until COVID19 hit. Looking forward to getting back to the dojo this autumn...

In my younger days I trained in judo (and some other martial arts). I loved it (and keep thinking I should get back into it if for no other reason than exercise).

I envy you for having been paid to watch judo and talk about it! Unfortunately, judo is not really broadcast in the US, so it's a matter of finding online broadcasts that work after finding out about them.

I'm also stoked you got to train at the Kodokan! Do you play in the center ring or along the periphery?

 

[hairless wonder]

I've tried to refrain from commenting on the politics in pro sports, but from the many remarks that have talked about it, I feel a response is appropriate.

I have a number of hobbies (yeah, I'm a dilettante) and belong to a number of hobbyist groups, of which this is one. One thing I enjoy about these groups is that we refrain from talking about politics. That was also how it has been (for the most part) until this thread. Regardless of whether you realize it, the comments about how you dislike the politically charged players protests is a political matter.

I'm assuming the vast majority of those who have commented about disliking the players' protests have not been pulled over for driving while black/brown. I'm assuming those who have been pulled over have never had to fear for their lives merely because they were brown/black. I'm assuming they're not regularly "randomly" selected for additional screening at the airport. I'm assuming they don't have people follow them in stores. I'm assuming they've rarely (if ever) felt demeaned on account of their race or ethnicity. I'm assuming their race/ethnicity/sex has not held them back from promotions at work or even from participating in leadership developing events at work. I'm assuming they've not been paid leas for doing the same work as someone of a different race/ethnicity. I'm assuming they've not seen these things happen to the communities around them on a regular basis. (Yeah, I know I'm making a lot of assumptions here. Please feel free to correct me on any of these assumptions.)

One of my friends when I was an undergrad in college was a black graduate student. I met him through martial arts. He was (and is) one of the most brilliant, kindest, and gentlest people I knew. He was also incredibly gifted athletically and physically. In short, he was someone I greatly admired and respected.

He and I were students at one of the most prestigious universities in the world. It's got a history of student protests and has been tagged with a reputation (now, really no longer applicable--heck, when I was a student, the largest student group on campus was the Young College Republicans!) of being extremely liberal. Yet, my friend was regularly stopped by the police while walking on-campus, including sometimes being held at gunpoint. He was also frequently rounded up for "fitting a description." He had to bottle up all that humiliation and anger each time it happened or else, he would've been beaten or worse.

I have a really good South Asian-American friend whom I've known since childhood. We still get together to catch drinks and watch sports from time to time. One night I was riding with him in his car as we passed a bar. As soon as my friend spotted the patrol car, he said, "we're probably going to get pulled over."

Immediately after, a police car pulled up behind us, passed us, then got in front of us before it then proceeded to let us pass, and finally pulled us over. The reason the officer gave for pulling us over was that my friend on turned his high beams when the patrol vehicle was in front of him. That was as equally absurd as it was false. The officer lied about probable cause and pulled my friend over (1) because he was brown and (2) because he assumed we had had just left the bar and my friend was driving while intoxicated.

This friend of mine also has had to arrive at the airport an extra hour early for every flight since 9/11. It's not that he's in any terror watch list. Nor is it because he's a criminal, thug, or whatever else the dehumanizing slur du jour happens to be. He was one of the top ten students of our graduating class, received numerous full-ride academic scholarships, and went to one of the best schools in our state. He also has helped take care of his mom after his dad died when we were in elementary school, his Autistic older brother, and his younger sister. He regularly visits his mom and even takes her to religious services. Yet, because he's of South Asian descent, he regularly gets profiled as a terrorist or a security risk.

When I was in graduate school, I volunteered at a legal aid clinic. One of the cases we worked on was that of a wrongly convicted man who had been tortured into a false confession by the police. Thanks to that torture and false confession, he had been sentenced to jail and lost many years of his life behind bars. He was not alone. The police department regularly rounded up black folks and tortured them into giving false confessions. This was so rampant and so outrageous that the governor ultimately had to pardon a number of men who were on death row because of these false confessions derived by torture.

Yes, these are all just anecdotes. They're all just data points. But these anecdotes didn't arise in a vacuum. They aren't isolated. These anecdotes are symptomatic of how black and brown people are regularly treated in the US by those who are supposed to protect and serve them. Yes, our system is broken. Yes it needs reform. But until there's enough pressure, reform will not happen. The only way to get that pressure is to build up public interest and support in the same.

The thing is, people have been fighting and advocating reform for decades. But until the athletes picked up the baton, it was ignored. Think about it, how many of you were even aware of police abuse against black and brown people in the US before Colin Kaepernick spoke out? Do you really think it's only recently that men like Derek Chauvin have been dehumanizing black and brown people and killing them during police stops? It's just that within the past decade or so that police activity has started to be recorded by bystanders and shared in a way that everyone can see.

While it's easy and convenient for those who are not in the affected communities to ignore how their fellow Americans are being mistreated and denied equal rights, that is also a (political) decision. It is a decision to support the status quo that perpetuates the evil of injustice. As Edmund Burke wrote, "[t]he only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." As Dr. King reminded us, "The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people."

I get that some people may not agree with the sentiments I expressed above. They're entitled to their opinions. They may think that there's nothing wrong with racial profiling or with using police officers using excessive force on suspects. They may think that it's not their problem if other people are mistreated or hurt.

As for me, I can't go along with that. I happen to be a Christian. My Lord taught me to love my neighbors as He loves me (John 13:34; John 15:12) and to love my neighbor as I love myself (Matt. 22: 39; Mark 12:31). This is a very difficult (if not impossible) task. But if I am to be true to my God, I have to speak up when my neighbor is being harassed. I have to care about my neighbor's hurts and help him. I have to defend my neighbor every bit as much as I would defend myself. I know if I am the victim of injustice, I would fight it tooth and nail; I can do no less for my neighbor.