Sport and everyday life

[Kev]

Hi Guys,

My name is Kev, I am a lecturer and academic researcher from the University of Teesside, England - this is my first post on your unique forum. My main area of study is â??Soccer Fandomâ?? and the effect that it has on peoples everyday lives. So far, I have been concentrating on the fans themselves, but some interesting findings have changed my focus. Although stories of fandom are important for social commentary, it is imperative to remember that the many people do not like sports (as this website clearly states), but rather have sports imposed upon them. Such stories are worthy of academic attention, but are often ignored.

At the moment I am attempting to construct an online questionnaire to give a voice to those people who do not like sport and for instance - dread the beginning of the new football season for a multitude of reasons. For this I require your help in terms of sharing experiences on this thread. Any information / experiences that you may offer will be much appreciated. Once the survey is complete, I will of course post it on this site for you to contribute to and I will share any results with you.

General topics for further comment:
How does sport interfere with your everyday lives?
Does it affect your relationships with a partner, family, friends or work colleagues?
Would your partner rather spend money on â??the sportâ?? than you?
Does a lack of knowledge about sports exclude you from everyday conversations? Do you ever feel the need to feign interest in it?
What do you dislike about sports fans?
What does the start of a new sport season signify for you?
Why do you think sport is important to some people?
What do you think about the commercial element of sport? Waste of money?
Match day traffic and other disturbances to your everyday life patterns.
The infiltration of sport on TV.

I know that the areas detailed above are vast and diverse but any help would be much appreciated. Also - please draw my attention to any areas that you think are worthy of attention.

Many thanks - Kev.

[Indurrago]

Welcome to sportssuck. I see the researching the "other side" has caught your interest. You asked some very good questions all which you could write a pretty decent essay around each. Just got done doing a cause essay(my topic was food-poisoning), so I still have that mindset. Some things about sports affect people others more greatly than others. Most of these question are personal so I can't help to ask questions about a bigger picture which I think that's what your eventually leading up to. Questions like how does sports affect a population, city, state, funding, and etc. What is the global view of athletics and athletes? What programs are cut because the mayor of a city thinks they need new stadium? Of course its easy to go on but thanks for ideas. Lol, got another paper to write.

[Kev]

Hi. Thanks for your reply. Yes, its very interesting stuff. I guess, rather than the bigger picture - which you made reference to - I am more interested in personal experiences and the effect that sport has on people as they attempt to live day-to-day. The idea is to start from this perspective, collecting a multitude of personal experiences and noting common themes which seem important to the majority of people.

My angle here is to rebalance the one-sided literature of fan studies. They often note the positively charged aspect of fandom and its effect on society - but I would argue that academics should also look to the other end of the spectrum [to people who are strongly against sports, or at least see it in less positive terms] - So let me call out again - If you are one of many people who this applies to please get in touch and have your say.

Any views (however small or even if you consider them insignificant) will be much appreciated.

Cheers.

Kevin.

[Indurrago]

Hmmm...personal experiences with sports huh? We've all got our fair share of those. Have you read the letters and articles here? There suprisingly interesting and revealing. Oh, you should read the introductions of members in the forum as well. My experience with sports? They started pretty well, I was pretty active as a child during grade school. And I was one of the fastest runners, there was no track team in my school . After I reach junior high my interest in sports detoriated I became more interested in computer tech. I took up typing and keyboarding classes, and several computer applications classes. The only two sports I had any tiny interest in were tennis and basketball but only because my parents enjoyed them. By the time I reached highschool my interest in highschool had reach and all time low. This is the period of my life in which I my disinterest in them grew into almost hatred.

[Kev]

Yeh... those articles are great. I've read some and printed others out. In terms of your situation - did you feel pressured to take part in sports by your family / friends. How did you go from a sports participant to a hater of sport? Was it simply a case of finding a new and more suited activity (technological stuff).

What do you hate most about sport?
Do you hate all sports or only some?

Ps: Does anyone out their live with a fanatical sports fan? What strain does this place on your relationship?