Games People Play

I love to play games. My husband and I spent our newlywed weekends with one of several sets of friends, playing cards. I was on a women's softball team for a short while, and my husband played football in high school. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I constructed a giant board game at my library (my third one is currently in use right now).

Yet, I find myself totally puzzled by the world's rabid fascination with professional sports. My husband just spent almost three hours totally engrossed in a football game. I can't imagine sitting still, doing nothing but staring at a screen, for three hours for any reason. (Okay, maybe there was the odd movie here and there that ran that long.) To me, sports spectating is a massive time suck.

I am stymied by the fierce dedication that many people show for their favored teams. Kids idolize their favorite players. Grown men and women scream from the stands and shout at their TV screens. Occasional fights break out between rival fans. Hundreds of thousands of people fill the bleachers to watch a handful of adult males (usually) hitting, kicking, or throwing a ball. Millions of dollars are spent on tickets, t-shirts, hats,  and other fan paraphernalia. Players earn seven- and even eight-figure incomes. Professional sports is big business, and I think that's probably why I despise it.

Call me un-American. I can't be the only person who feels this way, but those of us who object to this massive waste of time and money stay silent on the subject, because someone would probably egg our houses or key our cars, or worse. I can't help but think of how ridiculous it is to put such importance on something so unimportant. Imagine if all the sports fans of the world would pour all their money, time, and passion into something that really mattered--like education, or poverty, or homelessness. Imagine what our world would be like if teachers, police officers, and sanitation workers got paid what sports figures earn. Professional sports, to me, is a huge example of how skewed our society's priorities have become.

Okay, I get that it's entertainment. It's a means for escape from the drudgery of work and daily life for many people. But why does it have to be so all-consuming? I can't have a single conversation with anyone, anywhere, where sports isn't at least mentioned. Even my dad, who knows full well that I could care less about football, will recount the highlights of the Penn State game he just watched while I stifle yawns. Pennsylvanians especially are fiercely loyal to their Phillies. I'm probably the only person within a fifty-mile radius who doesn't own a team t-shirt.

I am not saying that people shouldn't play sports. That's a different proposition entirely. Playing sports is exercise, and encourages teamwork and cooperation. It teaches kids that life isn't always fair, that they can't always win. (As long as parents aren't breaking into fistfights on the sidelines.) Playing games is a great social activity, and sharpens our minds. I'm all for playing. Especially when I win.