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Sport exists because it's a simple human desire to push oneself and compete in entertaining physical games and activities. That explains why people play sports

by panic 10y ago

Sport exists because it's a simple human desire to push oneself and compete in entertaining physical games and activities. That explains why people play sports, but I don't think it explains why so many people watch them. Most sports fans don't play the sport themselves.

truth_sentinell 10y ago
I suppose it's because they project themselves upon the competitors. They use the sports to feel they win something that otherwise they couldn't get. That's what I think as a previous sport fan.
Nicholas_C 10y ago
They watch because they have a desire to see humans push themselves to the limit. Have you ever watched someone live stream a video game or a coding session? Plus, when you're 60 and out of shape you can't go out and play a game of football, watching football is as close as you can get to doing it.
- semi-extrinsic 10y ago
  > Plus, when you're 60 and out of shape you can't go out and play a game of football Sure you can. There is nothing stopping an out of shape (but otherwise healthy) 60 year old person from going out and playing touch football. I mean, they might get dirty, sweaty and have aches or cramps the following days, but hey, that's life.
  - random_rr 10y ago
    Touch football is not the football that those 60 year olds would be watching :) you're arguing a different point. I enjoy running, and I enjoy watching the 100m, even though I don't run 100m regularly. It's nice to see someone who is world class in that field.
ArkyBeagle 10y ago
I watch only college football, ad I watch it because it becomes art in places. It's also long habit from decades past.
mmcconnell1618 10y ago
I used to wonder about why some people get so into sports just by watching but then I read about "mirror neurons" in the brain. When one human watches another succeed, fail, jump for joy, cower in terror, etc, the mirror neurons in the brain give the person watching part of that sensation too. I suspect that some people have much stronger mirror neurons which would have the effect that when their favorite team scores a touchdown, they actually feel as though they had participated in the victory. One hypothesis is that mirror neurons developed as a way to help create social bonds through empathy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_neuron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_neuron
- digi_owl 10y ago
  It may also feed the old hind brain's pack instincts. Especially for sports that can be divided into local, regional and national tiers. It becomes something of a clan system, where you squabble locally, but support each other regionally and nationally when a outside "threat" shows up.

by panic 10y ago

truth_sentinell 10y ago

I suppose it's because they project themselves upon the competitors. They use the sports to feel they win something that otherwise they couldn't get. That's what I think as a previous sport fan.

Nicholas_C 10y ago

They watch because they have a desire to see humans push themselves to the limit. Have you ever watched someone live stream a video game or a coding session? Plus, when you're 60 and out of shape you can't go out and play a game of football, watching football is as close as you can get to doing it.

semi-extrinsic 10y ago
> Plus, when you're 60 and out of shape you can't go out and play a game of football Sure you can. There is nothing stopping an out of shape (but otherwise healthy) 60 year old person from going out and playing touch football. I mean, they might get dirty, sweaty and have aches or cramps the following days, but hey, that's life.
- random_rr 10y ago
  Touch football is not the football that those 60 year olds would be watching :) you're arguing a different point. I enjoy running, and I enjoy watching the 100m, even though I don't run 100m regularly. It's nice to see someone who is world class in that field.

ArkyBeagle 10y ago

I watch only college football, ad I watch it because it becomes art in places. It's also long habit from decades past.

mmcconnell1618 10y ago

I used to wonder about why some people get so into sports just by watching but then I read about "mirror neurons" in the brain. When one human watches another succeed, fail, jump for joy, cower in terror, etc, the mirror neurons in the brain give the person watching part of that sensation too. I suspect that some people have much stronger mirror neurons which would have the effect that when their favorite team scores a touchdown, they actually feel as though they had participated in the victory. One hypothesis is that mirror neurons developed as a way to help create social bonds through empathy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_neuron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_neuron

digi_owl 10y ago
It may also feed the old hind brain's pack instincts. Especially for sports that can be divided into local, regional and national tiers. It becomes something of a clan system, where you squabble locally, but support each other regionally and nationally when a outside "threat" shows up.