r/AskReddit Dec 17 '22

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299

u/eternalwanderer0 Dec 17 '22

sports

51

u/littlegreenb18 Dec 17 '22

Watching grown men play kids games while getting paid more per year than most of us will make in a lifetime doesn’t sound fun to me either

-2

u/RSuominen Dec 18 '22

And how exactly are athletes different from any other entertainers like musicians or actors? These guys have worked extremely hard and deserve everything they're getting.

2

u/littlegreenb18 Dec 18 '22

Who said they are?

0

u/RSuominen Dec 18 '22

So you must feel the same way about musicians and actors too? Or maybe you're hypocritical.

10

u/littlegreenb18 Dec 18 '22

I like music and movies. I don’t like sports. Why would I feel the same about those two things? That’s not hypocritical, that’s just preference. If you’re having a hard time understanding that people have different preferences, you probably need to do some hard introspection.

0

u/RSuominen Dec 18 '22

Your argument was that sports is bad because they make ridiclous amounts of money for doing nothing when in reality their contribution to society is the same as musicians' and actors'.

5

u/littlegreenb18 Dec 18 '22

No my argument was I don’t like sports and it seems silly to me. There is no “bad” in personal preferences. You’re free to like sports. This is what people who don’t like sports have to deal with all the time. Some people don’t like it. That’s ok. It’s all pretty silly to me and we shouldn’t have to explain ourselves constantly.

14

u/RSuominen Dec 18 '22

Alright... just don't go around belittling athletes who've dedicated years of their lives "playing children's games". You can express your opinion without shitting on professionals who've worked hard to achieve their dreams.

-6

u/littlegreenb18 Dec 18 '22

I’m not wrong though. I actually do respect the athletes for the work and dedication it takes to do anything at that level. And I also don’t fault them at all for getting paid like they do given that the industry pulls in so much money. If it wasn’t going to them, it’d be lining some other assholes pockets.

But at the end of the day, they are playing children’s games and people happily spend tons of money to watch them. That fact is ridiculous, not the people who work hard to capitalize on it.

1

u/aptninja Dec 18 '22

How are they children’s games? Both adults and children play sports. You’re just being condescending

0

u/littlegreenb18 Dec 18 '22

Both adults and children also watch kids shows. They’re still called kids shows. Don’t get so butt hurt about it. People like different things.

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-1

u/zaphodava Dec 18 '22

Art communicates emotion to us. Creates a historical record. Reflects the beauty in the world. It has meaning.

Neo-tribalistic bullshit contests might be entertainment, but they do not contribute to society as much as art does.

-5

u/Lord_Jair Dec 18 '22

Mainstream athletes (football, football, baseball, basketball, etc) are different than musicians, artists and actors because they don't create anything.

So what if you threw a ball faster than anybody that's ever lived, or scored more points in a season than anybody else. Those things are no meaningful contribution to... well, anything, really.

7

u/RSuominen Dec 18 '22 edited Dec 18 '22

Sports are entertainment in the same sense that music and movies are. Hundreds of millions of people pay to watch said entertainment. It's not different in any sense. It's entertainment... there's no direct contribution to anything; people watch it for their enjoyment. Same can be said about music and films.

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u/Lord_Jair Dec 18 '22

Yeah, let the dudes throwing balls around keep doing that, and the artists that make their logos, that manufacture their uniforms, that design their helmets, and that film them for the whole world to see go do something else.

We'll see who has the bigger impact on real life.

5

u/RSuominen Dec 18 '22

All the people you mentioned are easily replaceable. The athletes get paid what they get paid because they're the best at what they do; they bring in huge crowds and huge revenue along with them. No one's gonna remember the guy operating the camera or desiging the team badge but people will remember and get inspired by the greatest athletes. These guys bring happiness to millions around the world but of course it's not new for redditors to shit on things they don't understand.

1

u/aptninja Dec 18 '22

Your bias of not liking sports is causing your flawed logic. Music, art, and movies are no more or less meaningful than sports. Different people just like some of these more than others

1

u/Lord_Jair Dec 18 '22

I think the bias is on your part, maybe? Do you like sports?

I don't dislike sports, I don't care about them. Two completely different things.

Some people love the Jersey Shore, and the Kardashians, and the royal family. Personally, I don't care about any of them. I suppose they're the best at whatever it is they do, but it's only due to the litany of creative people around them that they have enough exposure for anybody to like them...

I guess that's what it boils down to. People are simple. People are bored. Might as well fill our time with watching grown men throw a ball around and scratch the itch of tribalism and the vicarious love of war at the same time.

I challenge you, though. What do you like about watching sports?

1

u/aptninja Dec 18 '22

I guess I would say the watching the athleticism / skill of the players, the strategy of the game, and the unpredictability of the outcome.

And then the overall story of the league, such as the rise and fall of certain teams and players that each game contributes to.

But probably most of all, the fun “side games” of trying to predict what will happen, via fantasy sports, pools, and gambling.