Oftentimes after the latest big sports game, the infectious passion radiating off the fans after a win cannot help but make someone who does not partake in the viewing of sports a little isolated.
So, what about the folks who do not watch sports on a consistent basis; are they a minority in a college full of sports-crazed fans? Not only was it the goal to find this out, but also to discover what the folks who did not watch sports do instead in their free time.
To gauge just how many folks are sports enjoyers, a survey of some Bucks students was conducted in the cafeteria and asked questions regarding the frequency of sports watching. Out of 40 people, 26 responded saying they did not watch sports at least once a week, while 14 said they did, resulting in a 35 percent to 65 percent split in favor of those who do not watch sports consistently.
For Bucks students who responded “yes,” they were asked how often they partook in the viewing of sports. Answers varied between once and three times a week and included all sorts of sports such as basketball, UFC, baseball, and basketball to name a few. Major Philadelphia teams such as the Phillies and the Eagles were significant contributors to this. It is also interesting to note that a lot of sports watchers also said that they grew up watching sports with their families, which likely results in a lifelong love for sports and frequent viewership of games.
The interviewees who responded “no” were asked what alternative activities they did instead of watching sports. Answers consisted of activities such as reading books, watching other digital content such as movies, TV shows, YouTube videos, documentaries on subscription-based networks, and spending time with family.
Jakob Sinclair, a 21-year-old secondary education history student from Philadelphia, explained that he avoids watching sports, noticing a trend between him watching sports and the team he roots for unfortunately losing. Even though he does wish to watch sports, he avoids doing so as not to jinx his team.
Instead, Jakob watches documentaries and enjoys collecting antiques for his personal collection. He talks about how sports create a sense of community that is enjoyable to see. The superstition of not watching a big game only adds to the magic of what makes the sports so fun to follow.
Katie Alexindrenko, a 19-year-old environmental science major from Bucks County, says school takes up a lot of her time, meaning she doesn’t have time to go out of her way to watch sports herself often. She also describes herself as being a part of a foreign family, resulting in her never growing up watching sports and getting attached to the local teams.
She does, however, spend time watching sports with her boyfriend and his family. Alexindrenko describes other activities she enjoys doing, including reading and watching movies and TV shows. She says she watches some big games such as the Olympics and the big sporting events due to the energy they create.
Even though the impassioned sports fans may be more vocal than the folks who do not watch sports regularly, there are still many people who are more passionate about other hobbies and activities instead, or even folks who simply prioritize other things over sporting events. Just because one is not a consistent sports fan does not mean that one cannot enjoy other activities and vice versa.
Anyone can go and enjoy the wondrous rollercoaster of emotions associated with the magic of sports; whether this is done regularly is irrelevant. It is likely due to the commonality of being a sports watcher that frequent conversations about it occur, leaving people with other hobbies less opportunities to communicate with like-minded people about the hobbies they partake in.
So, no matter how many or few people you believe to be fans of a certain hobby, do feel free to share that passion with others. One may discover there are more compatible people than originally anticipated.