Comments on: The Hipsters Guide to Scientifically Heaping Righteous Scorn upon Sports Fans

By: Chris Cannone

Chris Cannone — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 20:26:41 +0000

I never understood team sports fans. The whole thing just seems like a giant demonstration of herd mentality. In the past, people from a certain town would challenge men from another town to see who was best in a certain sport. That makes 'some' sense to me because there is at least some connection to the players or team being from your town and amongst your local community. But todays pro teams are made up of players from all over the country who only come to a state in order to play on the team. They have no connection to the states they play for.

Also the games that fans follow are far removed from any functional life skill. They are completely arbitrary games with made up rules that don't really represent anything. It is not hard to see that a person who is a professional or expert in most pro team sports might not be able to translate those skills into anything useful to real life. I use the example of team sports because I do enjoy individual contests that have some real applicable value…like MMA, a pro fighter is very good at kicking someone's ass. A sprinter can run really fast. A swimmer can swim. A weightlifter is strong. But what skills does a pro football player have that can, in any way, translate into something valuable? How many football players have tried and failed to have any success as a fighter, or other realistic contest of useful physical skill? Alot. Being able to catch and throw an odd shaped leather ball just doesn't have any meaning in real life.

I look at fans as basically very conformist people with little imagination. They 'follow' sports because they were brought up to, or learned to at some point from someone else. They don't think very deeply about what they are watching, or why. They waste time and money watching instead of doing. Frankly, any fan would be much better off actually doing almost any type of activity. If you were to spend that 2 hours walking or reading a book you would gain so much more.

By: Chris Cannone

Chris Cannone — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 20:08:53 +0000

Nice attempt at trying to paint the passive spectator as physically active. No amount of psycho-babble will pull that off in my eyes. I think the article rings true, a close look at your average sports fan will show you a sedentary, out of shape, man watching larger, stronger, fitter men compete in a physical contest while they sit passively. I don't know how you can 'glean physical prowess' while sitting on your keester and hogging down nachoes, but you're the expert.

By: Bobby Fernandez

Bobby Fernandez — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 20:14:47 +0000

Great perspective Andrew. I'm such a sports fan that I've made Sport Psychology my area of study. If you were talking about tabloids, I think the studies you cited would support your thesis. Sport, however, involves a certain physical element that is essential for survival. The spectating of physical activity is considered to be, amongst Kinesiologists, a form of physical activity due to the neural activation, motivating power and potential for motor learning. Both pop-star gazing and sport fandom express certain evolutionary survival adaptations. One allows for connection and group cohesion while the other gives ordinary men a chance to glean some of the physical prowess of the greats of their society. In short, the modeling of excellence is not to be dismissed as scornful apelike behavior.

By: Bill Back

Bill Back — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 20:12:53 +0000

In reply to Bill Back. Yeah - not meaning to imply anything like that. I make decent coin and have assets of above average size (if you know what I mean), which seem like good qualifications. I'm not even sure I would know a "hipster" if I met one.

By: Robert Tracy

Robert Tracy — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 19:58:32 +0000

In reply to Bill Back. is this intimating that hipsters are high-value mates? they are just another form of low-value mates...most *hipsters* i have met are beyond faking it

By: Bill Back

Bill Back — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 19:48:13 +0000

Interesting article, particularly the reference to the studies. I like to think of myself as a high-value mate, but obviously not quite the same level as these guys. I would be curious to see similar studies on women who are sports fans, since there are quite a few. What is their motivation? (Also interesting is that I have two of the three books advertised here. Must be in the right place.)

By: David Palmer

David Palmer — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 19:34:59 +0000

I've never been a sports fan, and sometimes feel left out for not wanting to see the game. Living in Philly and going to Big 10 schools, the fan-culture never caught on with me. This may however explain my fascination with documentaries of exceptional competitors like Ayrton Senna, and Rickson Gracie. I wish I could attribute it to a genuine appreciation for excellence or the hope to glean what contributed to that excellence; but I haven't caught myself watching documentaries on exceptional female competitors.

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By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 02:58:51 +0000

In reply to Vergil Den. I think my response to the previous comment kind of answers this too. I think it's very different to watch sports for current and practical comparisons (form, etc.) than watching them passively and/or abstractly.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 02:57:05 +0000

In reply to Joseph Doughty. Sorry I missed this comment notification on this earlier. Engaging in sport is a completely different dynamic whether it's Crossfit, basketball, or ultra-running. Comparing one's own current stats seems like a different endeavor as well. However, sitting around reminiscing about past glory days of sports achievement falls under primate status 101. The top dogs get knocked off at regular intervals and suffer rapid and dramatic declines in status. Having been a high school star quarterback and sitting around watching football into one's forties is just an example of lost status. That's why I think it's very different from the dynamic you describe.