Are Professional Sports Slowly Dying?

pearljammr78 · August 2019

I couldn’t think of better title.

I was a die hard sports fan as a kid. Loved and followed the three major US sports (MLB,NFL,NBA) Had subscriptions to Sports Illustrated and Sporting News and read them religiously. Now with all the drama that surrounds sports with off the field/court problems, contract holdouts, ridiculous contracts, CTE, super teams, no player/ team loyalty, teams leaving cities and just the hype machine that is professional sports and the horrible media coverage that surrounds it. (Yes, ESPN, I’m talking to you. There are more teams in sports than those on the east coast) I just don’t care anymore. I see people with team tattoos and their homes and or cars splattered with team logos and jerseys and I really feel for these people. I know sports are a fun escape but to cry and live and die by your teams win loss record just kills me.

Attendance is down, TV viewership is down, the Super Bowl commercials suck now. Is this the death rattle for pro sports or is there a chance that’s it just me.

I would love to hear from all sports and non sports fans. Thanks for reading.

CROJAM95 · August 2019

What u smoking?

go away? Yea owners just gonna let billions sit on a table

haha

erebus · August 2019

I don't think they are going away, but they are changing and evolving in several respects

society is changing, people want things faster, instant gratification. Thus the call for the speeding up of games (pitch clocks, less timeouts, different O.T rules)
People are consuming sports on so many different platforms now. For myself, I probably know more weird stats now due to fantasy sports leagues than from just watching and following.
Sports are also very regional. Trout may be the greatest current player but all I ever hear about him is that you rarely get to see him.
There are no longer any real "America's" team as the Cowboys once were. In Canada people get behind the Jays and Raptors because that is all we have. But I am a Twins fan just because they are much closer and I am sure it is like that for various fans as we are very spread out (and not everything revolves around Toronto ha ha) Hockey loyalty is a completely different story
You are correct with no team loyalty by the players rarely anymore, and I think the super teams are ridiculous also
In some sports now I admire players but wouldn't say I was a die hard fan of a particular team

pearljammr78 · August 2019

CROJAM95 said:

What u smoking?

go away? Yea owners just gonna let billions sit on a table

haha

Good weed.

I mean the desire and care of the fans. The owners will sell you poop in a team sponsored cup and call it team pops. It seems like besides the die hard few. Less and less people care anymore.

pearljammr78 · August 2019

erebus said:

I don't think they are going away, but they are changing and evolving in several respects

society is changing, people want things faster, instant gratification. Thus the call for the speeding up of games (pitch clocks, less timeouts, different O.T rules)
People are consuming sports on so many different platforms now. For myself, I probably know more weird stats now due to fantasy sports leagues than from just watching and following.
Sports are also very regional. Trout may be the greatest current player but all I ever hear about him is that you rarely get to see him.
There are no longer any real "America's" team as the Cowboys once were. In Canada people get behind the Jays and Raptors because that is all we have. But I am a Twins fan just because they are much closer and I am sure it is like that for various fans as we are very spread out (and not everything revolves around Toronto ha ha) Hockey loyalty is a completely different story
You are correct with no team loyalty by the players rarely anymore, and I think the super teams are ridiculous also
In some sports now I admire players but wouldn't say I was a die hard fan of a particular team

I loved playing fantasy. But never consumed me. But yes made sports more interesting and fun.

Glorified KC · August 2019

I was a huge sports nut growing up too. I even wanted to be a columnist until halfway through college. Maybe it’s the fact the media coverage is so diluted and you can”t just watch sports center anymore to get caught up on highlights. It’s all debate platforms now and they are all terrible. Plus, it’s so damn expensive to buy a ticket to a game or buy merchandise that there’s more value to staying home and watching than going in person. I still cling to my favorite teams, but am not a casual fan as much as I used to be.

pearljammr78 · August 2019

Andrew Luck-29 years old. Retires due to mental fatigue and football doesn’t let him live the life he wants. It sure let him become a multi millionaire and retire at 29. The job I have, I’ve been at for 10 years and still need about 29 more just to retire. Not letting me live my life I want either. Fuck you Andrew Luck. You spoiled piece of Shit. Good thing you don’t live in the real world. Fuck sports. Spoiled athletes.

Indifference71 · August 2019

pearljammr78 said:

Andrew Luck-29 years old. Retires due to mental fatigue and football doesn’t let him live the life he wants. It sure let him become a multi millionaire and retire at 29. The job I have, I’ve been at for 10 years and still need about 29 more just to retire. Not letting me live my life I want either. Fuck you Andrew Luck. You spoiled piece of Shit. Good thing you don’t live in the real world. Fuck sports. Spoiled athletes.

Well the difference there is that you aren't one of the best QBs in the world.....it turns out that it's a pretty high paying position. The guy can do whatever the fuck he wants. All the hot takes about Luck have been laughable.

bootlegger10 · August 2019

Indifference71 said:

pearljammr78 said:

Andrew Luck-29 years old. Retires due to mental fatigue and football doesn’t let him live the life he wants. It sure let him become a multi millionaire and retire at 29. The job I have, I’ve been at for 10 years and still need about 29 more just to retire. Not letting me live my life I want either. Fuck you Andrew Luck. You spoiled piece of Shit. Good thing you don’t live in the real world. Fuck sports. Spoiled athletes.

Well the difference there is that you aren't one of the best QBs in the world.....it turns out that it's a pretty high paying position. The guy can do whatever the fuck he wants. All the hot takes about Luck have been laughable.

Nobody is saying he can't do whatever he wants. We can all have our opinions on what he does.

pearljammr78 · August 2019

He apparently can do whatever he wants. Being happy about it? Not one bit. Jealous. Your damn right. But this is part of my argument with pro sports. Spoiled assholes who don’t realize how great they have it. He’s 29 years old and football is too mentally draining? Try barely making it or even making it as a middle class American by having two incomes. No money for travel and no time because you work and your partner works full time just to make it. And you have no options at 29 or 50 to retire. Yes I am jealous. But this is also why I don’t care for sports any longer. It’s a fucking game. And people live like it’s life or death.

erebus · August 2019

Meh, you can choose to buy into whatever you like .... Sports, politics, religion....

nobody is forcing anyone to watch , do what is best for oneself

some people support the Kardashians, Trump, whatever, different strokes for different folks, you get what you get

Barry Sanders and Megatron both retired in their primes

tbergs · August 2019

It's a sign you're getting older and become more cynical about something that just used to provide pure popcorn fun. There aren't any more money hungry a-holes or jerks than there were in the 70's and 80's. I think there are actually even more active players involved in community and charity work. The sports industry is doing just fine. Professional sports franchises are worth more than ever, player salaries keep increasing and the NCAA is the biggest monoply of them all; raking in billions a year.

pjhawks · August 2019

This might be the dumbest thread title and opinion ever put on the internet.

Meltdown99 · August 2019

pearljammr78 said:

He apparently can do whatever he wants. Being happy about it? Not one bit. Jealous. Your damn right. But this is part of my argument with pro sports. Spoiled assholes who don’t realize how great they have it. He’s 29 years old and football is too mentally draining? Try barely making it or even making it as a middle class American by having two incomes. No money for travel and no time because you work and your partner works full time just to make it. And you have no options at 29 or 50 to retire. Yes I am jealous. But this is also why I don’t care for sports any longer. It’s a fucking game. And people live like it’s life or death.

I believe the injuries and always being in pain is what is mentally draining. He is not being selfish. Fans who expect him to play when it's obvious the pain is just too much for him the fans who expect him to play are selfish. Football is a very physically demanding game.

pearljammr78 · August 2019

pjhawks said:

This might be the dumbest thread title and opinion ever put on the internet.

Thanks for reminding me I asked what you thought.

pjhawks · August 2019

pearljammr78 said:

pjhawks said:

This might be the dumbest thread title and opinion ever put on the internet.

Thanks for reminding me I asked what you thought.

Glad to help

bbiggs · August 2019

I don’t think Luck retiring is selfish. He’s one tough mf’er who took a beating for years behind a non existent o line. I respect his decision. I’m sure it isn't easy to walk away from the game you love, but when you’re battling injuries year in and year out, I can certainly understand his decision. However, I do find it selfish that he couldn’t announce his retirement 3 hours earlier, before I drafted TY Hilton in round 3.

Hi! · August 2019

bbiggs said:

I don’t think Luck retiring is selfish. He’s one tough mf’er who took a beating for years behind a non existent o line. I respect his decision. I’m sure it isn't easy to walk away from the game you love, but when you’re battling injuries year in and year out, I can certainly understand his decision. However, I do find it selfish that he couldn’t announce his retirement 3 hours earlier, before I drafted TY Hilton in round 3.

Ouch. So glad my draft is next Saturday. I consider Mack, Hilton as flex plays now. Ebron and Doyle gonna drop big time I’d imagine. I would of stayed away from these players regardless, just from the whispers we’ve heard about Lucks health and possibly missing time. IDK

bbiggs · August 2019

Hi! said:

bbiggs said:

I don’t think Luck retiring is selfish. He’s one tough mf’er who took a beating for years behind a non existent o line. I respect his decision. I’m sure it isn't easy to walk away from the game you love, but when you’re battling injuries year in and year out, I can certainly understand his decision. However, I do find it selfish that he couldn’t announce his retirement 3 hours earlier, before I drafted TY Hilton in round 3.

Ouch. So glad my draft is next Saturday. I consider Mack, Hilton as flex plays now. Ebron and Doyle gonna drop big time I’d imagine. I would of stayed away from these players regardless, just from the whispers we’ve heard about Lucks health and possibly missing time. IDK

Yeah I knew there was slight risk but at pick 36 I could have lived with Luck potentially missing a game, even though they kept saying he was unlikely to miss time. Oh well. You’re right though. Downgrade that entire offense big time.

Hi! · August 2019

bbiggs said:

Hi! said:

bbiggs said:

I don’t think Luck retiring is selfish. He’s one tough mf’er who took a beating for years behind a non existent o line. I respect his decision. I’m sure it isn't easy to walk away from the game you love, but when you’re battling injuries year in and year out, I can certainly understand his decision. However, I do find it selfish that he couldn’t announce his retirement 3 hours earlier, before I drafted TY Hilton in round 3.

Ouch. So glad my draft is next Saturday. I consider Mack, Hilton as flex plays now. Ebron and Doyle gonna drop big time I’d imagine. I would of stayed away from these players regardless, just from the whispers we’ve heard about Lucks health and possibly missing time. IDK

Yeah I knew there was slight risk but at pick 36 I could have lived with Luck potentially missing a game, even though they kept saying he was unlikely to miss time. Oh well. You’re right though. Downgrade that entire offense big time.

Thant’s a tough one too. Hilton goes from a WR1 to flex in my opinion and it’s not like you can just drop him. I’d probably look at picking up Emmanuel Sanders or Josh Gordon off the wire if still available.

josevolution · August 2019

Good for him ..

Are Professional Sports Slowly Dying?

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