Following sports
Jul. 10th, 2007 10:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
julietI started thinking about this yesterday evening, when ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nou said that she doesn't enjoy watching sport of any variety, and that she doesn't find herself caring about who wins or whatever (which is of course an entirely reasonable position :-) ).
For the most part I would tend to agree with her. However, there are about 3 sport-type things that I enjoy watching:
- athletics (more the running stuff than the field stuff)
- cycling
- cricket
And I have also been known to watch rowing on occasion (although the last time I did this it was primarily a Pimms/riverbank-based endeavour).
I think all three are for different reasons. Athletics is a fondness inherited from my father, who would invariably watch it on the TV, & even took us to Crystal Palace for a couple of meetings when I was a kid. It's also clearly such bloody hard work, which I find impressive. Cycling is very recent & is entirely down to the fact that I understand what it is that they're doing. Riding 200k in a day is something I have a very good feeling for, although I do it about 2.5 times slower than the TdF guys (& actually stop for my meals). I know what it took for Robbie McEwan to come back like that in the first stage, and I find it enormously impressive. Cricket isdogrando's fault ;) & is the only team sport I've ever been remotely interested in. Test cricket is interesting and strategic and complicated - I think that's what appeals there.
The other thing is about caring who wins. In both athletics and cycling, I don't think I do, much, care who wins. I'm more interested in how it is they're getting there. I wasn't shouting at the TV as Mr McEwan put on the aforementioned sprint because of who it was; I was shouting because it was amazingly impressive. If watching athletics I will tend to be rooting for the UK person, but I don't mind much. I certainly don't suffer in the way thatdogrando does if (when...) England lose at cricket, although I am vaguely pleased when we win.
I am not sure how unusual this position is - isn't a major part of the point of sporting endeavours supposed to be about caring who wins? Opinions welcome!
nou said that she doesn't enjoy watching sport of any variety, and that she doesn't find herself caring about who wins or whatever (which is of course an entirely reasonable position :-) ).For the most part I would tend to agree with her. However, there are about 3 sport-type things that I enjoy watching:
- athletics (more the running stuff than the field stuff)
- cycling
- cricket
And I have also been known to watch rowing on occasion (although the last time I did this it was primarily a Pimms/riverbank-based endeavour).
I think all three are for different reasons. Athletics is a fondness inherited from my father, who would invariably watch it on the TV, & even took us to Crystal Palace for a couple of meetings when I was a kid. It's also clearly such bloody hard work, which I find impressive. Cycling is very recent & is entirely down to the fact that I understand what it is that they're doing. Riding 200k in a day is something I have a very good feeling for, although I do it about 2.5 times slower than the TdF guys (& actually stop for my meals). I know what it took for Robbie McEwan to come back like that in the first stage, and I find it enormously impressive. Cricket is
dogrando's fault ;) & is the only team sport I've ever been remotely interested in. Test cricket is interesting and strategic and complicated - I think that's what appeals there.The other thing is about caring who wins. In both athletics and cycling, I don't think I do, much, care who wins. I'm more interested in how it is they're getting there. I wasn't shouting at the TV as Mr McEwan put on the aforementioned sprint because of who it was; I was shouting because it was amazingly impressive. If watching athletics I will tend to be rooting for the UK person, but I don't mind much. I certainly don't suffer in the way that
dogrando does if (when...) England lose at cricket, although I am vaguely pleased when we win. I am not sure how unusual this position is - isn't a major part of the point of sporting endeavours supposed to be about caring who wins? Opinions welcome!
no subject
Date: 2007-07-12 01:50 pm (UTC)i) i'll make money out of it (this is the usual reason)
ii) nice backdrop (only applies to a few sports like cycling and occasionally golf)
iii) nice patterns (think of good passing in football, rugby, basketball, etc.)
iv) interesting tactics (agree cricket is good, but american football is surprisingly good on this front too, as is baseball)
v) if i care who wins. i have a football team and a county cricket team i "support" as well as generally wanting english teams to do well when i approve of the sport (i wish all our ice skaters and three day eventers dead!), but most sportsmen are loathsome individuals so i find that any high profile event is going to offer me a less rather more loathsome option to get behind.
today i'll be watching basketball for the money, cycling for the backdrop and the tactics, rugby league for the patterns and the money and the impressive courage on display and baseball for the money (i've watched so much baseball that i'm rather beyond being impressed by the tactics).
for me the financial imperative is by far the greatest. would i really be at home watching under-19 basketball at lunchtime otherwise? nope. i'd have a job like you....