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OT: Is happiness in sports an illusion?

Is happiness in sports an unobtainable illusion?

  • Yes

    Votes: 66 40.2%

  • No

    Votes: 35 21.3%

  • It’s complicated

    Votes: 63 38.4%
  • Total voters
    164
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IndayArtHauz said:
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that I both 1) care less about sports and b. am increasingly cynical about their ultimate aims. Let me establish some priors:

1. I am a Christian of a sect who believes that true fulfillment cannot be found apart from Christ. However, I do believe there are many lesser joys in life that are worthy of pursuit. so to be clear, I am not equating “happiness in sports” with anything on an eternal scale.

2. In my life I have had multiple franchises I follow in multiple sports win championships. The Canes, 49ers, Spurs, and tangentially the Cubs have all won ships, with all but the Cubs winning multiple in or around my youth/adult life. I am not a Cleveland Browns or Buffalo Bills fan who doesn’t know what winning it all feels like.

3. I think the commercialization of sports, specifically college and pro, has reduced the joy of being a fan to the ultimate ends of the sport only. Namely, winning championships, which we already refer to as “winning it all” (suggesting there is nothing left).

The last point has harmed the sports individually and collectively, especially college, and turned them into 365-days-a-year content machines. Whoever wins the Super Bowl in two weeks will have less than 24 minutes dedicated to their victory, let alone 24 hours. The content machine will immediately kick into high gear, refocusing the fans of the other 31 teams on free agency and the draft. The NFL is no different than an endless scrolling app like IG or YouTube, it just uses your calendar instead of a piece of software.

Im pro-playoff expansion in CFB, but I’ve come around more to the thoughts of my late father: he hated the idea of a playoff. I thought he was a grump, but hes been proven right on a couple of things since the sport added the BCS and playoff: 1. College football would lose its local flavor and focus. 2. The significance of conference accomplishments would vanish (I remember his profound joy when Illinois won the B10 and got to play in a Rose Bowl. A huge deal decades ago). It’s that second point that I think reverberates so strongly with me now; nothing short of winning it all matters anymore. There is no “good season” that ends in defeat, not unless you expected your team to suck.

So the significance of *not* winning it all has never been lower, and, oddly enough, the significance of winning it all has never been lower. If you can’t find joy in lesser accomplishments, and you can’t really enjoy when you win it all, has the ceiling in sports not fallen dramatically? (I think this may also explain why data-driven, “I love the sport itself” type interests and media adjacent to those interests have flourished, but that’s another issue.)

I don’t expect anyone to really read this, it’s a stupid question. Besides, there’s always next year.
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All that really matters is your first sentence on Point 1.
 
I'll say happiness from sports is obtainable, but not the end all be all. If someone expects to be happy and content in all aspects of life all the time, that is very hard to achieve. Good on anyone that has that peace of mind because I wish I could have it lol.

I do agree that college football and the pros have lost their flavor and recently, I have been more frustrated than ever with the Canes and the Lions, but I still think back to the 2001 Miami team (I'm only 31) and how I bet my 6th grade teacher 10 bucks the canes would beat Nebraska and chuckle to myself. Am I always happy with my sports teams' performance? No, but I can remember the good times and that happiness far outweighs the frustration sports can and have put me through.
 
I agree. I stopped watching MLB and NBA as I've grown older. I find both of them extremely boring and monotonous. As for football, I'll watch my CFB team, NFL team, and call it a day.

I don't play fantasy football anymore either.
 
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It’s all up here. An amazing organ without which, we’d have an existence of a worm.
 
Dghustla said:
Being a Heat and Canes fan realizing how I took some of those truely amazing years for granted and mourned every loss and didn’t enjoy wins unless they were blow outs.

My perspective has truely shifted.

realizing that when the Heat won titles recently that joy during those moments is fleeting.

I really view watching sports as more of like enjoying a movie or TV that I’m more invested in and purely for the entertainment value.

I was able to enjoy the Heats final run vs the lakers even though they lost which before I could have never enjoyed a playoff run or finals run that didn’t result in a championship before.
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Yep, we who support Miami teams are spoiled compared to most cities .... magical years of the Canes dynasty, the big three era of the Heat, and even "rat" year of the young Panthers were just pure joy... thinking back
 
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Happiness is sports antipode. They were never meant to be synonymous. But we're men, and we have testosterone pulsing through our bodies, and so we watch sports to keep from violently strangling the annoying guy in line at target. We need it and for this earth to spin relatively peaceful along the ever-expanding universe, it needs us.
 
htownkidd said:
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I’m perplexed & vexed by this statement. Randy was a freak, no doubt, but bruh didn’t apply himself to become thee very best he could possibly be. As a Bears fan, he ravaged us…made it real personal for not drafting him, but Randy left a lot on the table for his career b/c he would just get in to these moods where he wasn’t going 100%. Let’s not forget his Raider years.
 
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IndayArtHauz said:
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that I both 1) care less about sports and b. am increasingly cynical about their ultimate aims. Let me establish some priors:

1. I am a Christian of a sect who believes that true fulfillment cannot be found apart from Christ. However, I do believe there are many lesser joys in life that are worthy of pursuit. so to be clear, I am not equating “happiness in sports” with anything on an eternal scale.

2. In my life I have had multiple franchises I follow in multiple sports win championships. The Canes, 49ers, Spurs, and tangentially the Cubs have all won ships, with all but the Cubs winning multiple in or around my youth/adult life. I am not a Cleveland Browns or Buffalo Bills fan who doesn’t know what winning it all feels like.

3. I think the commercialization of sports, specifically college and pro, has reduced the joy of being a fan to the ultimate ends of the sport only. Namely, winning championships, which we already refer to as “winning it all” (suggesting there is nothing left).

The last point has harmed the sports individually and collectively, especially college, and turned them into 365-days-a-year content machines. Whoever wins the Super Bowl in two weeks will have less than 24 minutes dedicated to their victory, let alone 24 hours. The content machine will immediately kick into high gear, refocusing the fans of the other 31 teams on free agency and the draft. The NFL is no different than an endless scrolling app like IG or YouTube, it just uses your calendar instead of a piece of software.

Im pro-playoff expansion in CFB, but I’ve come around more to the thoughts of my late father: he hated the idea of a playoff. I thought he was a grump, but hes been proven right on a couple of things since the sport added the BCS and playoff: 1. College football would lose its local flavor and focus. 2. The significance of conference accomplishments would vanish (I remember his profound joy when Illinois won the B10 and got to play in a Rose Bowl. A huge deal decades ago). It’s that second point that I think reverberates so strongly with me now; nothing short of winning it all matters anymore. There is no “good season” that ends in defeat, not unless you expected your team to suck.

So the significance of *not* winning it all has never been lower, and, oddly enough, the significance of winning it all has never been lower. If you can’t find joy in lesser accomplishments, and you can’t really enjoy when you win it all, has the ceiling in sports not fallen dramatically? (I think this may also explain why data-driven, “I love the sport itself” type interests and media adjacent to those interests have flourished, but that’s another issue.)

I don’t expect anyone to really read this, it’s a stupid question. Besides, there’s always next year.
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first - we like the same exact sports teams (cept the spurs, but I tend to follow players in hoops)....never run across that before lol
i'll comment on point #3 - fandom has massively changed IMO. Fans now are invested in the moment vs the journey which has changed sports IMO.
 
Rellyrell said:
I’m perplexed & vexed by this statement. Randy was a freak, no doubt, but bruh didn’t apply himself to become thee very best he could possibly be. As a Bears fan, he ravaged us…made it real personal for not drafting him, but Randy left a lot on the table for his career b/c he would just get in to these moods where he wasn’t going 100%. Let’s not forget his Raider years.
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Yep, I don’t give a **** lol.
He didn’t give his all, “He only ran 9 routes bro”, “he was lazy bro!”. I’ve heard it all, despite all of that and he still was the coldest and scariest mf in the league and that I’ve EVER seen on the football field. You are wasting your time with me on this I promise you. There’s nothing anyone can do or tell me he aint the goat 😂😂😂😂
 
htownkidd said:
Yep, I don’t give a **** lol.
He didn’t give his all, “He only ran 9 routes bro”, “he was lazy bro!”. I’ve heard it all, despite all of that and he still was the coldest and scariest mf in the league. You are wasting your time with me on this I promise you. There’s nothing anyone can do or tell me he aint the goat 😂😂😂😂
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Aye, to each its own. I have a love/hate relationship w/ Moss b/c I know he would’ve been the undisputed GOAT at WR. I’ll never 4get that Thanksgiving Game against Dallas, and as a Bears fan, I dreaded playing him. But, he leaves a lot on the table which is y he can’t be my GOAT. I’ll put Megatron over him, in my humble opinion. Not trying to change urs, at all; just stating #facts.

Lol
 
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Sports now are a corporate bottom line business at all levels more than ever before. Being revenue producing is more important than Winning

The Boston Red Sox ownership is a prime example of this. Trading away loyal superstar players (Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, etc.) so they could try to win with less expensive players.

This ruins the fan experience. Add to the fact that owners, coaches, etc. don’t stay loyal so players do the same. Changing teams constantly, chasing more money versus trying to win for their teams/cities/fans
 
Rellyrell said:
Aye, to each its own. I have a love/hate relationship w/ Moss b/c I know he would’ve been the undisputed GOAT at WR. I’ll never 4get that Thanksgiving Game against Dallas, and as a Bears fan, I dreaded playing him. But, he leaves a lot on the table which is y he can’t be my GOAT. I’ll put Megatron over him, in my humble opinion. Not trying to change urs, at all; just stating #facts.

Lol
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Fa sho, all love. Love me some Megatron too but…


Nah, lol

77289711-94C8-4FD3-A4D8-FBCF02A393AD.gif
 
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