I hate sports

Wonderbunny
Wonderbunny: Anyone else here totally not like sports?

I don't know if it's just because I was always bottom of the class in games, but I think that instead of teaching competetive sport in schools, they'd be better off teaching exercise, healthy diet and the like. Sports injuries prove that sport isn't good for you.

And why should I care if a particular trophy is won by athletes or teams from my particular neck of the woods? Countries and cities are man-made divisions between people anyway. "You" didn't win or lose - a team of sportsmen did. It's footballers vs footballers, not nation vs nation.

And why aren't these super fit men and women out there doing real useful work, instead of being paid for indulging in their hobbies?
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Disparate_Entity
Disparate_Entity: Wow i dont even know where to start..

*And why aren't these super fit men and women out there doing real useful work, instead of being paid for indulging in their hobbies?*

You do know that these super fit men and women plying their skills employs millions world wide with real useful work (caterers,security,manufacturers etc etc) Are you suggesting we just do away with sport and unemploy millions?

*And why should I care if a particular trophy is won by athletes or teams from my particular neck of the woods?*

No ones asking you to,feel free not to.

*"You" didn't win or lose - a team of sportsmen did. It's footballers vs footballers, not nation vs nation.*

Its called tribalism,sport is one of the few things in todays society that brings total strangers together towards a common goal,your saying this is a bad thing?

* Sports injuries prove that sport isn't good for you.*

Actually most health/pyschology experts would tell you that sport is one of the best possible things you can get your children into,besides i think taking sport away from millions of children giving them no outlet against such things as boredom would only be asking for trouble,an active child is more likely to stay out of trouble compared to a bored child.

Then theres the millions of dollars poured into local communities from most major sporting teams world wide,guess we could take that away to?
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Wonderbunny
Wonderbunny: No, we should not unemploy those millions. We should give then something more useful to do than catering to an unnecessary sports industry.

Yes, I do think tribalism is a bad thing. It accentuates divisions between people. There are far more worthy causes people could work together to achieve than nurturing an "us and them" mentality.

Ditto the bored children. There are far more worthy causes they could...you get the picture. And like I said, there are non-competetive ways of being active and building a healthy body.

I didn't know about the money that sports teams give to local communities. But I guess those communities could get the money from wherever those sports teams got their money in the first place. Cut out the middle man.

Maybe banning sport altogether is taking it a bit far. Once everybody's doing useful work, including all the unemployed people, we'll all be able to work part-time and have afternoons free to do sports if we choose to, just don't expect to get paid for it.

Of course, any physical assault done in the name of sport would still be assault and would be punishable as such. So I'm afraid boxing would be right out.

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Disparate_Entity
Disparate_Entity: * No, we should not unemploy those millions. We should give then something more useful to do than catering to an unnecessary sports industry.*

Such as? Its one thing to say give them something more useful to do,but what work would you magically find on weekends for all these people (most sport is played on weekends and most of them are earning better rates for weekend work)

*Yes, I do think tribalism is a bad thing. It accentuates divisions between people. There are far more worthy causes people could work together to achieve than nurturing an "us and them" mentality.*

The vast majority of people who attend sporting events are attending to enjoy the competition and some friendly banter,a very small minority take it to seriously,i dont see the us v them mentality at sporting events and i attend them often.Humans are competitive by nature,take away the outlets for being competitve would be a bad thing imo.

*Ditto the bored children. There are far more worthy causes they could...you get the picture.*

No i dont,what are these far more worthy causes,its easy to just say there are,but what are they? There are a lot of bored kids still who dont play sport,whats tour plan for all of them without sport?


*Maybe banning sport altogether is taking it a bit far. Once everybody's doing useful work, including all the unemployed people, we'll all be able to work part-time and have afternoons free to do sports if we choose to, just don't expect to get paid for it.*

Yes its taking it to far,you do know that sport is a career choice right? Not a hobby like you suggested,and again whats all this useful work,whose supplying all this useful work? You?

Your literally asking that millions of paid hours of employment be scrapped and be replaced by something more useful.

What exactly is this more useful work you speak of? And who pays for it?





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Comrade_
Comrade_: I understand your plight, but sports do generate money (while I think some sports players are paid way too much) it is in itself a job: do a task, get paid. They provide entertainment that frankly I like watching along with many others, same as any other entertainment.

European Football clubs generate a lot of income via advertising, regular folks buying tickets, etc. They put that money to charities and other infrastructure.

On a personal level though, sports do teach an individual a lot: friendship, teamwork, healthy competition, how to deal with losing, etc. Not just a routine exercise that can be boring, gather some pals and take part in a sport, it is something different. idk, you mightn't find a bunch of guys saying ey let's hit the gym together, you may quicker find we'd more apt to play some street football, or hoops. It's cheaper, more convenient.

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Comrade_
Comrade_: It also helps promote a country to a wider audience, who knows maybe bring in tourism there. There are probably other factors that I missed out...would be one depressing world without sports imo.
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Wonderbunny
Wonderbunny: @ Disparate_Entity: There is pollution to clean up, trees to plant, endangered species to protect, beautiful old buildings to restore, hungry people to feed, lonely people to befriend. And not necessarily on a weekend. Why do these people need a higher rate of pay than anyone else?

I don't see sport as an actual job of work, because at the end of the day, nothing has been achieved. What difference has been made? What have you got to show for it? Nothing.

@ JackEthan: A few people kicking a ball around in their spare time is indeed cheap and convenient, healthy and harmless fun. In fact I'd rather do that myself than participate in the deadly boring activity of watching other people kicking a ball. It's one action for goodness sake, repeated over and over and over ....

I can't get my head round actually caring who wins a game, when you could be caring about something that really matters. "Hey! the world's a real mess. But that's OK my team won on Saturday." And they don't even say "my team won". They say "We won" as if they themselves had achieved something. It's delusional.
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Comrade_
Comrade_: Watching football is not boring though, perhaps it is not your thing but for others it is a good way to just chill, I use to watch it with my dad. There's an excitement to it if you have your supporting teams playing.
I watch football and I'm aware of what is going on in the world, to assume that those who can enjoy a good game are ignorant/care nothing on what is going on in the real world is bias.
You watch movies, you get involved in some form of entertainment? Does that mean that your life is sucked into it? No.

Let's just say sports isn't your thing.
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Wonderbunny
Wonderbunny: Then maybe people should only make movies in their spare time. Is that unbiased enough?

Some people get a similar thrill from gambling which is definitely not a good thing, as it destroys lives.

And horse-racing is cruel to horses. I used to participate in sweepstakes on the Grand National, just to be one of the gang, though I wasn't really that interested in it. Then when those horses died I felt bad about it.
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Comrade_
Comrade_: hmm why will you choose to enforce something simply because you on a personal level don't enjoy it?

Sports isn't destroying anyone's life.
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Comrade_
Comrade_: It makes sense to pull out one type of sport in order to set a mandate for sports as a whole?
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tiasbesty
tiasbesty: @Wonderbunny... You are correct that people in professional sport have their priorities in the wrong place, but sport as a recreation and fitness component is necessary. Proper instruction, and mature philosophies help young people not hurt them. In a perfect world. But Wonderbunny, it's gotten too commercial hasn't it. Hey between, you, me and the lamp post, ballet should be a sport
Wonderbunny, I enjoyed your article. You are a worthy contributor to Wire forms.
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Wonderbunny
Wonderbunny: I maintain that competitive sport isn't necessary to a fitness regime. There are other ways of exercising body & mind.
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seán_ireland
seán_ireland: I don't think anybody has ever said that "competitive" sport is necessary to a fitness regime but it sure as hell makes it much more enjoyable for many people.
Sports clubs and sports players provide so much awareness and income to hundreds and thousands of charitable organisations.
"Unicef was the first name ever to appear on Barcelona's blue and red shirts when a deal was signed in 2004. Unlike traditional sponsorship deals, Barcelona pay Unicef €1.5m a year towards Aids projects in order to carry its name on the shirt"http://www.guardian.co.uk

"Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS), the National Basketball Association (NBA) and NBA Player's Association, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the United States Tennis Association (USTA) have provided generous donations to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to aid children and families with immediate and long–term necessities including food, water, shelter, protection and physical as well as mental health care".
PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1shXD)

http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/sport/home/unplayers/goodwillambassadors

This is after 2 minutes of actually lokking into the topic. Imagine we dug deeper.

I do agree however that competitive sports are not everyones cup of tea but neither is restoring old buildings or befriending lonely people. And sports are not just for the weekend in fact I plan on sitting down and watching at least 2 hours of soccer tonight. On a Tuesday, when there are starving children all over the world? Thats right, and I wont feel one bit guilty doing it.
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Wonderbunny
Wonderbunny: I suspect you were sports indoctrinated at an impressionable age.

And like I said, we don't need sports to give to charity for us, we could do it ourselves and cut out the middle man.
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seán_ireland
seán_ireland: So why don't the hundreds of thousands of people who do like sports all over the world do just that. Or maybe you could consider that many of them are in fact quite capable of being interested in much more than one thing, i.e. they might restore old buildings but play sports at the weekend. Or you could keep your very negative view of sports as it is and not see their benefits.
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Wonderbunny
Wonderbunny: Yes, play sports at weekends. Feel free. But don't make me watch. Yawn.
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seán_ireland
seán_ireland: Nobody is making anybody do anything. And yawn is correct, your one dimensional narrow minded argument has bored me
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shoebert
shoebert: I too don't like to watch sports. Not because of being on the bottom though. I played all sports and enjoyed it. Just don't make me sit and watch it!
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Captain Canada
Captain Canada: Some people play sports on the professional level,they get payed to play sports that's their job.there are call Professional Athletes
There are people that participate in sports activities as a hobby/pastime there called amateurs
it's just people enjoying watching/participating in a activity
Miss Wonderbunny you said """ Yes, play sports at weekends. Feel free. But don't make me watch."""
Nobody forces anybody to watch sports,
Either your a 50 plus year old woman thats bored or one child in a old woman's body that is forces to watch spots.

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xapim
xapim: ...how much money is spent on "professional athletes" 100 million and that's just one player , c'mon man. I think sports originated from Olympians or Olympics...its all quite ridiculousness weather you like or not.....
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anym
anym: Wonderbunny raises some points that are interesting - even valid, if you're not tribally brainwashed.

"A nation is a group of people who share the same illusions about themselves ......
this habit of "consensual hallucination ....." - Daniel Francis

and (not sure who said it and I won't state about whom but it could apply to any ) -
" .... a people deeply mired in their own rhetoric"
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Justkelly
Justkelly: it's human nature to be competitive. mankind has been competing with each other long before organized sport was invented. team sports teaches social skills. you may not like it. and don't have to agree with it. and is it all competition you hate? or just physical competition? or just team sports. i think you summed it up in your first post. if you had been good at it, you would feel differently. i think teaching sports in school along with music. arts. etc. makes for more well rounded individuals. i'm glad for my opportunity to compete. it gave me the opportunity to learn how to deal with conflict. get along with others. respect authority. again. you don't have to agree. but don't belittle those who do like it.
(Edited by Justkelly)
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anym
anym: Justkelly, could you make clear to whom you're addressing "is it all competition you hate? etc.
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Justkelly
Justkelly: I was addressing Wonderbunny since this is her conversation. Sorry for the confusion.
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anym
anym: "Sorry for the confusion."

Thanks, Justkelly. No problem really but it's a bit of an irritant with me - that I can't help scratching - when folks on the forums don't make clear who/what they're responding to.

You said "Mankind has been competing ... long before ...." etc - Some of that competing has resulted in devastation, with the ruining and the loss of countless millions of lives. The fact that competition has been around "for a while" is insufficient reason to admire it. I'm not saying it's never admirable, just that its longevity (or intractability?) doesn't do it.

I'm with Wonderbunny in being disinterested in sports; and I think you have a valid point in that I never was athletic or good at sports (although in my youth I did enjoy some personal non-competitive accomplishment in long-distance cycling.) I don't actually hate sports but I strongly dislike some aspects that surround it and some attitudes that it fosters. W-b spoke about the irrationality of personal, nationalistic pride in the accomplishment of athletes who just happen to share one's citizenship (or sometimes don't even share that but have nevertheless become members of one's "own" national team.) I share those views. There's much I dislike about - for instance - the Olympics which seem to be more about flag waving and big money-making via lavish entertainment and TV rights, than about individual sporting accomplishment.

And I really despise the mentality that has to make a competition out of everything from book-writing through poetry to cooking shows. Give me a break!

Oh well, there y'go. I don't quarrel with your view that sporting competition can be valuable for personal development; but for me there are limits that are often exceeded. Personally I'm not much interested in competition for its own sake and I don't feel bad about that.

Sorry, I realise the thread title was about sports, not just competition; but it drifted that way and they seem inextricably linked. Do you think competition is an essential ingredient of sport? (Not intended as rhetorical)
(Edited by anym)
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