Male emotional attachment to sports; compensating for lack of emotional freedom?

popey · 3rd October 2007, 11:39 PM

After listening to some guys sincerely express feeling depressed over the loss of their favorite sports team, I had a thought. Is sports fanaticism more prevalent among men than women the result of boys/men being oppresed from being able to experience, express, discuss or otherwise indulge in emotion about real life? Girls/women are permitted to, do, and therefor are equipped to talk think, anylize and talk about their feelings about themselves, their relationships etc. Males do not, and therefor sports provides a masculinely acceptable outlet to indulge in the emotion they are otherwise denied.

simple example: Joe can't tell his buddy Bob, "I'm feeling ****ty about the 5 lbs a gained, and fear that my gf sees me as less desirable." but he can say, "Pennington just really let me down today."

thoughts?

Trialbyfire · 3rd October 2007, 11:43 PM

I think you might be looking too deeply into this. Men are competitive so they enjoy competitive sports. I like certain sports too and would be upset if something happened to my teams.

oppath · 4th October 2007, 1:00 AM

To blatantly rip off Klosterman,

we are emotional with sports precisely because we are emotional beings. In fact, I'd say sports demonstrates not a lack of emotion, but how deeply we feel it. The reason we get attached to sports -- "regardless of their tangible consequence -- is because we assume some sort of emotional experience will accompany" performance and milestone. Those moments "embody ideas that transcend the notion of grown men playing children's games; these moments are supposed to be a positive amalgamation of awe, evolution, inspiration, admiration, and the macrobiotic potential of man."

Trialbyfire · 4th October 2007, 1:10 AM

'Tis all about the win, ain't it gents?

johan · 4th October 2007, 1:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by popey

Is sports fanaticism more prevalent among men than women the result of boys/men being oppresed from being able to experience, express, discuss or otherwise indulge in emotion about real life?...

thoughts?

Yes, that's it.

Woggle · 4th October 2007, 2:21 AM

I am not into sports at all. I would take a concert over going to the game anyday of the week.

popey · 4th October 2007, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woggle

I am not into sports at all. I would take a concert over going to the game anyday of the week.

by any chance would you say you are more self aware and more free with expressing emotion than the average male?

popey · 4th October 2007, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oppath

To blatantly rip off Klosterman,

we are emotional with sports precisely because we are emotional beings. In fact, I'd say sports demonstrates not a lack of emotion, but how deeply we feel it. The reason we get attached to sports -- "regardless of their tangible consequence -- is because we assume some sort of emotional experience will accompany" performance and milestone. Those moments "embody ideas that transcend the notion of grown men playing children's games; these moments are supposed to be a positive amalgamation of awe, evolution, inspiration, admiration, and the macrobiotic potential of man."

Maybe/sorta my point somewhat (that's commitall!) I too am saying men are emotional beings just like women. And sports is an emotional experience for sports enthusiasts. What I'm wondering is if the gender difference in terms of likelihood to be "fanatical" about sports is correlated to the gender difference regarding social oppression of emotional indulgence and expression in other areas.

halfarock · 8th October 2007, 3:21 AM

I’m very athletic and very emotional but I never watch sports. It seems to me that the emotional connection between most men and spectator sports comes in men associating themselves with certain athletes. Most men aren’t very athletic or hero-like but by associating themselves with their favorite athletes/teams then they can feel athletic/hero-like by proxy.

Either that or most men are really gay and get off on watching other men run around in tight fitting clothing playing with their balls.

Woggle · 8th October 2007, 3:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by popey

by any chance would you say you are more self aware and more free with expressing emotion than the average male?

I guess so. Sports just don't appeal to me and they never have. I like to go over for superbowl sunday to hang with the guys and get free food and liquor but I couldn't care less about which teams are playing.

Citizen Erased · 8th October 2007, 6:15 AM

Some men don't have things in common with their friends other then a favorite sports team. Therefor they speak about sports. Women don't exactly have thrilling subjects to speak about either.

Saxis · 11th October 2007, 4:53 PM

We don't express our feelings to our guy friends because the response "That sucks, dude." doesn't really help us. Neither does "Snap out of it, you pansy!" (Well, sometimes this one works!). But sports are generally out of our control, and yes, most of the time you share a favorite team with your friends. It's much easier to relate to the disappointment of a lost game when everyone feels the pain.

melodymatters · 11th October 2007, 4:59 PM

Well I think it's a very interesting theory !

I have a theory about why celeb watching is so rampant these days. I don't THINK I'm thread jacking, if I am let me know.

My theory is that in days of yore, people all grew up in the same town, gossiped at the corner store, over the fence while hanging clothes. Everyone knew everyone else on their street and in their town, and YES, gossiped about them.

Now we are so isloated, everyone moves, no sense of community, and we thirst for that.

So, talking about " britney being a bad mother" or "Paris being a slut" is basically a substitute for talking about people we actually KNOW like in the old days !

Trialbyfire · 11th October 2007, 5:09 PM

Why can't it just be a great time when you watch the skill level, intensity, play to win attitude of the pro-players and the beauty of the game?

It's not only a physical skill but the attitudes these guys display. If you look at the players in the bigs in any pro-sport, much of it is in their heads, who can win and who can't.

For example, there are so many guys who abound with talent but can't handle the fame and stress or don't have the desire to win, the killer instinct.

tanbark813 · 11th October 2007, 5:23 PM

Among my closest circle of friends most of the guys--myself included--aren't into sports at all. I don't think we're any more or less emotionally expressive than your average male.

I do, however, love to watch poker. But while I have my favorite players, I'm not emotionally attached to them or the outcome of a tournament.

Edited: Actually that's not entirely true. I love to watch Phil Hellmuth lose.