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Cultivated Disinterest in Professional Sports

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Re: Cultivated Disinterest in Professional Sports

#61

Post by scotch_drinker »

wutbrodo wrote: post #51
ska wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, disinterest and contempt are very different things. Saying "I'm not interested in X" has very different connotations from "I can't see why anybody is interested in X".

Even the latter isn't contempt. I feel like I don't understand why anyone is interested in watching sports (as opposed to playing), but I certainly don't look down on them for it. At the very least, I know enough people that I respect that are into pro sports that it would be inconsistent to think something like "people who are into pro sports have nothing better to occupy their time and their minds".

It is contempt. It implies that there is no valid reason for liking X. You may not look down on them but when someone says "I don't see how anybody...", that is contempt. Not understanding is vastly different from expressing disbelief that anyone would do a particular thing.

Re: Cultivated Disinterest in Professional Sports

#62

Post by scott_s »

wutbrodo wrote: post #51
ska wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, disinterest and contempt are very different things. Saying "I'm not interested in X" has very different connotations from "I can't see why anybody is interested in X".

Even the latter isn't contempt. I feel like I don't understand why anyone is interested in watching sports (as opposed to playing), but I certainly don't look down on them for it. At the very least, I know enough people that I respect that are into pro sports that it would be inconsistent to think something like "people who are into pro sports have nothing better to occupy their time and their minds".

Interpreted charitably, the latter is not contempt. But I can see someone saying that, but implying there is something wrong with such people.

Re: Cultivated Disinterest in Professional Sports

#63

Post by JoeAltmaier »

BurgerEarmuffs wrote: post #48

Thank zeus for this article. Sports is a 4 letter word in a lot of social circles (academia, tech to a decent extent) and it usually just reeks of pretentiousness. I find myself having to be unusually careful not to bring up sports when talking to anyone in tech I don't know well, whereas I rarely have that issue outside of it. Congratulations, you dismissed the entirety of American football as "roid rage violence".…

I understand, label nerds as pretentious and jackasses, because they dis your favorite subject. Welcome to the nerd club. You think its tiresome having somebody try to make you look stupid for liking that stuff? Imagine living it, from the age of 12 through 25. Its fucking exhausting. So give techies a break already.

Re: Cultivated Disinterest in Professional Sports

#64

Post by acadien »

We can talk about music, politics (civilly), travel, technology, relationships, family, friends, books, TV... but since we can't talk about sports that is somehow a problem?

If you're interested in sports go for it, if you're not then avoid them. Making conversation and forming new relationships with people has nothing to do with watching football.

Re: Cultivated Disinterest in Professional Sports

#65

Post by randcraw »

nlawalker wrote: post #12

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people" - Eleanor Roosevelt Sports, in the context of the article, is 100% people and events. I don't necessarily agree with the quote, I just wanted to point out that the idea expressed here is the same. I don't think that intellectuals (to use the author's term) are necessarily disinterested in sports in general. However, it makes sense t…

Wow. That's a really great quote. It captures my social values perfectly, irrespective of sports, or my telling others what they should do.

Yes, sports are all about immersing yourself in the earnest discussion of trivial minutiae. Maybe that's why intellectuals disdain it. It's a tempest in a TV set.

But sports are also one of the very few venues which are: a) dramatic, b) can be shared with friends, foes, and strangers alike, c) fair, and d) largely unscripted.

Sports are a kind of platonic ideal -- a pure meritocracy: where the cream rises to the top, where talent is rewarded, where justice is done, yet tragedy may strike. In today's heavily commercialized, overproduced, and politicized world, such fields of dreams are all too rare.

Finally and maybe most important, sports play to the need we all have to cheer for for heros and heroics and to bathe in the glamour of their victory.

Maybe the inescapably gladiatorial nature of sports competition also embarrasses the fine arts crowd?

Re: Cultivated Disinterest in Professional Sports

#67

Post by thissideup »

solson wrote: post #20

When you show overt contempt for sports you are showing contempt for most everybody and that is problem with your social skills. It's called being a snob. The disdain for working class culture among academics was part of the reason I choose not to pursue a formal higher education. I suspect this overt snootiness keeps many gifted working class kids from participating in higher education. I grew up working class and w…

Many people repeat things without knowing why. Next time you hear someone say they don't like sports ask why.

Personally, I really enjoy sports. What I don't like is the organizations (NFL, NCAA) and owners that sell advertising and broadcasting rights on top of them. There's far too much watching and not enough doing.

Re: Cultivated Disinterest in Professional Sports

#68

Post by john_b »

solson wrote: post #20

When you show overt contempt for sports you are showing contempt for most everybody and that is problem with your social skills. It's called being a snob. The disdain for working class culture among academics was part of the reason I choose not to pursue a formal higher education. I suspect this overt snootiness keeps many gifted working class kids from participating in higher education. I grew up working class and w…

I don't know if this reflects one or more widespread trends, but as someone who plays amateur hockey I've found that a very large number fellow players are engineers, programmers, market researchers, or some other white collar professional occupation. At least at non-professional levels, the sport seems to be full of very intelligent people, but not necessarily "intellectuals" per se.

It could just be a self-selection effect due to playing a relatively expensive sport (since income and education are correlated), but given how popular sports of all types are (both watching and playing) among so many different types of people I am amazed that the denizens of ivory towers have been able to maintain the stereotype of sports as "low brow" for so long. Especially given that many ivy league universities have historically had popular and successful teams in sports like boxing and wrestling.

It's deeply, tragically ironic when you consider that the origins of those same intellecutal bubbles are rooted in Greek and Roman classical studies, both cultures that prized a well developed body and mind, and considered a man incomplete if he lacked either:

"No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable." - Socrates

Re: Cultivated Disinterest in Professional Sports

#69

Post by lkowalcz »

samspot wrote: post #60

I used to have the attitude he mentioned, and when my eyes opened, I rejected it. Then I forced myself to watch American Football for a season. I actually had a good time. But I just couldn't really get into it. Problem is that when I have free time, I typically prefer to spend it doing other things. Not having cable doesn't help matters either. Maybe I'll give it another shot. It seems worth it to be able to connect…

Maybe try joining a Fantasy Football league with some of your friends? Doing this will greatly improve your enjoyment because you will be invested in the performance of the players / teams on your fantasy team.

Re: Cultivated Disinterest in Professional Sports

#70

Post by BurgerEarmuffs »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #63
BurgerEarmuffs wrote: post #48

Thank zeus for this article. Sports is a 4 letter word in a lot of social circles (academia, tech to a decent extent) and it usually just reeks of pretentiousness. I find myself having to be unusually careful not to bring up sports when talking to anyone in tech I don't know well, whereas I rarely have that issue outside of it. Congratulations, you dismissed the entirety of American football as "roid rage violence".…

I understand, label nerds as pretentious and jackasses, because they dis your favorite subject. Welcome to the nerd club. You think its tiresome having somebody try to make you look stupid for liking that stuff? Imagine living it, from the age of 12 through 25. Its fucking exhausting. So give techies a break already.

"This happened to me growing up so now I get to do it to you"?

What a wonderful message for the children.

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