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I always felt that the point of playing sports was to do something as a team. Drawing up a football play to throw the ball to the open receiver. Score a touch

I always felt that the point of playing sports was to do something as a team. Drawing up a football play to throw the ball to the open receiver. Score a touchdown and everyone gets high fives. Or get the basketball rebound and pass to an open teammate for the shot. When you win you all go out for pizza and have fun. Or you lose and still go out for pizza. Playing a single player sport like tennis seems lonely just thinking about it.

naveen99 2y ago
One on one can be fun in basketball, ping pong. Problem with tennis is it’s hard to talk to your friendly opponent from opposite sides of the court. Team sports are more optimized for spectators than for the fun of the athlete.
mastazi 2y ago
I think that this applies to most human endeavours, not just sport. I used to produce electronic music on my own, as a side gig; it felt very solitary and I am thankful to be now part of a band where I can interact with other musicians who became also good friends; money-wise it is worse but it's not my main income so I'm fine with that. As a software developer, I have worked for a few years as a solo freelancer, it felt in some ways like what the author describes in the OP, moving to a "traditional" 9-to-5 dev job actually felt like a breath of fresh air, despite all the shortcomings of that type of job.
- lizknope 2y ago
  I'm in integrated circuit design and one of the most rewarding aspects is brainstorming with coworkers on a white board. When someone asks a question about a bug in the flow and you have the answer it feels good to help and vice versa when someone else helps you. Sometimes the job sucks when the deadlines are approaching so its nice to be able to complain about the stress with coworkers while getting a beer. In many ways a good team at work is similar to a sports team at least from what I remember in school.
  - mastazi 2y ago
    Yes I agree, I especially resonate with what you said about brainstorming, in almost every job I have been, I have found some people who ended up becoming my "brainstorming buddies", having such coworkers around is to me an incredibly important factor, so much so that it can influence my choices re: staying at a company vs going somewhere else.
- munificent 2y ago
  > I used to produce electronic music on my own, as a side gig; it felt very solitary and I am thankful to be now part of a band where I can interact with other musicians who became also good friends I've gone both directions. Made electronic music by myself. Then started a couple of bands in my 20s. Those ended when I had kids and moved across the country. Then I got back into making electronic music by myself in my 40s. I miss the cameraderie of being in a band dearly. But at the same time, the logistics are so much easier making electronic music on my own. I can just noodle on it whenever I get a spare minute. There's something lonely about the resulting music always being exactly what I could come up with, but there's also something rewarding about being able to really dig in to my own weird tastes and preferences without having to compromise with bandmates. I'm sure it would be very hard to find someone else who wanted to make electronic music close enough to what I'm into right now to be worth collaborating.
  - mastazi 2y ago
    That's interesting, we have gone through almost opposite journeys. I was in bands as a teen and in my early 20s, solo electronic in my late 20's and then again in my mid 30's, finally back to being in a band in my 40's. I agree with your sentiment relative to being free from compromise, in my previous comment I should have added that there are shortcomings to being in a band and the struggle over creative direction is the biggest one IMHO. At least over the years I have gotten better at quickly working out whether or not a band is for me, and if it's not I can get out of it before making too many commitments. As opposed to my teens where I kept playing, for a long time, in bands I didn't like just because my mates where there.
jarsin 2y ago
Tennis for adults and college is team based.

naveen99 2y ago

One on one can be fun in basketball, ping pong. Problem with tennis is it’s hard to talk to your friendly opponent from opposite sides of the court. Team sports are more optimized for spectators than for the fun of the athlete.

mastazi 2y ago

I think that this applies to most human endeavours, not just sport. I used to produce electronic music on my own, as a side gig; it felt very solitary and I am thankful to be now part of a band where I can interact with other musicians who became also good friends; money-wise it is worse but it's not my main income so I'm fine with that. As a software developer, I have worked for a few years as a solo freelancer, it felt in some ways like what the author describes in the OP, moving to a "traditional" 9-to-5 dev job actually felt like a breath of fresh air, despite all the shortcomings of that type of job.

lizknope 2y ago
I'm in integrated circuit design and one of the most rewarding aspects is brainstorming with coworkers on a white board. When someone asks a question about a bug in the flow and you have the answer it feels good to help and vice versa when someone else helps you. Sometimes the job sucks when the deadlines are approaching so its nice to be able to complain about the stress with coworkers while getting a beer. In many ways a good team at work is similar to a sports team at least from what I remember in school.
- mastazi 2y ago
  Yes I agree, I especially resonate with what you said about brainstorming, in almost every job I have been, I have found some people who ended up becoming my "brainstorming buddies", having such coworkers around is to me an incredibly important factor, so much so that it can influence my choices re: staying at a company vs going somewhere else.
munificent 2y ago
> I used to produce electronic music on my own, as a side gig; it felt very solitary and I am thankful to be now part of a band where I can interact with other musicians who became also good friends I've gone both directions. Made electronic music by myself. Then started a couple of bands in my 20s. Those ended when I had kids and moved across the country. Then I got back into making electronic music by myself in my 40s. I miss the cameraderie of being in a band dearly. But at the same time, the logistics are so much easier making electronic music on my own. I can just noodle on it whenever I get a spare minute. There's something lonely about the resulting music always being exactly what I could come up with, but there's also something rewarding about being able to really dig in to my own weird tastes and preferences without having to compromise with bandmates. I'm sure it would be very hard to find someone else who wanted to make electronic music close enough to what I'm into right now to be worth collaborating.
- mastazi 2y ago
  That's interesting, we have gone through almost opposite journeys. I was in bands as a teen and in my early 20s, solo electronic in my late 20's and then again in my mid 30's, finally back to being in a band in my 40's. I agree with your sentiment relative to being free from compromise, in my previous comment I should have added that there are shortcomings to being in a band and the struggle over creative direction is the biggest one IMHO. At least over the years I have gotten better at quickly working out whether or not a band is for me, and if it's not I can get out of it before making too many commitments. As opposed to my teens where I kept playing, for a long time, in bands I didn't like just because my mates where there.

jarsin 2y ago

Tennis for adults and college is team based.