Monday, November 16, 2009

Sports as Reality TV

Since I can remember, I've never really been into watching sports. Don't get me wrong, I like participating. At my peak, I was playing basketball three times a week. But watching sports for entrainment never really appealed to me. Sure I went to football games at my high school, but that was more a social activity. Even in college, though I went to most home Clemson football games, I was always a fair weather fan. This weekend I went with my older brother Austin, who is a true sports fan, to watch Clemson trounce NC State 43-23. It was there that I finally understood the attraction of sports entrainment. My brother said it best: "sports are like reality television."

It's an unscripted documentary of real events featuring non-actors. People like sports for the same reason I like my favorite reality TV show, Survivor. The more you know about the players, the more relatable they are, the more interesting the show is. Committed fans know the back story. Whether it's the new up and coming coach or the possible Heisman winner, it's the drama that brings the audience in. That said, my sports apathy probably isn't going way. It's the same reason I didn't start watching Lost until after they announced how many seasons there were going to be. Time is scarce and I won't give sports the attention required to be engaging.

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