By Yisroel Rosner, Staff Writer
Frequently, I find myself talking about the latest sports game amongst a group of people completely uninterested in live sports. During such discussions, it quickly becomes apparent that numerous individuals could not care less about the quirks of specific offensive schemes in American football, or even about which hitter owns the current highest batting average in the MLB.
Regarding sports spectation, I have often noticed, the disinterested party tends to both disparage the inherent value of sport spectation and criticize the individuals who engage in the pastime. Most sports fans are familiar with such refrains as “Why watch sports, when you can just play them yourself?” and “How can you enjoy watching men bounce around a TV screen for three hours?”
Both these critiques are inherently flawed and riddled with logical fallacies. The first question conflates playing sports and watching sports. It presents a false dichotomy, assuming the value derived from playing and watching sports are mutually exclusive. However, in reality, both playing sports and watching sports can take on completely independent roles. The second question assumes a highly reductionist view of sports watching, rendering it as people staring at pixels changing colors. This argument is akin to dismissing the importance of a classic book because it is just a bunch of atoms bound together in the shape of what we call “a book.” When discussing sports spectation or any form of entertainment, we should instead address the deeper human experience that we engage in when witnessing any form of entertainment.
The first value to watching sports is simple: witnessing the pinnacle of ability and skill in any field is awe-inspiring. Whether it be watching Bobby Flay, using his incredible knife skills to dice an onion in seconds, or listening to Beyonce hit a note you did not think was possible, we are captivated, if not inspired, by the spectacle of human achievement. Sports are no different. Watching people who spent their entire lives cultivating their abilities in order to put it on display is deeply rewarding, which can’t be achieved by going to the backyard to play some pickup.
Competitive sports, in particular, deals with various athletes at the peak of their ability trying to outdo one another, literally showcasing the best of the best. When a relatively average-looking 200 pound quarterback manages to escape a sack from an angry, charging, 250 pound, muscle-laden linebacker, you can’t help but be wonderstruck. Namely, people watch sports to witness greatness.
The second factor deals with the practical value of entertainment in general. The existence of free time necessitates the question of how to pass time, and entertainment fills that role. I believe that our leisures of choice are portals into unique, imaginative worlds. Whether being transported to Narnia by a book, to 16th century Italy by a play, or to the peak of physical ability by Wrigley Field, we all regularly seek leisure by escaping our own tedious, humdrum, day-to-day lives to something more fantastical. Professional sports is simultaneously a kind of fantasy we can escape to and a relatable world we can envision. It’s a parallel realm composed of individuals with otherworldly talents, insane skills, and unshakable mindsets. It balances high-stakes, surreal narratives, and arbitrary, pedantic rules into a format that is relatable.
This relatable escapism is precisely what makes sports so easy to get highly invested in. As its entertainment value lies within this tension between finite rules and infinite abilities, people can easily project themselves onto specific players and teams. This identification allows sports fans to vicariously experience the journeys and consequences of the sports world. Wins and losses for a fan’s team can greatly impact their emotions respectively causing disappointment and grief or elation and hope. Only a deep vicarious identification can make the fickle outcome of something completely detached from our practical lives, trigger such deep and varied emotions. This way we too can bask in athletes glory and success. We too can share in the team’s victory. Yes, we can also suffer great defeat and embarrassment, but the tradeoff is worth it when the alternative is being at the top of the world.
The final component that makes sports watching so special is the virtual community that a person links himself to in the process. Sports fandoms manage to unify eclectic individuals spanning age, gender, race, and religion, who otherwise have nothing in common. The mere sight of a familiar pinstriped jersey, with that iconic logo, and an instantly recognizable name-tag can immediately connect two individuals together. They may begin sharing their most memorable moments of fanhood, or effortlessly dive into friendly banter about their team’s victory chances, falsely betraying the impression of a lifelong friendship. One thing can not be denied: sports transcends boundaries.
Every sports team and its fans has rivals and opponents, and trust me, if there is a team you “love,” there is a team you “hate.” The sports world creates rivalries that we entertain when living the sports fantasy, but deep down the vast majority of people know it is all just for good fun. To sports fans, the greater community of people who follow a particular sport matter a great deal more than the people who follow a particular team.
Sports fandom is often misunderstood by people outside the sports world. They believe watching and playing are interchangeable, whereas in reality, watching is not just a sedentary form of playing. Sports fans spectate games because the experience has value in and of itself. Sports provide amazing spectacles of human achievement along with escapist entertainment. It creates communities while innocuously satiating our partisan instincts. Therefore, maybe the question should really be, “Why play sports when you can watch sports?”
Photo Caption: Sports games on a T.V. screen
Photo Credit: Unsplash