Sports You Hate to Love

[darius]

That's great, everybody hates golf and NASCAR. You're contributing to a culture of negativity, and it sickens me. So what's your guilty pleasure? What's the one you have to justify?

For me, it's totally Beach Volleyball. No, really, I know that some people really think it shouldn't be an Olympic sport, because they can't stand looking at athletes in bikinis, but they're barking up the wrong tree. Normal volleyball's a pretty cool game. Now take away most of the players, so that the ones left have to cover more court on their own. Oh, and that nice finished wood floor? Replace it with a constantly shifting surface.

OK, it's not REALLY a sport, more of a beauty contest, but witness my First Axiom of Athletics: the coolness of an activity is directly proportional to the amount of unbelievably insane physical stuff that the players do. Why is American football cooler than rugby? Because they can block away from the ball carrier, and the collisions have an amazing level of violence due to the pads and helmets. Who does insane stuff? Freakin' doubles figure skaters. Did you see that doubles skater get cut by her partner in the Olympics? That's hardcore. (Note: Not ice dancing. Ice dancers are doubles figure skaters who are too chicken to, well, figure skate.)

darius (working hard? hardly working?)

[parrythis]

Ah... Good twist on my other thread.

My guilty pleasure is watching women's roller derby. Hard to find on TV anymore, but if I happen to run across it, it has my undivided attention.

[erooMynohtnA]

Strong man competitions

[darius]

Hard to find on TV anymore, but if I happen to run across it, it has my undivided attention.

Hey, if you're not going to Pomme, you should check out the Queen City Roller Girls. I've heard the live bouts are a really good time; one of my friends skates for the Nickel City Knockouts. She was a fencer in college.

http://queencityrollergirls.net/

darius

[Mr BadGuy]

Cheerleading, Beach volleyball, Women's Roller derby, pretty much anything involving scantily clad women athletes. Oh, and women's boxing, because it's so awesome. Make note, however, my list does not and will never include the WNBA.

[wahrman]

I've mentioned one of my guilty pleasures around here before, Curling.

It really is more fun than it appears to most people. More athletic as
well. No, it's not a triathlon but nor is it snooker. A few years back I
got to curl in the arena where they held the 2002 Olympic curling events.

That was pretty cool.

[RebelFencer]

Not really a guilty pleasure, but Fencing. It's too expensive and time consuming. But I do love it.

[parrythis]

Hey, if you're not going to Pomme,

Actually, I will be at Pomme with El Chucko and a couple other FCB'rs, but thanks for the tip.

[Monash_Armourer]

*cough* Kendo. *cough*

Ahem.

Don't lynch me...

[Mr BadGuy]

*cough* Kendo. *cough*

Ahem.

Don't lynch me...

LYNCH HIM!

[Shi no Tenshi]

*cough* Kendo. *cough*

Ahem.

Don't lynch me...

Yay Kendo! We have a fencer in our club who does demonstrations of it for our beginning classes to give them perspective about other types of weaponcraft, it's all good.

[qatet]

Mmmm... beach volleyball! Mmmmm...

I am utterly transfixed by it during the summer Olympics. In the winter it's the short track that gets me. But the great thing about coaching is that I never feel completely guilty about enjoying watching sports - it always feels like cross-training. The number of times during the last winter Olympics that I came in giving the kids some kind of skiing analogy... They thought I was utterly bonkers.

[Elemental]

I find myself watching ultimate fighting when it's on tv in the bar at my local mexican resteraunt. I have no desire to watch it any other time but when I'm there I get rather into it

[MyrddinsPrecint]

I love hockey. Mostly because when I was a small child, I had a huge crush on Joshua Jackson, so I would watch all the Mighty Ducks movies over and over again, so at some point I picked up some concept of the rules. (The thing about the crush on JJ maybe shouldn't be past tense.....)


That said, if I like to run more and fencing weren't an option, I'd be playing Ultimate Frisbee, but I don't feel the need to justify that. If I was somewhat better at Ultimate (as in, played it more than my current average of about once a year...)(but a really hardcore game when I play...) I would probably also play a lot more (read: any) Frisbee Golf.

Whenever the X games or Gravity games are on, I really wish I could skateboard.

[glowstix]

cricket..its soo wrong for me but i can't help it...

[Dee EffEll]

... my list does not and will never include the WNBA.

Can someone explain to me why The Powers That Be in the WNBA think the girls need to play with a smaller basketball? I always thought women's BB was a lot more fun to watch as a sport than men's BB, until I discovered the women use a different basketball. Need for higher scores because they don't dunk as much?

My love-hate relationship with sport is pro bike racing. Most beautiful sport in the world; worst legacy of disclosed cheater/dopers.

[Zilverzmurfen]

Can someone explain to me why The Powers That Be in the WNBA think the girls need to play with a smaller basketball? I always thought women's BB was a lot more fun to watch as a sport than men's BB, until I discovered the women use a different basketball. Need for higher scores because they don't dunk as much?

Without knowing much about basketball my guess is that it's probably because most women have smaller hand than men. It's easier to 'get a grip' on the ball.

Try playing (mens) basketball with a ball that is bigger than the regular basketball and it will give you a reference.

[Zesty]

My secret pleasure is indeed golf. Mainly because it is the only sport (other than polo) that I can wear a Ralph Lauren shirt whilst playing.

[Inquartata]

My secret pleasure is indeed golf. Mainly because it is the only sport (other than polo) that I can wear a Ralph Lauren shirt whilst playing.

And tennis.

[Monash_Armourer]

My secret pleasure is indeed golf. Mainly because it is the only sport (other than polo) that I can wear a Ralph Lauren shirt whilst playing.

This... I swear has got to be some kind of bait for me...

I'm going to abstain from comment, find a nice calm place to sit down, and have a brain aneurysm...