Lost Interest in Sports

Maybe it's only me but I'm losing or lost interest in professional sports

MLB with their strikes and now all these steriod scandals. NFL wanting to show good games only on special subscriptions. NBA players getting more and more ghetto in looks and play. Championship last year even with my Spurs was boring as hell and the constant ghetto playing with trying to fake fouls by falling down called drained the game.

I lost interest quite a while ago. I still watch the Auburn SEC football game now and again, but that's it.

I will watch European football though. I really enjoy that.

+1

And the games seem to drag on and on, The last ball game I watched went into extra innings and was well over 4 hours. Most football games run over the alloted time as well. I think my attention span is getting shorter.

MMA is starting to become more and more mainstream. Maybe check out a UFC pay per view at a local sports bar and see if that's more to your liking.

I'm a big fan and it's in part to what you were already commenting on about the other sports.

I've about quit sports, too. I'm getting back into horse racing though. Now that's a good time

Bay Meadows. Where the athletes pay the fans:fro:

Neomich said:

MMA is starting to become more and more mainstream. Maybe check out a UFC pay per view at a local sports bar and see if that's more to your liking.

I'm a big fan and it's in part to what you were already commenting on about the other sports.

Click to expand...

I love the UFC but get sick of paying $49.95 for the highdef shows

I'd rather watch a good movie or play with my kids, quite honestly. If a game is on somewhere, I don't mind watching, but I never tune in at home.

I love the NFL like a naked lady. Get Direct TV. No worries.

I'm even getting back into the NHL. Now that old man Wirtz is dead and his kid Rocky realizes that the fans are not the enemy, I may even start going to Blackhawks games again.

MLB and the NBA are another story.


GO SEAHAWKS!

I love to go to a baseball game, but I simply cannot watch it on TV. The only sport I really watch is football, and only when it's one of my teams or it's a good match-up.


Which reminds me.....Swmbo is a huge Colts fan. She found this image the other day and I had to laugh. It's kinda funny:

With the release of the list of MLB players all juiced up yesterday I think everyone needs to apologize to Bonds. I mean all that talk about asterisks, it just seems to me that all the guys he was playing against were just as jacked up as he was, so it's not like he got a break being on 'roids...

I'm a racing fan, though NASCAR ain't anything like "stock" car racing anymore and it's really losing its appeal to me these days. The only way to tell the cars apart is the paint and stickers, otherwise it seems they're all small block Chevy powered, Ford rear-end, generic bodied identical machines. If the car they race is supposed to represent a consumer product, then it damn well should be like that product. I think they should be required to race front wheel drive, V6 powered, uni-body constructed 4 doors. Either that or bring back rear wheel drive to the consumer. I'm sick of FWD.

I guess the only sports I still enjoy watching now are Motorcycle racing, which I have to download after the races, because US networks suck for any motorsports besides one Indy car race and NASCAR. There's also NCAA Basketball, which is great fun once March rolls around. Golf's good to sleep to.

ma2brew said:

I'm a racing fan, though NASCAR ain't anything like "stock" car racing anymore and it's really losing its appeal to me these days. The only way to tell the cars apart is the paint and stickers, otherwise it seems they're all small block Chevy powered, Ford rear-end, generic bodied identical machines. If the car they race is supposed to represent a consumer product, then it damn well should be like that product. I think they should be required to race front wheel drive, V6 powered, uni-body constructed 4 doors. Either that or bring back rear wheel drive to the consumer. I'm sick of FWD.

Click to expand...

I hear yah there brother! That and the constant rule changes, non-competition (no AT&T car in the nextel cup..), and the neutering and chastising of drivers. I liked seeing the guys get all fired up and ready to kill some one when they screwed up. Showed they had a passion for racng. Now they all give that beat puppy hum drum 'one of those racing deals' quotes.

jvh261 said:

I love the NFL like a naked lady. Get Direct TV. No worries.

Click to expand...

I couldn't disagree more. Why should I pay more to get an upgraded package that includes the NFL network. That is nothing but a load of BS. They have already priced me out of going to games. If they start making me pay to watch it on tv they can kiss my arse!

I lost interest in sports a long time ago. I have trouble with the whole "hero worship" of the athletes. I used to like NASCAR, but it since it's become popular, everyone has a favorite driver. I never had any favorite drivers, but enjoyed watching it.

My wife is filipina, and we have the filipino channels on Directv Worldirect. They sometimes have the PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) games on. I don't understand the play by play, but enjoy watching it. Also, late nights sometimes is Fist-O-rama.. It's amature boxing. They usually start out with 8 year olds fighting (no kidding) and work up to older fighter bouts. The looks of it kinda remind me of the low budget filming of wrestling back in the '70's before the WWF.

Allan

I never have really liked pro sports. Over paid drama queens IMO. I love college sports though.

I lost interest in sports a decade ago. After the baseball strike we had a bunch of soft woosy losers on steroids claiming they were the next Babe Ruth ( Nah !! ).

Next and this hurt me deeply was hockey. Same scenario as baseball. After the strike I had PERFECT seats( and I mean under the glass a bit ) at Madison square garden Rangers vs Islanders. One would expect a freaking bloodbath ( I must say I did ). instead is was a wimpy , laxidasical skate around.. I was FURIOUS they didnt even try.

Also on a seperant rant. Expansion teams have diluted the talent pool.

NFL is my last hope.

Lost interest in pro football within the last few years. I have become more interested in baseball in spite of th roids. College football was great this year. No power houses, everyone could be beat by anyone. College basketball, but of course I grew up in Lawrence, KS...KU jayhawks.

My favorite would have to be English premiere league soccer though. I understand why americans hate soccer if I had to watch only MLS games.

jvh261, you really should get to some Hawks games. Seats start at just $10, all good views of the ice at the UC.
It's a whole different atmosphere and vibe this year.

I used to like football, but hate it anymore, it is just so BORING. Run for 5 seconds stand around for 40, over and over.
That and replaying every play 3 or 4 times gets old really quick.

I also agree with whoever was talking about basketball being so ghetto.
It's all one on one play, hardly any good teamwork anymore, and the diving for foul calls really bugs me now. Sucks that coaches teach kids that from the time they start playing. I think the first time you do that, foul. 2nd time, technical foul. 3rd time, Tony Twist runs onto the court and beats you into the hardwood.

You guys are crazy..If i didn't have football or baseball, i would probably blow up my town..Since the Celtics have been winning, they have been fun to watch too...
Seriously though, I don't know what i would do without my local professional sports teams..I have been very lucky with my teams winning..It's been a magical year...

Dr Vorlauf said:

Next and this hurt me deeply was hockey. Same scenario as baseball. After the strike I had PERFECT seats( and I mean under the glass a bit ) at Madison square garden Rangers vs Islanders. One would expect a freaking bloodbath ( I must say I did ). instead is was a wimpy , laxidasical skate around.. I was FURIOUS they didnt even try.

Click to expand...

I think the biggest problem is the amount of games in a season. 82 games is a lot for such a physical sport, in such a short time (October to March, average of 13 games a month, more than 3 a week) with training.

knarfks said:

My favorite would have to be English premiere league soccer though. I understand why americans hate soccer if I had to watch only MLS games.

Click to expand...

Yeah I like soccer, problem is most of the time the big leagues (EPL, La Primera, Il Calcio) is that the games are often long and boring (not so much EPL), compared to smaller leagues (French League, Dutch league) since the game is more open, but they get less coverage. Of course, being a huge Robben fan, a Real Madrid game is always exciting.

howlinowl said:

My wife is filipina, and we have the filipino channels on Directv Worldirect. They sometimes have the PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) games on. I don't understand the play by play, but enjoy watching it. Also, late nights sometimes is Fist-O-rama.. It's amature boxing. They usually start out with 8 year olds fighting (no kidding) and work up to older fighter bouts. The looks of it kinda remind me of the low budget filming of wrestling back in the '70's before the WWF.

Allan

Click to expand...

Love me some Wa Wa Wee:fro:

yer avatar is really scary tally...

i listen to biesbol all summer long. it's a game i love, and one that i like to picture whilst listening to it. i also love being at the ballpark. i don't think i invest as much time into it to consider it hero worship, but i still love the game on many levels.

when art raped cleveland and took the browns to baltimore, i didn't watch the nfl untill a team was re-established in cleveland. now that they're into the season of dreams, and knocking on the door of the playoffs, i am having flashbacks of the cardiac kids, and pushing back the memories of the drive, fumble, red right 88.

welcome to the season of dreams baby! and it's been more fun to be a cleveland fan this year, moreso then ever....

imo, as long as it's just entertainment, and not some sorta structure for your life, then it's all good.

I was always much more into playing sports than watching, but, in my adulthood, I get more nauseated every year by the "business" of each sport. How far we have drifted from this town's team playing that town's on a field with bleachers and someone selling hotdogs to make a few extra bucks. I've been to one NFL game ever, and was AMAZED at how much time everyone stands around while the guys with the white gloves signal a commercial break. The games in almost any sport nowadays are an afterthought to all the **** they are doing to promote this sponsor or that sponsor. If a sponsor wants me to notice, howsabout subsidizing my hot dog and beer so it comes in less than a steak dinner at a good restaurant?

Puh-leeeze!

I'm with you, man.

Professoinal sports will never be the same. You want to see passion? Go watch some minor league games. Especially hockey. Those guys will beat the hell out of each other and love every minute of it.

I haven't watched the NBA since the lock-out.

Ewing saying, "NBA players make a lot of money but also spend a lot of money" really made me feel sorry for those guys.

RichBrewer said:

I couldn't disagree more. Why should I pay more to get an upgraded package that includes the NFL network. That is nothing but a load of BS. They have already priced me out of going to games. If they start making me pay to watch it on tv they can kiss my arse!

Click to expand...

I've been thinking about that. With all the bitching about the NFL Network, I suddenly realized that I did exactly that years ago when I switched to Dish Network from cable. I bought an upgraded package so I could continue to get Fox Spots North, so I could continue to watch the Brewers. Yeah, I'm pathetic...........

not to be that late poster that only reads the first page and them makes a comment completely off-topic...

but the start of this Football season I was very much into it, I joined a Fantasy Football league at work and on another forum, and just lost interest... for some reason i'm finding reading and spending time with the family more important than keeping up with the league and such...

don't know... all the bs that's going on in professional sports just is turning my stomach.

Quote:
Originally Posted by RichBrewer
I couldn't disagree more. Why should I pay more to get an upgraded package that includes the NFL network. That is nothing but a load of BS. They have already priced me out of going to games. If they start making me pay to watch it on tv they can kiss my arse!

Bernie Brewer said:

I've been thinking about that. With all the bitching about the NFL Network, I suddenly realized that I did exactly that years ago when I switched to Dish Network from cable. I bought an upgraded package so I could continue to get Fox Spots North, so I could continue to watch the Brewers. Yeah, I'm pathetic...........

Click to expand...

Its Comcast that is making customers pay more for NFL Network. With Direct TV the NFL Network is part of your regular channels package, the only way you don't get it is if you select the basic "family" package, which doesn't even include ESPN, CNN, MTV, VH1, etc. Its basically the networks and a bunch of kids channels. You get the NFL Network with the same basic "Choice" package just like ESPN, ESPN2, etc. The Big 10 Network, Versus and the NHL Network have also been added to that lineup over the last few months, at no extra charge to me. More channels. Same price. I didn't even know I was getting them, they just showed up.

Now I do also subscribe to the Upgraded Sports Package, which includes all the regional fox sports and comcast sports channels, ESPNU, MSG,YES and a few other things. This package costs me $12 per month.

I also subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket, as I'm a Seahawks fan living in Chicago and I watch every game. Before I had Direct TV I used to go to the bar for the game every sunday. I'd easily spend $30-40 a day on a sunday with food and drink and tip. So staying home on sundays with Sunday Ticket has saved me money in the long run.

I've been extremely happy with Direct TV since getting it years ago. I doubt I'll ever have anything else. Every now and again I'll get free ppv coupons in the mail for no reason whatsoever. They seem to actually value their customers.

Brian Westbrook is my new favourite football player after yesterday's play. Putting your team ahead of any personal stat in this day and age is almost unthinkable.

That said, my wife did ask me the other day why I haven't been watching as much football lately. But yeah, just losing interest gradually.

TxBrew said:

Championship last year even with my Spurs was boring as hell and the constant ghetto playing with trying to fake fouls by falling down called drained the game.

Click to expand...

With all due respect to the Spurs, They've been boring for their entire Championship run.

FWIW, flopping isn't "ghetto," it's much more of a European thing. The biggest floppers in league history - Ginoboli and Vlade Divac immediately come to mind - are international players. It's a soccer thing.

I have a lot of respect for the Spurs, but they are pretty dull to watch. It's mostly because of the personalities, though. There are some pretty good TEAMS out there now, which I'll attribute mostly to having a greater number of international players in the league. It's a lot less "ghetto" than a few years ago, at least among the elite teams. Most of the guys who are all about the And1-type showmanship play on crappy teams (not a coincidence).

I love college football, but barely ever watch NFL. When the Oilers left Houston, I never really recovered I guess. I love to listen to baseball on the radio, or go to minor league games. With the Round Rock Express an hour down the highway, I get to see at least a few games every year. I just can't watch golf or baseball on TV. Naptime.

I follow sports mainly as a diversion from things that actually matter.

Virtuous said:

I hear yah there brother! That and the constant rule changes, non-competition (no AT&T car in the nextel cup..), and the neutering and chastising of drivers. I liked seeing the guys get all fired up and ready to kill some one when they screwed up. Showed they had a passion for racng. Now they all give that beat puppy hum drum 'one of those racing deals' quotes.

Click to expand...

+1

long live the local short track. best racing for the money on the planet.

If you look at sports as anything other than entertainment then you're going to get upset. Why do we like our athletes drug-free but our musicians drug-ridden? (Does anyone REALLY like bands after they sober up?) What really matters is what kind of person you are and what you do with the money you're given.

The problem seems to be less that the athletes themselves are unlikeable, but more that their agents create unlikeable situations. There are no real teams. There are people who play together for a season or less then move on. Sports used to be a team game and players were known by their hat. Are you a fan of the team or of their logo? I'm a Cubs fan, but I can't think of many active players who have been on the team for more than a few years.

So I'm a Cubs fan, what does that mean? That one year I like Damian Miller but now that he's a Brewer I need to dislike him? Look at Football. Do you like your home-town team or your fantasy football league? Are you a fan of teams or players?

I love baseball. It's a team sport, not a two or three player combo. Everyone needs to perform both offensively and defensively in order to win. There's no such thing as the Brady-Moss combo in baseball. Or the Pippen-Jordan combo.

Basketball - now there's a crappy sport. No one plays Defense. It's all about who can put the most points on the board, not who can prevent the most points.

Superstar agents, hundred-million dollar contracts, human nature. These are what mades sports boring.

The NFL is the one that I'm still really into but the NFL network greed thing is really pissing me off. We don't need NFL games on Thu, Sat, Sun and Mon. Not enough good teams to support the audience. This and the comcast bickering.

I'll watch some college basketball during the season and love March Madness. College football if a game looks intriguing (need playoffs).

Baseball, NBA I may watch some of the post-season on but never reserve my time for these sports.

I find it interesting that everyone is bent out of shape by the whole NFL Network thing. I mean, ESPN is one of the most expensive channels for cable companies to carry, but the demand was there so they carry it.

Specialty channels command far less in ad revenue since they have a more limited and homogeneous viewership so they have to charge the cable companies more to carry them in order to make any money. And if you're upset about them getting to carry games, complain to the NFL since they are the ones that sold them the rights.

Cheesefood said:

Basketball - now there's a crappy sport. No one plays Defense. It's all about who can put the most points on the board, not who can prevent the most points.

Click to expand...

Thats why I actually started watching basketball again, when A&M got Gillespie- 40 point Tournament games- that was fun to watch. What is he doing at Kentucky this year....?

Cheesefood said:

Basketball - now there's a crappy sport. No one plays Defense. It's all about who can put the most points on the board, not who can prevent the most points.

Click to expand...

Pro basketball has lost more fans because of good defense than because of bad defense. No one wants to watch Detroit and San Antonio, two of the best teams of recent vintage, because they play a defensively-oriented game that can be BRUTAL to watch. Pat Riley's Knicks teams back in the mid- to late-'90s pretty much killed the league for the casual fan.

Actually, take a look-see at the Celtics. They've been the best defensive team in the league this year (by far), but they also are a lights-out shooting team that has, at least so far, been one of the most unselfish teams in the league. LOTS of passing, sometimes too much passing. If they continue what they've been doing, it's the best thing possible for the League; a relevant Celtics franchise that's playing a very fan-friendly game that's also very fundamentally solid.

When two (or even 1) team(s) play great basketball they reveal how flawed the game is.