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I'm always amazed by the number of 20 and 30 year old men who'd rather watch football than play it.

dmix 15y ago
I watch Starcraft games in my liesure time after work. I used to play it often. But I find I can get as much enjoyment watching pros, who completely dominates the game, play against each other. The difference is watching doesn't involved the mental effort that playing does. After 8hrs of design/programming, the last thing I want to do is think more. I imagine the required effort is the same for grabbing a beer and watching football on TV vs going outside and playing it.
- robryan 15y ago
  I can relate to this, with a lot of sports, both online and offline watching can bet better as you could never experience (at least not without dedicating a large chunk of your life to it) the same skill level that the game is played on.
keeptrying 15y ago
I dont think: A) you've seen a football player. I wouldnt want to be hit by one of those guys. B) you've understood the beauty of american football. Imagine a sport which combines the ferocity of grappling along with the strategy of chess. Its just an awesome sport to watch and comprehend.
- nooneelse 15y ago
  Grappling, and strategy of chess, yes. But you forgot the other third of the appeal to the American mind, the litigiousness allowed by the instant replay review and numerous rules with slightly different penalties. Each play is a sequence of strategy, chaos, lawsuit.
  - keeptrying 15y ago
    lol ... Yeah thats one of the negative points IMHO.
mechanical_fish 15y ago
Are you talking about American football? The sport where you need a suit of armor just to lower your risk of neck, knee, and brain injury to the point where you can survive a two- or three-year career in the pros before being forced to retire? I'll watch, thanks.
- clistctrl 15y ago
  There's always tag football.
  - mechanical_fish 15y ago
    Football without blocking or tackling is a completely different game. Might just as well just play soccer or ultimate. Which, in fact, people do. Those who want to poke maximum fun at couch potatoes always seem to pick American football for their examples. That's because civilians don't actually play American football, so there's relatively little danger of an embarrassing counterexample popping up. (Actually, plenty of teenagers play American football, but perhaps teenagers know better than to try to argue with curmudgeonly trolls on the Internet.) It's rarer to hear people try to make fun of Americans for not playing basketball or, god help us, golf... because in any city in America a golf course or a pickup basketball game is probably no more than ten minutes away. I know a bunch of middle-aged adults who play basketball. I know this because they occasionally turn up with basketball injuries. ;) Incidentally, I only just noticed an incredible folly at the heart of this article: If you sample teenagers, you'll find a much larger percentage of them playing sports. But a smaller and smaller percentage of the American population is under 25. Is it really such a terrible thing that so few 55-year-olds play contact sports? Aren't our emergency rooms busy enough as it is?
  - arethuza 15y ago
    Or Rugby - which would seem closer to American Football but without the fancy outfits and all the standing about. ;-)
    - robryan 15y ago
gaius 15y ago
Or play Guitar Hero rather than... a guitar.
- timknauf 15y ago
  But isn't that a much more active way of enjoying music than just sitting listening to it? Rock Band, Guitar Hero and their ilk have imparted an active sense of rhythm, at the very least, to millions of players. And in the case of the Pro Expert mode in Rock Band 3, you actually do play using real guitar chords and drum patterns.
cpearce 15y ago
I'm amazed by the number of 20 and 30 year olds who'd rather comment about how crap Firefox is rather than working on a patch to make it better!
damoncali 15y ago
Football is IMO not much fun to play. Lots and lots of repetitive boredom for any one player. But to watch is amazing. When it's all put together well it is art.

dmix 15y ago

I watch Starcraft games in my liesure time after work. I used to play it often. But I find I can get as much enjoyment watching pros, who completely dominates the game, play against each other. The difference is watching doesn't involved the mental effort that playing does. After 8hrs of design/programming, the last thing I want to do is think more. I imagine the required effort is the same for grabbing a beer and watching football on TV vs going outside and playing it.

robryan 15y ago
I can relate to this, with a lot of sports, both online and offline watching can bet better as you could never experience (at least not without dedicating a large chunk of your life to it) the same skill level that the game is played on.

keeptrying 15y ago

I dont think: A) you've seen a football player. I wouldnt want to be hit by one of those guys. B) you've understood the beauty of american football. Imagine a sport which combines the ferocity of grappling along with the strategy of chess. Its just an awesome sport to watch and comprehend.

nooneelse 15y ago
Grappling, and strategy of chess, yes. But you forgot the other third of the appeal to the American mind, the litigiousness allowed by the instant replay review and numerous rules with slightly different penalties. Each play is a sequence of strategy, chaos, lawsuit.
- keeptrying 15y ago
  lol ... Yeah thats one of the negative points IMHO.

mechanical_fish 15y ago

Are you talking about American football? The sport where you need a suit of armor just to lower your risk of neck, knee, and brain injury to the point where you can survive a two- or three-year career in the pros before being forced to retire? I'll watch, thanks.

clistctrl 15y ago
There's always tag football.
- mechanical_fish 15y ago
  Football without blocking or tackling is a completely different game. Might just as well just play soccer or ultimate. Which, in fact, people do. Those who want to poke maximum fun at couch potatoes always seem to pick American football for their examples. That's because civilians don't actually play American football, so there's relatively little danger of an embarrassing counterexample popping up. (Actually, plenty of teenagers play American football, but perhaps teenagers know better than to try to argue with curmudgeonly trolls on the Internet.) It's rarer to hear people try to make fun of Americans for not playing basketball or, god help us, golf... because in any city in America a golf course or a pickup basketball game is probably no more than ten minutes away. I know a bunch of middle-aged adults who play basketball. I know this because they occasionally turn up with basketball injuries. ;) Incidentally, I only just noticed an incredible folly at the heart of this article: If you sample teenagers, you'll find a much larger percentage of them playing sports. But a smaller and smaller percentage of the American population is under 25. Is it really such a terrible thing that so few 55-year-olds play contact sports? Aren't our emergency rooms busy enough as it is?
- arethuza 15y ago
  Or Rugby - which would seem closer to American Football but without the fancy outfits and all the standing about. ;-)
  - robryan 15y ago

gaius 15y ago

Or play Guitar Hero rather than... a guitar.

timknauf 15y ago
But isn't that a much more active way of enjoying music than just sitting listening to it? Rock Band, Guitar Hero and their ilk have imparted an active sense of rhythm, at the very least, to millions of players. And in the case of the Pro Expert mode in Rock Band 3, you actually do play using real guitar chords and drum patterns.

cpearce 15y ago

I'm amazed by the number of 20 and 30 year olds who'd rather comment about how crap Firefox is rather than working on a patch to make it better!

damoncali 15y ago

Football is IMO not much fun to play. Lots and lots of repetitive boredom for any one player. But to watch is amazing. When it's all put together well it is art.