Why are professional sports so popular?

[Poindexter]

On the surface it's just a distraction from our ho-hum lives. Dig a little deeper and there's definitely more to it demonstrated by the fact that 80% of americans watched an NFL game last year, more than vote or go to church. People will paint their faces, wear costumes, build temples and make financial sacrifices all to feel the camaraderie that it appears we require as humans.

[JayByrd]

Is this thread about sports, or the worst and weirdest examples of sports injuries, overspending, and rah-rah fandom?

Tell me ThinkTank, since you're apparently knowledgeable about sports....would you have run the ball?

You can do a web search to figure out what I'm talking about, if you need to.

[Thinktank]

Tell me ThinkTank, since you're apparently knowledgeable about sports....would you have run the ball?

The normal thing to do is run the ball....first. Maybe throw on second try.
That's exactly what New England would have expected.
No one would expect them to throw. So throwing was not that bad a decision.

[Thinktank]

@ half a trillion spent each year on sports, that's almost as much as USA spends on wars.

Wow.

[The Green Barbarian]

@ half a trillion spent each year on sports, that's almost as much as USA spends on wars.

Wow.

or what your insane websites tell you they spend on wars.

Who cares what people in the US spend on sports? What else should they be spending it on? Bow ties for Harry Reid? 5 star junkets for George Galloway to fly around lying to everyone?

[Thinktank]

Who cares what people in the US spend on sports?

Pro-sports contribute next-to-nothing to communities economically yet they are sucking public dollars that could be better spent on parks, schools and public services into millionaires/billionaire's pockets and deluding a whole generation of at-risk youth into believing in the possibility of an "athletic career".

Professional sports are are just an example of synthesized and packaged reality designed to enrich people already rich, subject the observer to yet another layer of advertising, and to maintain the intellectual impoverishment of those watching.

http://www.verdant.net/society.htm

[steven lloyd]

@ half a trillion spent each year on sports, ...

Wow. Don't know where you get your numbers and don't really care.

Aside from huge economic spin-off benefits, major professional sports donate huge amounts in dollars and time to local and national charities. The links below barely begin to scratch the surface …

https://www.nflcharities.org/

http://www.nflfoundation.org/

http://www.nfl.com/community

http://together.pgatour.com/

http://together.pgatour.com/causes/

[OREZ]

I think the question is valid. I've wondered why pro sports seem to be such a huge priority in our culture as well.

I'm just not sure what the answer is.

[Thinktank]

$14.31 billion: Estimated Super Bowl-related consumer spending

$4.5 million: Estimated cost to run a 30-second commercial

$10,375: Lowest price for a Super Bowl ticket on the official NFL ticket exchange website, as of Thursday

In 2013, 45.3 million people in USA (14.5 percent) were in poverty.


Over in Sochi they spent $billions putting on a good show for the super rich. Now a year later
not too many miles from Sochi in eastern Ukraine they're spending $billions killing the poor - another show
for the super rich.

[The Green Barbarian]

Pro-sports contribute next-to-nothing to communities economically

LOL - what an insanely stupid comment.

[Thinktank]

$10,375: Lowest price for a Super Bowl ticket on the official NFL ticket exchange website, as of Thursday

^ I read that on the internet, but it can't be true ..... can it?

Anyone know how much the lowest or average price of superbowl tickets are?

It can't be true.

[Thinktank]

The two biggest purveyors of tickets, Stub Hub and NFL Ticket Exchange, reported respective average Super Bowl XLIX ticket prices hit $4,600 and $4,131.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Sports/201 ... nsive-ever

[averagejoe]

I have read a few times over past year that the NFL does not pay any taxes? Anyone know anything about this?

[Fancy]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/22/us/nfl-nonprofit-taxes/

[Danielson99]

LOL - what an insanely stupid comment.

If you consider that the 'team' and owner take 10's of millions of dollars from their communities while giving back far far less....his point made alot of sense. Pro sports teams take far more than they give back, especially when you consider that most pro teams in the USA are forcing their city to pay for new arenas and stadiums at 100's of millions of dollars in cost to the taxpayers. This money is never given back. Pro sports teams survive and thrive because they take 100's of millions of dollars from the people of their community and split it up amongst a very few incredibly rich people.