Do you hate sports because you're not athletic, or are you not athletic because you hate sports?

[Maetryx]

Maetryx here,

Chicken and egg question, kind of. I totally hate sports. I'm not very athletic. Which (if either) causes the other? Personally I think I hate sports first i.e. I consider my hatred of sports to be ontologically prior to my being not very athletic.

 

[Vortex22]

I agree.

 

[pyonir]

i like sports, but i am not very athletic. i did play baseball and football though. but i still like sports...except certain ones, like the NBA

 

[boyRacer]

i like sports... but im not a sports maniac...and i sucked ass in HS. I went braindead and when they threw the football... i threw it back... cuz i thought we were playin basketball...hahahahahahaaha... man that was embarassing.

 

[Maetryx]

But I wonder. Maybe if I was a born athlete, I would excel at sports and enjoy them because of my inborn prowess. Hard to know. Any totally athletic people out there that hate sports?

 

[dullard]

I'm relatively athletic (got some 3rd place medals in high school state track - not good enough for college sports) but I hate sports. So I think the answer has to be that they are not necessarily related. Sports can suck and be boring even if you are athletic.

 

[notfred]

I don't hate sports. I don't follow sports, but I definitely dont hate them. Why am I not athletic? Cause I'm lazy. I do athletic stuff occasionally, but it's all solo sports, like skateboarding, etc. I don't have the time or desire to compete on a sports team, but skating can be fun.

 

[Optimus]

I like hockey, and although I lack the size for it, I have the right skills for goaltending, which is what I love.

I think you'd have a better chance of overcoming lack-of-ability because you loved the sport, rather than playing while hating it... you know?

 

[TomC25]

I never enjoyed team sports

I started with martial arts

then bikes

then skateboards

then cars and girls

then college and learning

got wife, kid, job, and house

now I game - it's a sport to me (Unreal Tournament)

edit - forgot to say I am average athletic and could be better with more focus

 

[Maetryx]

Even if they're not correlated 1:1, their might be some correlation. Like relatively athletic folks enjoy sports 80% of the time, whereas relatively unathletic folks enjoy sports only 50% of the time or something.

Then there's the whole question of defining "enjoy" or "love" sports. Does that count the people who never participate in sports but watches them on TV constantly?

 

[StageLeft]

I can't stand big professional team sports. i find them extremely boring and I really don't like them. I like to watch some other sports though (such as olympics). Personally I'm not particularly active or athletic although I do work out frequently but I've never been big on sports.

 

[dullard]

I think the real key is your father. Every sport loving person I ever met had a sport loving father (the reverse is not necessarily true). Basically if you grow up watching or playing sports then you most likely will love sports (but you might be very unathletic). If you grow up and sports is just something done during PE class then you most likely will hate sports (even if you are athletic).

 

[aphex]

I LOVE SPORTS!!! Granted im not that good at many, but i love the competetion and the added bonus of exercise...

 

[Maetryx]

<< I think you'd have a better chance of overcoming lack-of-ability because you loved the sport, rather than playing while hating it... you know? >>



That's a really good point. What if I *do* have some uncanny knack for some sport, but because I hated them I never found out? You're right. It's far more likely that people that suck at sports but love them will overcome their disadvantage, than that a person who despises sports will discover how talented/untalented they really are.

I've found that I have a decent amount of innate upper body strength through dabbling in weight lifting, or at least not a weakness in that area. I've also discovered that I can discipline myself into going to a gym a couple or 3 times a week if I have a particular goal in mind. But I hate sports with rules and other people with great depth. I can barely bring myself to dribble a basketball in the presence of other animate beings (i.e. people).

 

[ILikeSprite]

yes

 

[Maetryx]

<< I think the real key is your father. Every sport loving person I ever met had a sport loving father (the reverse is not necessarily true). Basically if you grow up watching or playing sports then you most likely will love sports (but you might be very unathletic). If you grow up and sports is just something done during PE class then you most likely will hate sports (even if you are athletic). >>



Is that a social causation or genetic? Are you saying the father passes on the "sport loving" gene, or just a "sport loving" education? I grew up without my father. I lived in a house of women: My mom, sister, and later also my grandma and aunt. Not that women don't love sports too (these didn't) just saying if it learned from the father, I certainly missed the opportunity.

 

[StageLeft]

I have absolutely no doubt that in the majority of cases dullard is right - it's social. Everyone I know who likes sports also had a father who introduced it to them. Everyone I know who has a father who doesn't like sports also does not like them. My father didn't like them, thus we never had any introduction to them. My children also will not like team sports. I'd like to get them into some sports though, but since I have no interest in big team sports I highly doubt my kids will either. I was into sports as a kid but always 'weird' ones, and never the big ones like basket ball/football, etc.

 

[dullard]

<< Is that a social causation or genetic? Are you saying the father passes on the "sport loving" gene, or just a "sport loving" education? I grew up without my father. I lived in a house of women: My mom, sister, and later also my grandma and aunt. Not that women don't love sports too (these didn't) just saying if it learned from the father, I certainly missed the opportunity. >>



I stated 'father' since the father is usually the person most active in sports. I actually debated being more politically correct in my post (but took the lazy way out).

In my opinion your athletic ability is more genetic than social. For example those people who are born with genes to be 4 feet tall, 600 pounds, have 1 inch long fingers, arthritis, and short feet generally won't be very athletic. They will do poorly in every major sport that I know of. However those same people may love sports.

Loving sports is more social in my opinion. Every sports loving person I know came from a sports loving home (usually the father). I think your lack of a sports loving family probably resulted in your hatred towards sports. Even if you had a perfect strong and agile body you might very well have never played or watched many sports when you were young (first few years of life). Thus you never developed a love of sports.

Edit: I appologize to all 4 foot tall, 600 pound Anandtech readers.

 

[Maetryx]

<< Edit: I appologize to all 4 foot tall, 600 pound Anandtech readers. >>



No problem. I mean.... doh! Oh well, my fingers are 1-1/4" long, so there.

 

[FuZoR]

hmm... im not athletic cause im damn lazy. I have taken one basketball class and gymnastics *shudder. The rest were Weight Training.

Only sport i can stand to hear about or watch is basketball. Only sport i understand lol. I dont follow it though.

Baseball - MOST BORING SPORT IN THE WORLD!!! I think golf is more fun to watch!.