03-28-2024, 03:41 PM
Today's Pet Peeve has been bothering me for awhile. It comes up a lot in the comment sections of various sites where I follow auto racing, but its applicable pretty much everywhere.
I keep seeing people say "My favorite league is a sport," versus this other similar league that you love which "is just entertainment." Its pretentious in my opinion, and always intended as an insult.
I'm pretty sure that all sports are supposed to be entertaining, otherwise they wouldn't invite an audience to watch in the first place. Its a basic truth that all sports fall in and out of various levels of favor over time. Sometimes you're on top, sometimes you're no longer cool. And many sports where the athletes do incredible things simply are not easily marketable or as entertaining to watch as they are to participate in. In 2024 we have unprecedented access to pretty much everything going on in the world. As a result everything is changing faster than ever, trying to keep up and keep itself alive.
The world and civilization are old, but legally speaking, our modern age is still pretty young. The oldest, official, still-existing sports leagues only go back to the mid 1800's, but for the most part didn't get started until the early and mid 20th century. Humans have been competing athletically for thousands of years. I guess the point I'm getting at is that we're in uncharted territory. It can be difficult for we mere mortals to accept the changes that take place during our short lives in order to keep these leagues alive in an era of unprecedented potential growth/exposure and financial interests.
"Are you not entertained!" -Maximus Decimus
I keep seeing people say "My favorite league is a sport," versus this other similar league that you love which "is just entertainment." Its pretentious in my opinion, and always intended as an insult.
I'm pretty sure that all sports are supposed to be entertaining, otherwise they wouldn't invite an audience to watch in the first place. Its a basic truth that all sports fall in and out of various levels of favor over time. Sometimes you're on top, sometimes you're no longer cool. And many sports where the athletes do incredible things simply are not easily marketable or as entertaining to watch as they are to participate in. In 2024 we have unprecedented access to pretty much everything going on in the world. As a result everything is changing faster than ever, trying to keep up and keep itself alive.
The world and civilization are old, but legally speaking, our modern age is still pretty young. The oldest, official, still-existing sports leagues only go back to the mid 1800's, but for the most part didn't get started until the early and mid 20th century. Humans have been competing athletically for thousands of years. I guess the point I'm getting at is that we're in uncharted territory. It can be difficult for we mere mortals to accept the changes that take place during our short lives in order to keep these leagues alive in an era of unprecedented potential growth/exposure and financial interests.
"Are you not entertained!" -Maximus Decimus