The Camouflage of Sports

I don't know that I would claim to be a big fan of sports. I follow football, hockey, and baseball with a casual interest. I have my favorite teams, mostly picked for regional reasons (Canucks, Seahawks, and Mariners) or nostalgia (Oilers, Cowboys, and Phillies). I dabble in some fantasy league stuff, but not for any money or big prizes. Other sports like tennis, golf and soccer also ping against my knowledge radar. In general, though, it all happens mostly at a step removed from any kind of real passion.

I was drawn to sports mostly as a thing to talk with other people about. When you're passionate interests are history, comic books and role-playing games, there's a real lack of common ground with people outside those circles. Given the size of those circles, that means you're lacking common ground with a lot of people. I found that being able to talk about last night's game, or how a team was performing, provided a safe and comfortable way to connect with people at work. There's a kind of camouflage it provides to keep people from seeing you as strange.

Even with a casual interest, though, I've discovered things I consider interesting. For one, everyone has a sport they absolutely hate or consider boring… but that same sport will be someone else's passion. I've often discovered that someone's interest in a sport is directly related to their understanding of the underlying game-play of the sport. For example, a lot of people consider baseball rather dull. I often find, though, when I start explaining the strategy of the pitchers versus the batter, and how what looks like just some guy throwing a ball at a guy with a stick is actually a complex psychological matchup… some people will get interested. Watching a baseball game with them later finds them often discovering that what previously looked dull is actually exciting.

That's what happened to me with golf, which is just one of those sports that seem so dull. My co-worker, Kelly, was an avid golfer and started describing the decisions and processes involved in the game and suddenly I could watch Tiger Woods teeing off and get excited when you made a perfect drive. Or, conversely, recognize when someone else made a less than perfect drive and why. It sparked an interest in golf in me that allows me to watch the sport on television and not fall asleep.

I've taken that lesson and started to apply it to other hobbies people have, as well. I think a lot of things that strike me as dull or uninteresting appear that way because I am ignorant about them. It is easy to confuse my ignorance with some kind of privileged value judgment, and to believe that my feelings about someone else's interests are truer than their own feelings. While I'm not always able to manage it immediately, I have taken to trying very hard to step back from my initial reactions and to take a little time to become informed about what they seem passionate about so I can understand and accept.