GAF - Let's talk about sports...

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Pollux

Pollux

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Let's make this the place to talk about sports. Any sport. From football to football. From basketball to baseball. From curling to quidditch.

Let's discuss them and share why we love them.

Share personal stories from when you were playing, or about why you love the sport you do. How and why do they matter in your life?

I'll start and share some of the reasons I love sports, and which ones I love:

I don't think I've ever found a sport that I absolutely don't like or refuse to watch. I just love sports. I've met lifelong friends through sports and have gotten jobs through talking about sports with potential employers. I know a guy who got a call back interview at a major law firm in NYC b/c he, and the interviewer, were both from Texas and spent their entire interview talking about Aggies football.

I love football and the strategy that goes into a well coached game. I love the execution and sheer physical ability that is demonstrated every Sunday in the NFL (Why did God make me a Bengals fan? I think he loves to torment me). I love watching the passion and craziness of college football (finally beat Tennessee!). It's just such a great game. Playing football on a lazy weekend afternoon with friends is a blast, combine that with beer and tailgating. Heaven.

I love basketball. I was raised watching basketball, and there is nothing (in sports) more important to me than watching my Kentucky Wildcats (I'm amazed at how many UK fans are on here). The game yesterday afternoon was one of the most exciting and well played games I've seen in a long time. There were clutch plays, blocks, threes, and trash talk galore between the different members of NCAA-GAF. The NBA is fun to watch because of the seemingly superhuman skill set present in many of the players. Playing pickup games in the gym with friends after school are still some of my fondest memories.

Baseball is a statisticians wet dream. There is no shortage of things to discuss when talking about baseball. In my mind, baseball is the perfect game. There is no time wasting, there is no fouling to try and get back in the game. You have to throw the ball across the plate and give the other guy a fair shot at hitting the ball. There's no getting around it, if you don't the other team gets on base. It's just fair. The one on one battle between pitcher and batter can get intense. The arguments among fans about players averages can get crazy. Such a great game.

Hockey is fast and brutal. The hits, the finesse, the skill. It all has to come together and when it does it's amazing to watch. Growing up in Kentucky we didn't have much hockey to watch but whenever we got together and played, it was an absolute blast.

Lacrosse will always hold a special place in my heart. I played from middle school until the start of college. I was a goalie and while it was absolutely miserable at times getting hit with balls flying 90+ miles an hour; by the end of each season my ankles, knees and elbows had swollen to about twice their normal size. But it's such a great game. Whether watching it, playing it, or talking about it. I've met friends through lacrosse that I still have to this day, years later.

Soccer is something I've always been terrible at, and I'm sure people on GAF remember my posts deriding it for how boring it is. I'll admit it's not my favorite sport, but seriously if I'm watching a match I'll just sit there and get mesmerized trying to follow the game. I've definitely developed a new appreciation for soccer over the last year or so.

Cricket is a game that try as I might I don't think I'll ever understand, but shit that thing is fun to watch for how excited people get. I think if I were to ever understand it, then it might have the same type of appeal as baseball. I'm probably wrong and Cricket-GAF, feel free to correct me.

Rugby is another great sport. I've never played but watching it on TV is always enjoyable.

If I've missed any sports, and I know that I have, let me know. Post why you love it, share it with fellow GAFers.

If you don't like sports at all, and I know there are GAFers out there who don't, post why. Tell us about it, and we can talk and have a rational discourse about this stuff.

At least in America, talking about sports is one of the greatest ice breakers between strangers. It's something that connects us.

Pro sports, college sports, high school sports...share your stories and passion here.

LET'S NOT TO TURN THIS INTO A MY SPORT IS BETTER THAN YOURS THREAD. THIS IS THE PLACE TO SHARE OUR COMMON LOVE OF SPORT, REGARDLESS OF WHAT GAME IT HAPPENS TO BE. OR WHY YOU DON'T LIKE SPORTS AT ALL.
 
Any sport is cool when you're there in attendance. Otherwise the only sports I can stand to watch on TV are baseball or hockey. Or curling. Motherfucking curling man.
 
We already have like 8 official sports threads. What exactly did you want to accomplish? Have people argue whether the Yankees could play football and beat the colts?
 
Alucrid said:
Any sport is cool when you're there in attendance. Otherwise the only sports I can stand to watch on TV are baseball or hockey. Or curling. Motherfucking curling man.
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Curling is the most mesmerizing sport. I've always wanted to try it but I have absolutely no idea where to do that lol


Lord Voldemort said:
We already have like 8 official sports threads. What exactly did you want to accomplish? Have people argue whether the Yankees could play football and beat the colts?
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Did you even read the OP. I want people to share about why they love the sports the love. Give personal stores, share experiences. Don't just talk about the colts vs. the packers or something.

Talk about the actual game and why you love it.
 
I love sport: playing and watching. But when I was away some of the guys I was with were 100% sport Billys. Watching darts and pool and... anything under the sport banner. I resisted though.

Mega thread or death incoming.
 
I broke my orbit and shattered my nose while playing in a NY State Cup soccer quarterfinal game. My fullbacks were terrible this game, and there was a breakaway every other minute. As an aggressive goalkeeper, breakaways are my forte. I managed to gobble up everyone going into the first half. With just minutes to go into half time, one final counterattack was mounted by the other team. The striker took the ball from one of my fullbacks on the defensive third and was by himself when he was 5 yards away from the 18. I came out and collapsed on the ball right as he kicking it. The ball went towards my hands and then into my stomach. His foot and then knee went directly into my face.

These are the results a day later:

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Just three weeks after my surgery I was back on the field playing in a Memorial Day showcase tournament where I played my mind out. I really think those 6 weeks of rest were totally worth it. I managed to haul in three scholarships that weekend.
 
As a Cardinals fan, I can definitively say that this past season/World Series run is proof that sports are one of the greatest, emotionally draining, joy-giving things that have ever existed.
 
I used to HATE sports when I was growing up. I didn't even watch it in college. Then my friend took me to a Laker game in 1993. I became a huge Van Exel fan.
I've been a sports addict ever since.
 
I've always excelled at sports - would probably have to credit my brother. He's 5 years older than I am, but we always played basketball, hockey, soccer and football against each other. He made me extremely competitive and pushed me to be a lot better. Came with a lot of bruises and I fucking hated him at times, but it was probably for the best. Played select baseball, HS basketball/football, but soccer has always been my passion.

I've been recovering from a knee injury for almost 10 months now and it's been very frustrating. I was basically the center of my soccer team a year ago; we were relegated and then I was cut in August. Now I've had to drop out of my current team since the pain is constant. Snowboard season is coming up and I have no idea if my knee could handle even a single day on the slopes.

Waiting on an MRI now... not too pleased.

As a spectator, soccer and hockey are my sports. They are, to me, much more exciting than any other (team) sport. I find baseball very difficult to watch, despite growing up playing it. And football.... I went to a Seahawks game on Thursday and was shocked/frustrated by the amount of long stoppages. Fuuuck it moves slowly. Far too much nothing.
 
Don't play myself but travelled around most of Europe to watch Copenhagen (football) and go to most of the home games. I'm also one of those horrible people who's mood is affected by whatever the result was for days, it's just a passion and nothing will just beat the euphoria I get from football, hell it can make people feel all warm in the winter months in a snowing Russia. Best experiences has been the two times champions league group stage the last 5 years, amazing experiences and crazy atmosphere at the games. Something as simple as the bus with the players arriving was amazing. Local matches can be fucking amazing too though.

After our amazing last season a lot of the key players left though, miss a lot of them badly. My favorite player is probably Linderoth, guy was a maniac at times but he was our maniac. So many good memories over the years

EVSrU.jpg


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WoodenLung said:
I'm also one of those horrible people who's mood is affected by whatever the result was for days, it's just a passion and nothing will just beat the euphoria I get from football, hell it can make people feel all warm in the winter months in a snowing Russia.
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This describes me too. I haven't been in a very good mood most weekends, to say the least, the last few weeks. :(
 
Rugby is an amazing sport to play so long as you don't mind coming off the pitch feeling battered and exhausted after 80 mins of the game.

Rugby at it's core is a game of people beating the shit out of each other for possession of the ball and a chance to score. At the highest level it's a game of power,skill,intelligence and stamina. At the level I play at it's about fun first and foremost. It is still highly competitive and if you're not 100% switched on you can find yourself being annahilated by a 6"3 monster who's just knocked you back 10 feet with a tackle.

At international level it's the hardest hitting proper sport in the world.
 
i used to LOOOOOVE sports when i was a little kid. soccer, cricket, basketball, baseball i loved the shit out of em

for some reason im not as interested in them anymore. my little brother loves football so i started to gain interest in that. i guess i love em when im around people that are really passionate about them.
 
Rugby is a sport I'd really like to get into. Both to play and to watch. Caught a bit of the World Cup and enjoyed it a lot.
 
Clegg said:
Rugby is an amazing sport to play so long as you don't mind coming off the pitch feeling battered and exhausted after 80 mins of the game.

Rugby at it's core is a game of people beating the shit out of each other for possession of the ball and a chance to score. At the highest level it's a game of power,skill,intelligence and stamina. At the level I play at it's about fun first and foremost. It is still highly competitive and if you're not 100% switched on you can find yourself being annahilated by a 6"3 monster who's just knocked you back 10 feet with a tackle.

At international level it's the hardest hitting proper sport in the world.
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My buddy plays rugby. Mainly recreational stuff but they have kegs of beer on the sideline and after the game the two teams get good and drunks together.
 
I don't know what my life would be without sports, definitely shittier than it is now.

Soccer is my passion. I loved playing the sport as a kid, and if I could get back into decent shape I'd love to play again. It's also my favorite sport to watch; the other day I went back home and watched three straight games on Fox Soccer Channel. Soccer is also the best sport to see live, I think, it hasn't been tarnished by television like other sports have. My idea of a dream vacation is traveling through Europe and catching matches at all levels. I try and support my local team (New England Revolution) but they're so abject, and I find it hard to stay interested in MLS sometimes.

Hockey has been growing on me these past few years, and I think it's replacing my love of the NFL. Games are fairly often, it's a quick, entertaining sport and in this area of the country there's lots of opportunities to catch games. My university has a good team, and I have three minor league and one major league team within an hour's drive from home.

Football (American) used to be my favorite sport, and I still watch every Patriots game, but some things about the sport really bother me. There's too much idle time, and I can't stand when there's a challenge and you just watch the replay for 10 minutes. It's also not a really good value proposition to see the games live, I think it's 80 dollars for the cheapest ticket at Gillette and you can't really see anything. And you have to deal with shit like TV timeouts...I think if there was an NFL highlight show, similar to Match of the Day it would be the perfect way to watch NFL games.

Basketball is a casual interest for me. I've seen some fantastic NBA games over the years, but I was fine with the lockout continuing.

Baseball is another one that's mostly casual. Unlike football I prefer to go to the games live; the pace is more tolerable and due to the frequency of games, no one result will usually ruin your day. On the flip side of that, I find it difficult to stay interested for the entire season.

I've been watching a lot of Formula 1 this season, and it's converted me into a motorsport fan. I want to see if I can make the Montreal grand prix next year, I think it'd be amazing to see the cars in person. I really wish it had more coverage here in America, hopefully the Austin/NJ tracks can help get fans here.

Tennis is great, I only really watch the four major tournaments but I'd love to attend them live. I played in high school; I wasn't that good, but once I got over my lack of ability compared to other sports I started to really enjoy it.

Dad played Rugby, I don't get a lot of chances to watch full matches but I think that it would be something that I would get into if I moved out of the country. Same goes for Aussie Rules actually, I've seen a few games on espn3 and it's a cool sport. Oh, and Cricket, I liked what I watched of the Ashes.

So yeah, I like sports
 
I fucking LOVE (ice) hockey. To me, there is no sport that is better than it. As said in the OP, it has the right amount of skill (skating AND stick handling WHILE thinking about your next move in a split second?) physicality, enjoyable highlights, classy players and fans. Goaltenders are amazingly exciting to watch in their acrobatic tenacity. Commentators are usually interesting with colourful personalities. Games are (usually) heated and, quite frankly, I have trouble comprehending how it is not a more popular sport. When comparing sports, I just continuously fail to see how anyone can think any other sport is more appealing. But my perspective is skewed as I haven't grown up in America, Canada or Europe.. As what will come as a surprise, is the fact that I'm Australian and live in Australia.

Being in Australia, we got overdoused with three codes of football (AFL, NRL and Rugby). I dislike NRL and AFL for the players involved and the terrible bogan fans. Rugby is in a class of it's own, with most of the fans seeming to be more mature by ratio with the game itself being more rougher, enjoyable and maintains a sense of class within itself. The World Cup this year was great fun to occasionally witness and a pleasure to see Australia go as far as they did.

The Hyundai A-League is picking up steam in Australia, the fourth code of Football so to speak, and I'm all for it. As low scoring as Soccer/Football usually is, the game is a lot more enjoyable. My home town team (Brisbane Roar) are the reigning champions and are still a rather powerful team in the league. I love a sport that manages to maintain a part of it's integrity while having a loud and passionate fan base (which is why it was such a pleasure to see the Vancouver Canucks in their last postseason run firsthand.. up until the eventual riot, where my pride turned to disgust).

Cricket is another one of our national sports. This sport couldn't be more fucking boring if it tried. 6+ hours of the same thing over and over, long pause, bowl, stumble, long paussszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZzzZZzzz. The fans are loud, obnoxious howling bogans (not all, just a majority) and.. christ, I think I actually have tears of boredom swell up in my eyes if I try watching it for more than 5 minutes.

Summary: I was born in the wrong country.
 
My sports love started with watching basketball. It was only recently, in 2007, when the Warriors upset the Mavs that I actually started watching. Bay Area is my home so I started following them closely, and still do. I'd watch at least 80% of the season's games, but I would only watch Warriors games; other teams didn't really interest me, for some reason.

Then 2010 came and the World Cup as well. I started watching the World Cup and loved soccer. I had played it as a kid and I liked it, but not enough to continue it. Soccer was such a dramatic game; all my friends thought it was boring, but I loved the tense feeling throughout games as well as dramatic finishes. The skill displayed by players when scoring goals was awe-inspiring. So I started following the EPL the following year and I am still doing so, and I can't bring myself to watch any other sport now. The constant breaks in football and basketball annoy me to no end, compared to the unstopped 90 minutes of soccer.

Now that the NBA lockout is over, I'll probably start watching some basketball too, but not nearly as often as I used to.
 
I might get some of you who disagree, but auto racing is very much a sport to me and it's one I enjoy greatly. I've been a fan since I was young because my dad would take me down to the practice sessions on Belle Isle before the CART races there.

"But it's just driving a car around for 2-4 hours! Anyone can do that."

Well, yes. If we were talking about a normal car driving at normal speeds. But consider that they're traveling at twice the speed of most highway speeds in the U.S., if not way more than that, where windows of opportunity open and close in milliseconds ... where the backend of the car can be lost and you have one chance to get it back under control and it has to be perfect or you're going into the wall ... where everytime you make a turn, gravity wants to rip your head clean off your shoulders and sling your body out of the car, wearing down on you lap after lap after lap. And this goes on for multiple hours. It's like riding a big, fast roller coaster like Top Thrill Dragster or Kingda Ka for hours. Non-stop.

It does take someone with great athletic strength, with knowledge of the tracks and how to react to certain situations (when to push the issue and when to back off, for example) and years of specific training/practice to be able not just to be successful ... but even to compete at the top levels of auto racing. Not to mention because of the speed element, there is a much, much higher risk of serious injury or death in auto racing than any other sport except maybe ... I dunno, boat racing or plane racing. These guys are most definitely athletes, even if they don't kick or throw a ball around.

Beyond that ... hockey, football (American, association/soccer, Australian and Canadian) and sometimes baseball are the ones I enjoy a lot. I also happen to like sumo wrestling (seriously), bowling, tennis, cricket (I finally get it!) and a few others.
 
I love playing basketball (gf basically calls it my mistress) but as you get older, whereas I used to be able to stay in shape by playing ball but now I have to get in shape and condition in order to play well (and fuck injuries- recovery time is a lot longer).. The other thing that kinda bothers me is that there are aspects of my game that I'd like to actually get better at (ball handling) and as an adult there isn't any type of class or practice that I can attend to get better at these things (last time I had some actual coaching was in HS- I'd kill for some type of adult bball coaching clinic that's affordable).
 
Sports is my #1 passion and hobby. Every morning when I wake up one of the very first things I will do is check up on all the latest sports news. I watch all sports, even bowls. Watching sports, playing sports, thinking about sports....I love it all.

When I watch sports, I almost always have to attach myself to one of the sportsmen or women competing, I find it hard to watch without involving myself in supporting one of the participants.

Also, I have found that playing sports helps me get over the disappointment of having the team I support lose/draw or whatever. I play in a semi-pro football (soccer) team and ever since i've been playing for them I just don't feel so attached to the pro teams I support.

I believe nothing is better than attending a sports event live. I had the honour to go and see Roger Federer play last weekend, I've watched him on TV for years but seeing him live was something special. Same goes for any sport I've gone to see like at the venue.
 
I really don't care for sports, never have. Now I'm not about to go into one of those rage rants about the subject and I don't take issue with anyone who loves sports but I do think we as a society (especially in America, goddamn especially in America) put waaaay too much time, effort and money into sports. We're talking a kind of devotion that rivals religion.
 
I thought this was another "I don't understand sports therefore I hate them" thread. lol

Anyway obviously looking at my avatar you can tell my favorite sport is baseball. Best sport in the world. I agree with you that baseball is a statisticians wet dream and also just looking back at the world series this year. The cardinals were down to their last strike twice and came back to win. The no time limit aspect might be my favorite thing about the sport, but if you ask me in an hour I might have a different answer, so much to love about the sport.

Also since this is a all sports thread and i have been meaning to ask someone about it. Is there a advanced stats site for the NFL? Something similair to fangraphs maybe?
 
zmoney said:
My buddy plays rugby. Mainly recreational stuff but they have kegs of beer on the sideline and after the game the two teams get good and drunks together.
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Theres a very social element to rugby. After a game both teams leave all the bad blood (if there's any)on the pitch.

We don't drink on the sideline though after a game though. We go to bars instead.
 
The fact that there are like five or six concurrent and pool-sharing tournaments in Europe for Rugby Union drives me insane, and I've just given up on watching all that BS.

Southern Hemisphere > Northern Hemisphere
 
I hate sports, but I can watch Pro Wrestling all day. Which isn't a sport by definition, but involves sports-like activity. And spandex.
 
"We like sports and we don't care who knows,
From shooting hoops to the Super Bowl!"

OK, sorry for that. Just wanted to get it out of the way.

Football/Soccer would be my main sport of choice. I am a lifelong Liverpool fan from a family of Man United fans. The reason is simple, when I was 4 years old the very first football match I saw on TV was a Liverpool game. They won and I've liked them ever since. Also, here in Ireland most football followers are fans of the English teams rather than the local teams.

Played rugby for a few years in school when I was a teenager. I didn't really like it and when I got to the year when it wasn't mandatory to play I stopped without any hesitation. Never really took part in anything else besides neighbourhood mini football leagues when I was a kid. Unless we count chess as a sport. I was good at chess.

American sports always catch my attention. Maybe it's the presentation (it's definitely the presentation) but the coverage and technology available for the main sports in America is unbelievable. I know ESPN gets a lot of flack from everyone but whenever I've visited the US I get hooked with watching their stations or any game that gets televised. I loved watching NHL and NBA games at Madison Square Garden when I was in New York. Went to see the Steelers Vs Bears American Bowl game that took place in Croke Park, Dublin back in '97 too.

The Olympics is that one time every two years when I somehow become interested in sports like badminton, curling, swimming, ski jumping and so on. It's one of my favourite periods to look forward to and the atmosphere in the host city during the games is something I've always wanted to experience. Despite the problems and the unfortunate death that took place in Vancouver last year, the second half of that Olympics was a blast to follow, especially Canada Vs USA in the ice hockey. I would love to visit London next year and attend the opening ceremony and a few of the events.
 
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