Sports you hate.

[Mad Cyril]

Darts. It's not a sport.

“I think of myself as an athlete because I have been on Grandstand and I wear trainers.”

Andy Fordham.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Horse Racing when you're not betting is dull so there is a simple answer there - it really is a cracking day out so don't knock it until you try it etc.
As for sports I would rather stick pins in my eyes than watch - it has to be baseball - utterly the most boring game invented.
And that is coming from a massive massive Essex and England cricket fan.

Baseball's like cricket in that it's very difficult to properly appreciate without knowing all it's subtleties - for example when a pitcher throws his curveball may depend upon not just who the batter is, but also the count, who's up next, are there runners on base. Had I been raised on it rather than cricket, I suspect it would be my no.1 sport. As an outsider it's difficult to penetrate and to get into the rhythm of the match. Like cricket, it has a wonderful tradition that enriches it.

I don't consider horse-racing to be a sport. It's not about the racing but the gambling which is more like a game (and one I've enjoyed playing on more than one occasion). I'm though still ****ed off at the number of times coverage of the cricket was interrupted to show us the racing from Kempton or wherever.

The one sport I've never been able to get into is basketball. It's too repetitive to get excited about a score. A side goes up one end and scores, a side goes up the other end and scores, the other side then scores again. In football a goal has excitement value due to its scarcity, in cricket a wicket due to its scarcity is match-changing, in rugby or NFL you have tries and touchdowns, in tennis you have are break points - these are all huge decisive moments in the game. I don't see what there is to get excited about in basketball other than the final hooter. Not only that, but the games come thick and fast. It's a sport that's better watched on a highlights reel and reading a stats column (Team A shot 86%, Team B shot 92%) then just tuning in for the final minutes if it's a tight match. That makes for a poor sport in my book.

Although at least it isn't golf.

 

[Ricey]

Rugby League's ****. Tennis can be boring and I don't like American Football (Why is it called a touchdown, when they don't touch it down?).

Very good point, never thought of that.

 

[FarmdogSUFC]

NFL and cricket. **** that. Sports that have more rest than actual play time don't deserve to be called sports. Plus I ain't got time to learn all the rules.

 

[Vange Shrimper]

You can add Curling to my list of sports I dislike. Zzzzzzz....

 

[Shrimpers are Magic]

The thought of it all and when it's mentioned always makes me annoyed. I used to travel into London past Stratford all the time watching the development of the Olympic village. The more and more that came up the more I got excited I couldn't wait! And then I got sent away and missed the whole ****er!

Sorry to rub it in mate but I've got to tell ya, it was fecking great!

 

[Shrimpers are Magic]

Baseball's like cricket in that it's very difficult to properly appreciate without knowing all it's subtleties - for example when a pitcher throws his curveball may depend upon not just who the batter is, but also the count, who's up next, are there runners on base. Had I been raised on it rather than cricket, I suspect it would be my no.1 sport. As an outsider it's difficult to penetrate and to get into the rhythm of the match. Like cricket, it has a wonderful tradition that enriches it.

I don't consider horse-racing to be a sport. It's not about the racing but the gambling which is more like a game (and one I've enjoyed playing on more than one occasion). I'm though still ****ed off at the number of times coverage of the cricket was interrupted to show us the racing from Kempton or wherever.

The one sport I've never been able to get into is basketball. It's too repetitive to get excited about a score. A side goes up one end and scores, a side goes up the other end and scores, the other side then scores again. In football a goal has excitement value due to its scarcity, in cricket a wicket due to its scarcity is match-changing, in rugby or NFL you have tries and touchdowns, in tennis you have are break points - these are all huge decisive moments in the game. I don't see what there is to get excited about in basketball other than the final hooter. Not only that, but the games come thick and fast. It's a sport that's better watched on a highlights reel and reading a stats column (Team A shot 86%, Team B shot 92%) then just tuning in for the final minutes if it's a tight match. That makes for a poor sport in my book.

Although at least it isn't golf.

I like golf! anyway, of course the GG's is a sport, what else can it be classed as?
You sound like you've been to the odd baseball match so I will bow to your knowledge on that one. I've read somewhere before that cricket was as popular if not more so in North America than baseball and it was only during the civil war when baseball started coming out on top. The soldiers used to play at end of the day and of course you can play baseball anywhere where with cricket you need to mark out a pitch etc. First international test match was USA v Canada by the way.
Forgot about basketball and agree with you 100% - utter tripe. Like a bit of American Football mind.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

I like golf! anyway, of course the GG's is a sport, what else can it be classed as?
You sound like you've been to the odd baseball match so I will bow to your knowledge on that one. I've read somewhere before that cricket was as popular if not more so in North America than baseball and it was only during the civil war when baseball started coming out on top. The soldiers used to play at end of the day and of course you can play baseball anywhere where with cricket you need to mark out a pitch etc. First international test match was USA v Canada by the way.
Forgot about basketball and agree with you 100% - utter tripe. Like a bit of American Football mind.

Cricket was played a lot in North America, particularly for some reason in Philadelphia. Was it Bart Starr who was their star bowler? I remember seeing one museum exhibition in the US which had a load of old photos and one of them was the fire brigade all kitted up in cricket gear with pads, bats etc. The labelling made no reference to the fact that they were clearly a cricket team!

Over this side of the water there was quite a good exhibition at Lord's about the ties between cricket and baseball. My favourite titbit being that the baseball scorecard was actually devised by a Brit. There's a lot of guff spouted about how baseball was founded by Arthur(?) Doubleday during the Civil War but I think this was probably its history being mythologised. However professional baseball was played in the late 19th Century, which puts it the same sort of era as the Football League (in contrast the NFL is an arriviste with the SuperbOwl not appearing until the late 1960s).

 

[Shrimpers are Magic]

Cricket was played a lot in North America, particularly for some reason in Philadelphia. Was it Bart Starr who was their star bowler? I remember seeing one museum exhibition in the US which had a load of old photos and one of them was the fire brigade all kitted up in cricket gear with pads, bats etc. The labelling made no reference to the fact that they were clearly a cricket team!

Over this side of the water there was quite a good exhibition at Lord's about the ties between cricket and baseball. My favourite titbit being that the baseball scorecard was actually devised by a Brit. There's a lot of guff spouted about how baseball was founded by Arthur(?) Doubleday during the Civil War but I think this was probably its history being mythologised. However professional baseball was played in the late 19th Century, which puts it the same sort of era as the Football League (in contrast the NFL is an arriviste with the SuperbOwl not appearing until the late 1960s).

Bart King. Bloody hell, someone who knows what he is talking about.

 

[EastStandBlue]

Baseball's like cricket in that it's very difficult to properly appreciate without knowing all it's subtleties - for example when a pitcher throws his curveball may depend upon not just who the batter is, but also the count, who's up next, are there runners on base. Had I been raised on it rather than cricket, I suspect it would be my no.1 sport. As an outsider it's difficult to penetrate and to get into the rhythm of the match. Like cricket, it has a wonderful tradition that enriches it.

I don't consider horse-racing to be a sport. It's not about the racing but the gambling which is more like a game (and one I've enjoyed playing on more than one occasion). I'm though still ****ed off at the number of times coverage of the cricket was interrupted to show us the racing from Kempton or wherever.

The one sport I've never been able to get into is basketball. It's too repetitive to get excited about a score. A side goes up one end and scores, a side goes up the other end and scores, the other side then scores again. In football a goal has excitement value due to its scarcity, in cricket a wicket due to its scarcity is match-changing, in rugby or NFL you have tries and touchdowns, in tennis you have are break points - these are all huge decisive moments in the game. I don't see what there is to get excited about in basketball other than the final hooter. Not only that, but the games come thick and fast. It's a sport that's better watched on a highlights reel and reading a stats column (Team A shot 86%, Team B shot 92%) then just tuning in for the final minutes if it's a tight match. That makes for a poor sport in my book.

Although at least it isn't golf.

It's odd, because a lot of the intricacies you describe cricket and baseball having are very to those in golf. It's an individual sport, but one shaped by both the course and your competitors. What shot or club a player might choose is often shaped by the circumstances the player might find himself in because of what a rival has done. There are players that can be aggressive with courses and drive it long, like Woods, and passive players who have far more finesse, like Luke Donald.

And if you want to debate sports with rich legacies, then few come close to that of golf. The likes of Arnold Palmer, Seve Ballesteros and Jack Nicklaus are household names and there aren't many historic sporting venues that can hold a torch to Amen Corner at Augusta.

 

[Crabby Shrimper]

Because Union players are used to a stop-start game which had turned pretty dull to watch. League is relentless.

I've never been convinced by this to be honest. I find the 1-5 tackle thing in league far more frustrating than the continual evolution of a ruck or maul. having said that, I do realise I'm in a minority with that viewpoint

 

[Vange Shrimper]

I've never been convinced by this to be honest. I find the 1-5 tackle thing in league far more frustrating than the continual evolution of a ruck or maul. having said that, I do realise I'm in a minority with that viewpoint

I agree with that. I find it's more free-flowing in Union, or maybe that's just me.

 

[Pubey]

I depend it comes down to if you enjoy watching full backs repeatedly kicking the ball back to each other/into touch.

 

[Vange Shrimper]

I depend it comes down to if you enjoy watching full backs repeatedly kicking the ball back to each other/into touch.

Oh, they don't always do that! They do some running and passing as well, you know :smile:

 

[Pubey]

Oh, they don't always do that! They do some running and passing as well, you know :smile:

I know. A good Union game is fantastic, however in general I enjoy League more as an 'enjoyment' sport. Also, marrying a Wiganer probably had an effect!

 

[Davros]

Rugby League's ****. Tennis can be boring and I don't like American Football (Why is it called a touchdown, when they don't touch it down?).

It's called a touchdown, as some of the roots of American Football travel down from rugby, where the ball was touched down into the end scoring zone

 

[Uncle Leo]

I know. A good Union game is fantastic,

Indeed. A bit like the famous little girl in the nursery rhyme. A good game of RU can be very very good, but a bad one is horrid. Italy and Scotland can usually be relied upon to serve up an utter crapfest every Six Nations.

 

[Shrimpers are Magic]

Indeed. A bit like the famous little girl in the nursery rhyme. A good game of RU can be very very good, but a bad one is horrid. Italy and Scotland can usually be relied upon to serve up an utter crapfest every Six Nations.

Harsh on Italy

 

[BB Blue]

- ice dancing
- horse racing
- tennis (inc table tennis)
- Ruby league

Love motorbike racing (have ever seen it live esp. The TT)

 

[MK Shrimper]

- ice dancing
- horse racing
- tennis (inc table tennis)
- Ruby league
Love motorbike racing (have ever seen it live esp. The TT)

They have a sport that ranks curries and you hate it? Hand it your SZ membership at the door. :angry: