Sports burnout: Do you ever get tired of sports?

Re: Does anyone else get sick of discussing sports?

When I was younger, sports was pretty much all I was in to. Now, sports make up maybe 25 percent of my interests. So, yeah, things change. I'd just as soon talk about the latest Pixar movie and how excited my kids are than how far Matthew Stafford will fall in the draft.

Music, movies, current events. . .as you get older you learn sports are pretty boring. This year's winner is just another story. Next year, they'll be another one. Yawn.

 

Re: Does anyone else get sick of discussing sports?

Because of my over exposure to sports I don't attend sporting events that often and I don't like going to watch them among the masses at the bar. I also go in spurts with what sports I like. For about 10 years I was huuuugeeee on college foootball. This year, I was bored with it, but got way more interested in college basketball. I haven't watched this much college basketball since I was about 10.

Baseball goes in spurts for me too. I never watched it until high school when I began watching it every day I could. I saw just about a game each night for all of high school and college, and now I am burned out with it again.

I don't know why. Fantasy football however, keeps me tuned in for NFL.

 

Re: Does anyone else get sick of discussing sports?

One thing that helps me is to get interested in sports that have no coverage here in the U.S., and thus no overlap with my job.

It's perfect for getting home at 2 a.m. and flipping on a web stream of a cricket or rugby match.

 

Re: Does anyone else get sick of discussing sports?

I have to say, I have never, ever, ever understood the phenomenon that so many sports writers ... just don't like sports anymore. Don't like talking about it, don't like watching it, don't like being around it anymore.

I often wonder if that's caused by, like Waylon suggested on another thread, so many of us not having anything else in our lives except our jobs for such a long time. Because I find it very hard to believe that anybody could stay in this business if they don't like sports.

I've gotten burned out -- in my career and in life -- at various times and for various reasons, but never have I been able to say that I got "sick of discussing sports." Perhaps I was lucky in that I switched positions, from writing to the desk, before that feeling set in, and that I switched from sports to news last year. Perhaps, also, I've been lucky in that I've always had other interests that didn't involve sports and some friends who had other things to talk about.

But sports plays just as big a role in my life now as it did when I was a kid. In a different way, of course. I know for a fact I can't tell you who's going to make the roster of every major league team like I used to (although I could probably tell you everyone on the roster of the 1920 White Sox 8)), because it's just not that important to me. I know I won't watch every Braves game this season, partly because they're not on TBS anymore but also because my adult responsibilities can't just be cleared out for a three-hour block every night. That's life.

That said, I still enjoy discussing sports as much as I ever did. I still enjoy going to games, although I wish the cost was much lower. I'm glad I have an SO who likes going to games and can talk sports on her merits, because that's an important part of my life and I've found it doesn't make sense for me to be with someone who has no interest in those things.

OK, one exception: I hate, fucking hate, talking sports with some of the newsies, especially the degenerate gamblers. So I stay quiet in those discussions at work -- only speak when spoken to. I really don't give a fuck that your life is in major crisis mode when Tomlinson gets hurt, but your opponent that week has him so you're not sure whether to root for your beloved Chargers or your beloved fantasy team. Go fuck yourself.

 

Re: Does anyone else get sick of discussing sports?

If you put a game in front of me whether it be live or on television (hi-def, please ;D), I'll be all set. If someone brings up that their fantasy team is murdering the competition and they just made this killer trade, I just don't care at all.

There are times when I enjoy talking about sports and can't get enough of it, but there are times when I wonder why I should care about this person's fantasy team or why he thought the Arizona Cardinals should of won the Super Bowl, etc.

 

Re: Does anyone else get sick of discussing sports?

I'm heading in to work in a few minutes on NCAA day 1 -- just got done watching "Eraserhead" for the first time and will probably not put a hand on the remote all night unless one of the newsies walks over and asks why the [whatever] game isn't on the TV.

I find I still enjoy the heck out of watching games (basketball excluded), especially live, but could care less about the name on the back of anyone's jersey, what they did or didn't do in the off-season, what deal they got, what trade they demanded, their dugout conflicts. Blerg. Don't care, don't care, don't care, don't care.

I could just as easily be designing A1s and metro fronts for all I care. I have all this knowledge based around sports because it's what I've done for 5-6 years now -- style and context stuff that I would lose in moving over to another department/profession -- but not one word of what goes into the sports section day in and day out interests me one little iota.

It's a paycheck until I find something better or they find something cheaper.

If you come over to my desk to talk about the local team's PG situation, I'll nod politely and agree with everything you say silently praying you'll go just away and I can resume listening to my headphones or change the channel back to "Commando".

I don't begrudge people their interests, it's just unfortunate I work in a "dream" job where everyone I meet expects me to care about [local college star]'s injured [whatever] as much as they do.

 

Re: Does anyone else get sick of discussing sports?

Yeah, you're right, playthrough. I can make the distinction, too. I've got friends who like to play the books, and they're pretty cool.

But the know-it-all Jimmy the Greeks annoy me all to hell. We've got a few of those. They're not interested in sports, they're interested in gambling. Big difference.

 

Re: Does anyone else get sick of discussing sports?

Buck,

This may not have been directed at me, but since I started the thread let me clarify.

I still love sports. But when you work with them all day sometimes I don't care to hear my friends talk about it when I get to the bar after work.

Burnout might be the best way to describe it. Who here as had sports burnout?

 

Re: Does anyone else get sick of discussing sports?

Mustang, it wasn't directed at you, necessarily. It seems to be common for a lot of people in sports departments, and I've never understood why. Honestly, I hope I never do.

But if that's the case for you, I would advise (as Waylon did yesterday on the other thread) that you find something else in your life that you enjoy -- that has nothing to do with sports or work. I've found switching to news-side has given me more energy to enjoy sports (although, admittedly, I wasn't at that stage of "sports burnout" before then, either.) Hang around new friends who can talk about other things or stop going to the bar if that's the only thing on, etc., etc. There's a whole other world out there that has nothing to do with sports. Explore it.

Good luck.

 

I have to admit that when the Super Bowl rolled around, I honestly couldn't remember who won the previous year's Super Bowl.

 

I'm actually on the news side now, which has helped a lot. I think part of it is that I am in a web based position, so my job is to scour the web for news and sports info all day. When I was in a sports role, searching and posting stories for 8 hours is pretty tiring.