Which Sport?

[Cavebear]

Which sport excites you most. Baseball, US football, soccer, basketball? Other?

I like baseball. It is the only sport where the defense has the ball. It has no time clock. It has no half-time. It has no sudden-death to end a game. If your side keeps hitting, the game goes on (and vice versa). To steal from George Carlin, when you play, you try to be "safe" at "home". That's a nice thing...

Football is brutal. The idea is to beat the other person to the ground.

Soccer is boring. You can watch a whole game and the conclusion is the end-kick and a team loses 1-0. And I loved playing soccer in High School...

I used to like basketball some, but it is all elbows now. What used to be fouls are allowed routinely. They practically knock each other to the floor and it is "no harm, no foul". Dunks are routime. Let's see the net heightened by a foot and foul called. It was originally a "skill" game.

Basketball and soccer do have something in common. While the scores are totally different, the play never stops. Constant running is not for the weak at heart. Baseball is very sedate most of the time. US football is more huddles than activity except for sudden brief times.

So what sport do you prefer and why?

[Minimalist]

Hockey.  And baseball.
Different as night and day.

[c172]

When I think of the "Big Four" American sports, soccer isn't quite in there (#5, probably, though). But hockey is. Your poll, but I wonder if that could be added.

Regardless, for the poll, I did vote soccer. Been watching since 1995, though, as with any sport, I'm not a stats head. I'm not "one of the guys" yelling at the screen with Jim, Bob and Jake over six-packs of Hamm's. Not a sports bro. I do like the globality of soccer. MLS is our domestic men's league, and in fact the final is coming up in, IIRC, less than a week. The winner gets one of four U.S. berths to the CONCACAF Champions League, our zonal international tournament. And all six Champions Leagues (the South American one is called Copa Libertadores) feed into the Club World Cup.

And then there's the World Cup and other tournaments for national teams, not clubs. I've seen the women's NT in person four times, but never the men's yet.

I can handle baseball pretty well. Most of my extended family follows it. I've been to many games at the MLB, AAA and NCAA levels. It's fun to go to, but maybe less fun to watch on the TV.

As a kid, I was really obsessed with auto racing. At 46, I have kind of gotten back into that swing, but primarily NASCAR. Predominately ovals, so it is, to a casual, the soccer of auto racing. Unless a big wreck occurs. For me, the excitement is avoiding that big wreck. You're feeling lots of Gs, and going absurdly fast, and being blocked so you cant pass easily. You can bump, but not too hard because accidents.

This year, tires have been a major concern. They are thinner than in years past (the cars therefore look a bit more GT-ish this season). This has caused some quite dramatic tire failures, often at speed. So, in my opinion, as much as the racing's been exciting, the offseason will be even more so. I'll be curious how NASCAR modifies the tire rules so '23 is safer. Other things, too, like aerodynamics. Particularly the rear spoiler.

Sports in general is kind of interesting at the front office and league office levels. New kits each year in soccer. New car designs in auto racing (sometimes new categories). Policy stuff. League expansions or contractions. And on and on.

[Cavebear]

Hockey.  And baseball.
Different as night and day.

Sorry, hockey even didn't come to mind. Dumbly brutal. None of the players have any teeth left when they retire. And I grew up in New England. The local joke here in Maryland is "I went to a boxing match and a hockey game broke out".

[Cavebear]

Well, I see my consideration of "major sports" is a bit limited. Should have considered hockey. My fault; never could stand on those blades, so I sort of ignored it afterwards. If you want to vote #5 Hockey, that is fine. I'll tabulate it.

I was mostly expecting baseball vs football though. Tells you where my interest is. But I want to know yours...

I watch Ken Burn's 'Baseball'. I wish he would do 'US Football'. I might be more impressed (and educated about it) if he did. In "Baseball', he presented a whole history. US football doesn't have that. Or hockey, basketball or soccer...

But I grew up playing baseball, and that remains with me. I made an unassisted triple play in Little League once, and you don't forget something like that. Football was for the large guys. Basketball was for the tall guys. Hockey was for the guys who could skate on ice. Baseball was for quick agile guys like me.

My office had a slow-pitch softball team. I could hit the ball anywhere I wanted to. I never understood why others couldn't. Not exactly hardball, but I was Ty Cobbish about it.

I did letter in soccer, but that was really only because I could run back and forth all day and kick the ball far ahead to the strikers from backfield. Soccer was great to play onfield, but boring to watch on TV.

But everyone has a favorite sport to play or watch.

[c172]

My parents don't. They find sports anti-social. Even though i don't follow the Big 4 sports, per se, Thanksgiving without gridiron football on the TV seems wrong.

[Cavebear]

My parents don't. They find sports anti-social. Even though i don't follow the Big 4 sports, per se, Thanksgiving without gridiron football on the TV seems wrong.

Traditions do matter!

[Dom]

None, really. Maybe skiing, it's graceful and smooth.

[Aegon]

I don't really follow any sport any more, but (American) football is the only one that I actually know all the rules of and can follow because I used to really be into it in high school.

[Cavebear]

I don't really follow any sport any more, but (American) football is the only one that I actually know all the rules of and can follow because I used to really be into it in high school.

I admire "know all the rules of". That's impressive (and not sarcasm) because I had a co-worker decades ago studying how to be a football referee and the situations he studied were downright weird!

Both my parents were golf fanatics. Seriously, Mom told Dad in college (first Freshman Mixer) that she wouldn't date a guy who didn't play golf. So he learned the game and became a 0 handicapper (really fanatic, right?). And they both knew the rules to the extent that both were named Rules Chairman (Chairpeople?). I never could. I followed the rules as well as I could, but depended on them to explain about "club-length" from artificial hazards and "lost balls".

I had friends who would just shove a ball from behind a tree or even toss it into the fairway. I let it slide.

But I like rules. They are what make games fair to all. And if there is any central points to my life, "fairness" is near the top.

[Fireball]

We weren't a sport-watching family when I was growing up, so I don't follow sports. I used to watch NASCAR and drag racing, and even did a little bracket racing with my '69 Camaro (an absolute barnstormer at low 15s, but consistency is the name of the game, in bracket racing), but static from the wife led me to giving it up.

The one sport I do enjoy immensely, but not on your list, is "indoor body surfing". 

[Gwaithmir]

I like baseball, but I didn't check the box because I haven't watched a game in decades. I lost interest in the game when players could be traded or could switch teams for better pay. Too many of my favorite players ended up on teams I wasn't rooting for. 

[no one]

Do water sports count?

[rocinantexyz]

The local joke here in Maryland is "I went to a boxing match and a hockey game broke out".

My friend's favorite pro hockey player was an amateur player who was about to graduate from Princeton and wanted to make a serious go at being a professional hockey player. Since he'd been working the fundamentals since he was a kid; he figured it would be difficult to making meaningful improvement there. So instead he started taking boxing lessons. Leading to the situation where a Princeton graduate worked as a NHL enforcer/goon for a decade.

[no one]

.....

[Vorpal]

I don't get why adults follow sports.

[Cavebear]

I like baseball, but I didn't check the box because I haven't watched a game in decades. I lost interest in the game when players could be traded or could switch teams for better pay. Too many of my favorite players ended up on teams I wasn't rooting for. 

I've been watching Ken Burn's documentary about baseball recently, so I feel well-informed at the moment. You might be confusing "trading payer's contracts" and "switching teams". From what I understand, players originally signed contracts which gave the owners the right to hold them "an additional year". Which, in their interpretation, followed to the next year and the next.

Originally, players did not object. Having a guaranteed contract for the following year sure beat goin back to plowing fields or working in coal mines! But as player skill levels increased and owner revenue increased, and salaries didn't, there was some natural unhappiness among players. They noted that some baseball teams paid more than others and wanted a chance to play on those teams.

I'll skip the few decades of competing rival baseball leagues. There was a lot of salary improvements in the new ones, but they didn't last. One did, so we have the 2 leagues, but it was a hard fight and both kept the contract rules.

Marvin Miller came on the scene and to make a long story short, broke the "perpetual contract rule" through forced arbitration. Players could negotiate with other teams. Free agency "broke out". It had to happen eventually.

I think one of the things Marvin Miller did brilliantly was to "offer" the owners 6 years of holding a player. The owners loved it. But Mr Miller understood there couldn't be bidding for all players every year. Supply and demand... So, since there was a limited number of 6-year players every year, bidding got fierce.

I'm not saying I love free agency. I'm a Washington Nationals fan. Because of free agency, local fans lost Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, Trea Turner, Max Scherzer, Sean Dolittle, Anthony Rendon, etc... It was a great potential team if they had all stayed (for decent salaries). It was brutal and devastating when they all left.

And I'll add that the Washington Football Team (with the rather ridiculous name of "Commanders") didn't do much better. Apparently, Washington DC is where athletes start and traded to teams where they do a lot better.

But back to baseball in general...

I think salaries have gone too high. And I think that of all sports. Let's say major league athletes average $10M per year (just as a number). What other skills do they have? Most of them couldn't earn $100,000 per year doing anything else. If they were paid that, they would still play just as hard.

But free agency jacks their cost up. That cost is turned into higher ticket prices, expensive parking, a glass of warm beer, and over-priced food. I wouldn't go to a sports event today if the ticket was free, due to all the other costs.

So it has gone from unfairly low salaries for players to ridiculous prices for fans.

I think, somewhere along the line, we forgot about a "middle ground". One where salaries were understandable, attendance prices were reasonable, and owners got a reasonable return on investment. Ted Lerner purchased The Washington Nations in 2006 for $450M. It is now estimated worth $1.2B. It (all major league teams in any sport) is a dollar-sucking machine. Players can earn a half a $Billion for playing a game.

I hate both the cheapness of the early owners and the insanity of all the revenue now.

[Astreja]

The only pro sport I've gone to see is baseball - a few Montreal Expos games, way back when, and a couple of Winnipeg Goldeyes games.

Regarding other sports, if I'm in a restaurant full of TV screens and there's a game on, I usually follow along till the food arrives. If someone gave me free tickets to a game I'd probably go at least once to see what it was like.

[Vorpal]

I am not excited by watching sports at all. I am surprised society deems watching people moving balls around as a past time of importance. It is a guilty pleasure. It's on par with watching poorly written soap operas. But to each their own.

Actually engaging in sports are valuable for children learning team work and finding engaging exercise habits.

I would prefer that adults outgrow their focus on watching sports. Even reading the Bible seems more worthwhile.

[pattylt]

Seems a few old threads are being ressurected. I’m ok with that, just so you know. Often newer joins like me never noticed them.

I can’t take the poll because my favorite is hockey…so, there you have it!

[Cavebear]

I am not excited by watching sports at all.  I am surprised society deems watching people moving balls around as a past time of importance.  It is a guilty pleasure.  It's on par with watching poorly written soap operas. But to each their own.

Actually engaging in sports are valuable for children learning team work and finding engaging exercise habits.  

I would prefer that adults outgrow their focus on watching sports.  Even reading the Bible seems more worthwhile.

Well, athletic ability does have a place in society. Most sports involve skills we needed as hunters and sports keep us physically fit. Not that I am all that
sportish" at 74, but I stay active enough around the house and yard. And quite frankly, I sleep better at night when I have been busy outside in the day.

And I agree with you that sports (organized and "un") are beneficial for both children and adults. When I was young, we left the house after breakfast, came in for lunch and left again until dinner. We wandered everywhere, we played stupid physical games, and basically engaged with our environment. I am convinced that I have always been healthy because I was exposed to dirt, microbes, and parasites all my life.

Sports are good for learning rules and teamwork. Every sport has rules. And learning rules is part of a social contract. A late hit in football is wrong. Hitting a batter is wrong. We learn these things as kids as part of growing up into social adults. And we learn teamwork. We learn you don't get everything you want, but you can get some things you want.

I don't see the kids in my neighborhood playing outside anymore. I know they exist because I see them getting into cars sometimes. But they don't seem to have an outside life. They live inside (on the social media). But also, they are so protected from the real world outside that they get sick from the slightest exposure to Mother Nature.

We are changing...

[c172]

I do admire people that keep their body and mind fit enough to do anything that expertly. I could never play alongside Messi "kicking a soccer ball" at Inter Miami or PSG before9 that. I love ballet as a performing art, but I'd be terrified if I found myself as this year's Drosselmeyer at the local downtown Nutcracker. But I'm glad some guy is putting in the daily, years-long training to be just that this December and in Decembers ahead for my enjoyment. And I'm glad Messi is continuing to run around in the grass and kick soccer balls so I don't have to.

[SYZ]

Not ever having been a sportsman myself due
to poor eye-hand coordination, I don't really
have much interest in watching others running
and jumping, or throwing or hitting a ball.

I'd rather watch fence palings warp than watch
golf, swimming or cricket etc.

[Alan V]

So what sport do you prefer and why?

I enjoy watching golf tournaments on TV. I found that very calming when I was suffering from mild depression in the early 2000s. It became a regular diversion.

I was a terrible golfer when I tried my hand at the sport as a teenager, so my interest is not an extension of an early skill.

I was good at track and field, specifically sprints, relays, and the long jump. I have no adult interest in those events at all.

[Minimalist]

Golf makes me think of Fuckface and then I get all pissed off!