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Why Do Men Care So Much About Sport?

Posted on August 20, 2012 by OP

There used to be one soft drink advert they run on television a while back where one of the lead characters gets so agitated by the results of a soccer game they were watching that he stuck his foot through the telly in disgust. Next we know he is leaving our screens on stretcher, his foot still stuck in the telly, muttering his team’s anthem.

It might be a surprise to you but the average guy isn’t too far removed from the seemingly deranged character in the soft drink advert. How come guys care so much about sport? It is a tough one, because sometimes we behave like we are deranged when our favourite team loses, drinking, moaning and becoming depressed for days. My mother used to tell me I was crazy, but as far as I was concerned, this was normal guy behaviour. I mean I could name my child Rudisha Bolt Pala and be considered only mildly eccentric.

What is about football that brings even the most wayward of husbands home the night Man United is playing the final. Why for example can’t he engage in family responsibilities with the same gusto? There is a complex and before you accuse me of being some tea-loving, arm chair critic please! Do note that I am a sports guy as well. Okay, granted I have not been competitive sports in years but I care as much about sport as the next guy. If I were put in the same room with the man of the century, Nelson Mandela and in the corner was a TV set showing a rugby game between two captivating sides, such as the Boks and the All Blacks, I would be frequently distracted from the world’s favourite grandpa, as I gravitate slowly towards the screen to become more engrossed in the rugby game and miss out on Madiba’s precious nuggets of reality.

Obviously sport connects with something deeply rooted in the male psyche.  The conventional wisdom about sport is that it is valuable beyond the experience itself, that it builds masculine character. The great chunks of their lives that men spend as spectators of sports can be partly explained, of course by intrinsic interest. Professional athletes are often incredibly elegant and even high school sports tournament are filled with high drama and can be a delight to watch. But seriously, game after game, sport after sport, season after season, it can’t be that interesting. The same moves are made, passes thrown and caught, championships won and lost. Visual, aesthetic interest alone is not enough to explain the emotional commitment of male fans.

For guys sport provides a kind off state religion, something they can care about and share it in a way that reaffirms the most basic component of their identity. While growing up, singing the school parade grounds every week stirred nothing within- in the end just another school exercise. But in college on Saturdays out on the rugby grounds, waiting for Mean Machine – the Varsity side to take on the ‘enemy’, it would have seemed to me an emotional thrill forsaken, if we had failed to rise to our feet to celebrate the institution in song by singing along to the club anthem that had given to this disparate collection of men, so grand and beautiful a game.

I guess this aspect of male preoccupation with sport, although pathetic, is more or less benign. The darker side of it though is that because the subtler, personal rewards and pleasures of sports are played down, in fact often destroyed by this approach, the pursuit becomes a never ending one; one’s sense of achievement depends on entirely on winning. Absolute team loyalty, unquestioning obedience to authority, respectful fear and hatred for the opposition, disregard of individual injury and suffering all justified in the name of victory- these are the axioms of the sport system.

So I don’t about the rest of you guys, but I think it is about time, I put some perspective into my life. First thing after the Barclays Premier league season, I am going to start paying more attention to things that should matter to me like my work, friends and above all my family.

 

Image source: dysir.com

 

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7 thoughts on “Why Do Men Care So Much About Sport?”

  1. Sarah says:
    August 20, 2012 at 10:54 am

    After the season? Why not right now?

    So, Rudisha Bolt Pala? Saw something about this the on FB the day Rudisha won: “A child born in Kisumu last night, Rudisha Bolt Otieno…fast forward 20 yrs when he is a jua kali mechanic; ‘wewe Otieno, rudisha hiyo bolt!”

    Reply
    1. OP says:
      August 20, 2012 at 11:45 am

      I am working on it…right after I see how Van Persie performs in Man U.

      Reply
      1. Sarah says:
        August 20, 2012 at 6:35 pm

        Yes, this is a valid reason keeping in mind “Absolute team loyalty, unquestioning obedience to authority, respectful fear and hatred for the opposition . . .” . And that RVP had to run to the opposition!!!

  2. Amimo Kwambo says:
    August 21, 2012 at 12:35 am

    Remember Jack and Jill? Jack fell down on his way up the hill. Was he playing or did he need to play? Sports, in the context of reality, for boys, well simply a fun thing to do. Could it be the spirit of competition and promised triumph? Gaming, contact sports, individual events or racing. It just has to be the pure fun of it all that somehow helps guys puts life in perspective. When they have had a bit of fun maybe then they cope better with the important things in life.

    Reply
  3. Mokaya says:
    August 21, 2012 at 12:30 pm

    I guess it will be the same story every year, ‘First thing after the Barclays Premier league season, I am going to start paying more attention to things that should matter to me like my work, friends and above all my family’ haha

    Reply
  4. F_Ongre says:
    August 21, 2012 at 12:49 pm

    Very true OP..sport maketh a man…and the sleepless nights spent watching football are un-countable..

    Reply
  5. Marcelina Hewlin says:
    October 27, 2012 at 10:47 pm

    After looking over a few of the blog articles on your web site, I truly like your way of writing a blog. I saved it to my bookmark webpage list and will be checking back soon. Take a look at my web site as well and let me know how you feel.

    Reply

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Oyunga Pala is a pioneering satirist and columnist. He remains one of the most impactful, Kenyan columnists of his generation. He examines the texture of everyday life, moving away from the traditional idea of African men as victims of modernity and disillusion. His writings commonly feature the struggles of African men to maintain integrity as they navigate the pathways of power, fatherhood, memory, and existence.

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Oyunga Pala is a pioneering satirist and columnist. He remains one of the most impactful, Kenyan columnists of his generation. He examines the texture of everyday life, moving away from the traditional idea of African men as victims of modernity and disillusion. His writings commonly feature the struggles of African men to maintain integrity as they navigate the pathways of power, fatherhood, memory, and existence.

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