Comment by rinon | Hacker News Reader

Comment by rinon | Hacker News Reader

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Why are sports unhealthy? They are in fact extremely healthy, in the physical sense. Professional sports are simply an outgrowth of more "natural" sporting activities. Sports, even the professional variety, are not carefully engineered social prisons, but an evolution of natural human activities: physical activity and training combined with competition and the desire to observe others who are better than one's self.

We can imagine such an idealistic world, but this is completely unrealistic and crazy. People legitimately ENJOY watching and participating in sporting activities. You cannot (practically speaking) dictate what people should or should not enjoy. Suggesting better alternatives, fine, but insisting that others follow YOUR vision for a perfect world is self-centered and conceited.

I would argue that you do have a moral obligation to respect other humans which includes not purposefully hurting people's feelings for no reason. If you don't like sports, fine, but that's no reason to put down people who do.

Professional sports are anything but healthy, as soon as competition is even remotely recognized and praised illicit drugs come onto the scene.

As for a more idealistic world and my choice, I never even hinted at trying to legislate your ability to do what you want, but if you want me to clap and jump up and down and pick a favorite team because a bunch of grown people make ridiculous sums of money doing absolutely nothing for our future, well, count me out.

I get it, it's comfortable to be in a vocal majority. I understand that in many conversations I'm not welcome if I don't have a favorite team. Humans are tribal creatures. Being in a majority doesn't give you some right to an unopposed position. Just because most everyone around you will agree with you doesn't make what you're doing right.

If you would like to define some criteria and have a discussion about whether sports makes this world a better place I will gladly show you the fault in sports.

Also to the person commenting that you could say the same for any type of entertainment (regarding it being useless). That couldn't be farther from the truth. I love aquaponics, for one. Finding new interesting ways to feed people is entertainment for me. It's not uncommon for people to enjoy creating and learning. That type of entertainment becoming more prevalent could have a significant impact on our future as a species.

I think you misunderstood rinon. He asked why are sports unhealthy, not why are professional sports unhealthy. Sports in general is healthy. You cannot discount the exercise.

Not only that, but sports can teach you a wide range of life skills. It is not simply a display of physical prowess. For example, tennis is not a competition on the basis of physical exertion alone, but of mental fortitude.

> I get it, it's comfortable to be in a vocal majority. I understand that in many conversations I'm not welcome if I don't have a favorite team.

Um, you don't have to have a favorite team. You can still enjoy and talk about the game. For example, I don't have a favorite football team, but I will listen and talk all day about the strategy of the game and if, for example, a QB can execute that particular strategy or choke.

You previously stated sports were unhealthy. Hence he asked why sports as a general activity were unhealthy. You are now only supporting that argument by changing what you said to be qualified as professional sports, without even acknowledging the change in argument. I know it is considered poor taste to call someone a troll here, but this tactic is used almost exclusively by trolls in my experience.

> because a bunch of grown people make ridiculous sums of money doing absolutely nothing for our future, well, count me out.

I think they can potentially do plenty for the future. For example, why does Nadal always put two bottles in the exact same position while playing a tennis match? Hey, maybe this will be useful for some research in psychology. Or maybe a survey of head injuries in football can lead to better health care. These sportsmen are usually at the edge of physical ability. Any attempt to push the envelope gives us the opportunity to learn more about ourselves.

I think your argument would get more consideration if you didn't come off as condescending and holier-than-thou. You should read the article, it's talking about you.

>a bunch of grown people make ridiculous sums of money doing absolutely nothing for our future

Do you feel the same way about musicians, actors or other artists making money?

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