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While I am not a big sports fan (except for one particular sport) I want to chime on on what I thought this article would be about, but wasn't: Sports are valu
by redwood 14y ago
While I am not a big sports fan (except for one particular sport) I want to chime on on what I thought this article would be about, but wasn't:
Sports are valuable to know about, because so many peers, especially in other functions, value them. It's not that you need to even devote time to sports, or to know anything. It's that posturing that shows you respect others' interests in sports, is valuable.
In fact this applies to any set of interets, however mainstream, nerdy, alpha, or etc: whether sports, videogames, brewing, or bee-keeping. Always show interest and genuine respect for others' interests, instead of dismissing them.
I'll never forget a guy in high school who overheard me talking about a computer game... he said "Oh... you're still playing games? I stopped in middle school!". I've thought of him as an ass hole ever since. And it wasn't that he didn't play games (or enjoy sports, or etc): it was that he was arrogant and dismissive of my interest and put me down indirectly as a result.
Never be arrogant and dismissive of others' interests: show appreciation and respect... sometimes it helps to just genuinely look for what others enjoy. If you can't find it: pretend! You'll find enormous benefit in terms of how much others like you as a result: and this is important in any group. Especially for something as massively popular as sports, don't fall into the trap.
- rayiner 14y agoYes! Especially if you're the enterprising type, being able to relate to people's interest, and sports is a common interest, is an extremely useful life skill. I'm not a huge sports fan, but I've picked a lot up by osmosis since I did ACC UG/Big 10 grad school. I can't tell you how often an interviewer has lightened up and become more engaged after I brought up his alma mater's football team. It's not just for show. It's social lubricant. It allows you to feel each other out while talking about a relatively neutral topic that neither of you have a big investment into, to cut down the tension involved in talking about the business discussion at hand.
- redwood 14y agoSpot on: in fact you bring up another great point... local knowledge is a wonderful thing to share and when someone feels you know something about their special place, they're always impressed! The film Lincoln did a good job of showing old Abe doing that quite a bit in order to gain favor :)
- csense 14y ago> It's not that you need to even devote time to sports, or to know anything. It's that posturing that shows you respect others' interests in sports, is valuable. This makes my head hurt. Pretending to like something you don't actually like in order to make other people like you seems like: 1. It's a lot of effort 2. It's a sad commentary on your intrinsic interestingness as a person 3. It's slightly unethical because you're misrepresenting yourself. Extroverts who are able to understand these social concepts intuitively are weird.
- redwood 14y agoI'm very surprised to hear this perspective. It's common respect: showing others respect for what makes them tick just as you'd like they to do to you. Let me ask you this: if you were talking to a stranger and mentioned a passion of your's (I don't know, maybe astronomy, say?) would you feel better if that person looked interested and said "cool!" or if they shook their head and said "ehh that sounds like a waste of time"? It's actually easier to just try and empathise with others' perspectives most of the time, and has benefits. Not to mention it makes a more harmonious society. I guess I'm weird for respecting others' interests that I don't see intrinsically as something I'd spend my own time on.