Time to end the myth that devs don't like sport

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9 points·thetimmorgan··4 comments

>"I mean it’s not like code and sport go well together."

While I think it's a stretch to assume programmers don't like sports, I have worked in in a couple of developer shops as a non-programmer. If I had to pick between programmer stereotypes mostly shattered or programmer stereotypes mostly re-enforced, it's definitely the latter.

But that's okay. I like the company.

I've never got the impression that programmers as a whole "don't like sport". Possibly they're less likely to be interested in the local $socially_conventional_team_sport, or at least more likely to admit to the fact.

I used to play a lot of QuakeWorld, does that count?

I was thinking the same thing. It's a matter of your definition of sport.

The vast majority of developers I've worked with display competitive traits:

* They form strong opinions and care if they're right (in other words, they're happy to argue with you)

* Ever heard a programmer speak well of another programmer's code? Take an old project and hand it off to a new dev. What does the new dev have to say about the code? Chances are they'll jump straight to what they'd do different, and many times deride the code for some lack of sophistication.

* Lots of geeks play video games online, which is competitive by nature. Why do you think games like Modern Warfare and Battlefield provide leaderboards and stats portals? Because many players care about how they perform.

Competitive individuals enjoy sport (unless they're losing). It's a means of exerting yourself through a structured outlet. Many would scoff at referring to video games as "sport", but it has all the elements of a sport, less the physical exertion.

Geeks love sport!

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