Watching sports and playing video games: worth it?
Though it was a bit of a headache, our ordeal with a financial planner has helped us evaluate our choices about money and — at least for myself — choices about time. As with many other resources at our disposal, it seems that the more time we have, the less we value it; and with less time, interesting dilemmas present themselves. For many of these choices, it would be unfair for me to pronounce judgment prematurely; but a few things have been clear: I have been spending less time watching sports and playing video games.
Since I got married, I’ve stopped watching sports altogether. I watch a few random tennis matches here and there, and maybe bits and pieces of a basketball game. I rarely go to ESPN.com anymore (perhaps more as a protest of them hiding content behind paid subscriptions), but I do visit Yahoo! Sports once in a while. I’ve stopped updating my fantasy basketball teams months ago. And honestly, I don’t really miss it.
Watching sports, for some, is an obsession, but as for me, it is no longer worthwhile. I’m finding it harder and harder to care. My apologies for sounding cynical, but why should I care if the Clippers make the playoffs, if the Angels are going to be good this year, if the Patriots can win it all, or (I’m bracing for the backlash) if USC or UCLA will win a game against each other? If they lose this year, there’s always next year. Even if they win it all this year, they have to start all over next season. So why am I spending so much energy willing someone to win? Why did I care so much to see the hated Lakers during the Phil-Kobe-Shaq era lose? And to relate it to the topic of this post, what do I gain from investing my time in watching sporting events? One standard answer would be for the pure enjoyment of sport, the celebration of human achievements. But sadly, I’m looking for something more than just that these days. It’s funny, because I was once quite a basketball junkie and a big football and baseball fan, too! Heck, I even followed Japanese professional baseball.
So before I’m forced to re-title this post “Confessions of a former sports junkie,” I’d like to comment on the other activity I’m spending less time on: gaming. It’s a little different here, since I still enjoy some Friday night alien butt-kicking on Gears of War with Chan (oh how romantic). No, this actually is directed more at one game in particular, the one game that robbed me of three months of my life: World of Warcraft. I was promised a world of exploration and interaction, one where a player can have fun at any level. Instead, all I got were infinite, boring variations of “Go fetch 5 of these items,” put forth with the promise of attaining the next level. What is this, corporate America? Once it dawned on me how futile this was, I quit the game. And since then, I’ve looked at games differently. These days I opt for games with a fast learning curve and minimal time commitment. It’s also worth pointing out that many people I know who played the game have quit and are now seeking better fun.
I realize the sports bit can be controversial. If you’ve managed to read this far, chime in.
Filed under: Entertainment, General, Killing Time, Life
Comments
I was compelled to leave a comment after to see that the ‘better fun’ is dota hahah… so here is my take
sports – aside from the reasons you chose “pure enjoyment of sport, the celebration of human achievements” I can think of another important reason that you missed out and that is community. I think sports offer a great common ground for people to chat upon, to share interests, and to connect. We both didn’t go to big universities, but perhaps if we did maybe we will have the school spirit and cheer for our teams. I always wonder why college football and NFL is so popular in america, and I think its part of their tradition and culture… it use to be a family event that they come and watch… or reminiscing the days while they were in college and supporting their school…. do you ever wonder why MCA faculty come watch us play our HS bball games? I think its so engraved in their culture
but you are right… far too many people put too much focus in sports (like 3 hrs a day managing fantasy sports) and neglect families or loved ones… as for me? I cheer for the lakers and suns as they are just exciting to watch. I chime in to check the latest rumors… i would say now it is a hobby… and in the past it was an obsession
games – WoW is also a community… just like Second Life (which of course many people have made money off of)... I quit the game realizing my investment in it is not worth it… I had no problems grinding instances or farming gold… my spirit of competitiveness kept me going… however I begin to believe the developers are just out for the money.. by making it ‘longer’ to accomplish quests or finding that special uber item… by then the competitiveness doesn’t help anymore…
in dota I still have my small ring of community, but also have joined and compete in a league making this hobby a hobby+1. sure seems like a waste of time for many people, but for me… I enjoy it and I strive to excel in it… and thats what I do in most of the things in my life
think you know where i stand, at least on sports.
these days i try to keep my video gaming to things that have frequent and convenient stopping points, so im not likely to waste more than a couple hours at a sitting.
@Dan: Right on, I forgot about the community aspect, probably because I’m used to doing these things without one. However, I would separate watching high school games vs watching professional/major college sports. For me, the reasons for these two communities are different.
As for a gaming community, I think I wanted to join you guys on WoW, but I was so far behind it was futile. So I gave up.
Let me just clarify that I don’t think people are necessarily wasting their time doing these things. If it’s worth it to them, then by all means they should. I think I’ve just found something else to occupy my time.
@Bat: Same for me too, I need games that stop easily. No patience for long build-ups.
In my defense, I’m only crazy about UCLA basketball this year because if we come out on top of March Madness, it’ll be our 100th NCAA title. In other words, there is potentially some serious collegiate athletic history in the making right now…
Hey! 100, eh? I must say I did miss out on this whole collegiate sports mania experience. Going to a D-III school plus a UC that’s barely a mid-major doesn’t exactly inspire much school pride (athletically speaking). Just don’t go too crazy now :)
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