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Spectator Sports: Do We Really Need Them In Our Lives?


Principled Man
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Any time I am in the US I am always struck by the passion shown for a great variety of sports at different levels and yet..... do rival fans fight with each other? No .. not that i have seen. Do fans riot in the streets? ... Again no. Can families attend games safely? Yes.

In the UK, the passion fans have for Soccer often transfers to crowd violence and disturbances. It has become very tribal and aggressive. When my son was growing up, I hated taking him to games to witness abuse, foul language and aggression from people who, frankly, should know better.

Would I miss the sport? Yes. Would I miss the fan violence and antisocial behavior associated with it? Hell no!

 

There are always a few scuffles or dust ups every year in most team sports popular in the US but we don't have the mobs except when dumb fans go nuts because their team won (or lost) a championship. It usually is taken out on cars getting burned and other stuff. I sure hope we don't devolve into actual fights but the way things are going in this country who knows? The only fighting I ever watch is in hockey :hockeygoon: :D

At least that's all part of the game!! :hockey: :popcorn: :smash: :hockeygoon: :clap:
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I'd be completely lost in life unless professional cornhole is on tv.

 

you can tell they're professionals because they have nice shirts with sponsors and someone else holds their beer when it's their turn.

 

Most of my life i had known cornhole as...that other thing. Then, about ten years ago when i was visiting family and friends in my hometown, an old family friend said to me, "Hey Johnny, the autumn fair is going on this weekend. Why don't you drop by? We've got cornhole!" It was then that I learned of THIS recreational activity.

So if you don't mind me asking what sounds for all the world like an indelicate question!!! ..... what the hell is cornhole!!!!????

 

Here's the recreational activity definition:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornhole

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I'd be completely lost in life unless professional cornhole is on tv.

 

you can tell they're professionals because they have nice shirts with sponsors and someone else holds their beer when it's their turn.

 

Most of my life i had known cornhole as...that other thing. Then, about ten years ago when i was visiting family and friends in my hometown, an old family friend said to me, "Hey Johnny, the autumn fair is going on this weekend. Why don't you drop by? We've got cornhole!" It was then that I learned of THIS recreational activity.

So if you don't mind me asking what sounds for all the world like an indelicate question!!! ..... what the hell is cornhole!!!!????

 

Here's the recreational activity definition:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornhole

Ah ha!!!! The penny drops! Last couple of times we've been out to my cousins' place in Missouri we played this!!! A lot of fun! I just didn't realise it was called cornhole ..... name kinda makes sense!
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I know I have learned that I could easily live without it. I do enjoy watching hockey but its not like I was chomping at the bit for it.

 

Meh.

 

I used to watch everything and had ESPN on the tube around the clock. Now I don't own a television or have a TV subscription and seldom watch anything on TV.

Wow I think I would have had a problem with going cold turkey like that. You are a braver man than me Gunga Din..But seriously we can live without them but I personally don't think I could not watch anything but guess I would if I had to. ;)

The truth is, it wasn't cold turkey. For a long time I had been spending less and less time watching TV and following sports to the point where I was cleaning my living room and I looked at the TV and couldn't remember the last time I turned it on. It wasn't all at once. It really stems from the fact that I find the quality of entertainment out there is really, really bad. So much so that I have no interest in it. That includes TV, sports and movies. They are all just really terrible now.

 

Try this on for shit tv programming:

http://youtu.be/gWB-kuyxe3M

 

That's very typical here and the reason why I don't watch any tv shows. I could pay for Netflix or something like that but yeah I basically don't care.

 

I do watch old shows (I'm on an Unsolved Mysteries kick at the moment) or documentaries on youtube though. And I'll catch movies at the cinema a few times a year too.

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It depends how you define 'spectator'

 

if you’re watching/listening to other people play sports, then you’re a spectator, be it on television, on the radio, or in person.

 

My question is: Do you “need” it in your life? If your favorite sports stopped for good, would it cause any real harm to you?

Nope.

 

I generally just catch highlights from time to time on YouTube, and really only get interested during the playoffs (or major events for golf, tennis, world soccer...). Big salaries, longer games and over-exposure pushed me away from my boyhood fascination with pro- and college sports.

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What LABT said: no one really "needs" spectator sports -- I'd imagine that for most of history, most people haven't had it...

Bread and circus has a long tradition, no?

 

1bb232152b1c40b30032c4f260b0320c.jpg

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It depends how you define 'spectator'

 

if you’re watching/listening to other people play sports, then you’re a spectator, be it on television, on the radio, or in person.

 

My question is: Do you “need” it in your life? If your favorite sports stopped for good, would it cause any real harm to you?

Nope.

 

I generally just catch highlights from time to time on YouTube, and really only get interested during the playoffs (or major events for golf, tennis, world soccer...). Big salaries, longer games and over-exposure pushed me away from my boyhood fascination with pro- and college sports.

It also seems to me that most popular sports in the US have morphed into something almost unrecognizable. An abandonment of fundamentals across the board.
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Let's all pretend we'd prefer this, from the mid 1850s, before the advent of college football

 

Typically, a college would have two or more competing societies. The campus societies were generally intense competitors. Some examples include the Philodemic and Philonomosian Societies at Georgetown University, the American Whig and Cliosophic Societies at Princeton University, Social Friends and United Fraternity at Dartmouth College, the Philorhetorian and Peithologian societies at Wesleyan University, the Philologian and Philotechnian societies at Williams College, the Philomathean and Zelosophic societies at the University of Pennsylvania, the Philolexian and Peithologian societies at Columbia University, the Clariosophic, Euphradian, and the Euphrosynean societies at the University of South Carolina, the Phi Kappa and Demosthenian societies at the University of Georgia, the Linonia and Brothers in Unity at Yale University, the Miami Union and Erodelphian (previously Adelphic) societies at Miami University and Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. These societies were usually in a limited adversarial role; at Columbia University the Peithologian and Philolexian were competitors, and they maintained a rivalry that was friendly at best and highly charged at worst. In his famous diary, George Templeton Strong recorded that a Philolexian gathering was disrupted by "those rascally Peithologians"; and firecrackers and stink bombs, tossed into the midst of each other's meetings, were usually the weapons of choice.

Membership in these societies was not only open to all the students in the college, but in many cases membership was all but required. At the opening of University of South Carolina virtually all students were members of the Philomathic Society which was soon divided by lot into the Clariosophic and Euphradian societies. The Euphrosynean Literary Society was later formed at the University of South Carolina to include the female population and serve as a sister society to the Euphradians. In some cases, intense recruitment battles would ensue over new students, and to avoid problems some colleges chose to assign incoming students to one or the other literary society. This pattern was followed, for example, at Dartmouth, where the faculty imposed rule was "The students of College shall be assigned according to the odd or even places which their names shall hold on an alphabetical list of the members of each successive class..."[6] Having two societies on a campus encouraged competition, and a thriving society would have interesting enough meetings to attract full attendance from its membership and perhaps even people from the community. These societies met publicly, sometimes in large lecture rooms, and in most instances the literary exercises would consist of a debate, but could also include speeches, poetry readings, and other literary work

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It depends how you define 'spectator'

 

if you’re watching/listening to other people play sports, then you’re a spectator, be it on television, on the radio, or in person.

 

My question is: Do you “need” it in your life? If your favorite sports stopped for good, would it cause any real harm to you?

Nope.

 

I generally just catch highlights from time to time on YouTube, and really only get interested during the playoffs (or major events for golf, tennis, world soccer...). Big salaries, longer games and over-exposure pushed me away from my boyhood fascination with pro- and college sports.

It also seems to me that most popular sports in the US have morphed into something almost unrecognizable. An abandonment of fundamentals across the board.

Over-exposure, over-analysis, hyper-conditioned athletes, hyper-engineered equipment... It all adds up to :yawn: at some point.
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Let's all pretend we'd prefer this, from the mid 1850s, before the advent of college football

 

Typically, a college would have two or more competing societies. The campus societies were generally intense competitors. Some examples include the Philodemic and Philonomosian Societies at Georgetown University, the American Whig and Cliosophic Societies at Princeton University, Social Friends and United Fraternity at Dartmouth College, the Philorhetorian and Peithologian societies at Wesleyan University, the Philologian and Philotechnian societies at Williams College, the Philomathean and Zelosophic societies at the University of Pennsylvania, the Philolexian and Peithologian societies at Columbia University, the Clariosophic, Euphradian, and the Euphrosynean societies at the University of South Carolina, the Phi Kappa and Demosthenian societies at the University of Georgia, the Linonia and Brothers in Unity at Yale University, the Miami Union and Erodelphian (previously Adelphic) societies at Miami University and Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. These societies were usually in a limited adversarial role; at Columbia University the Peithologian and Philolexian were competitors, and they maintained a rivalry that was friendly at best and highly charged at worst. In his famous diary, George Templeton Strong recorded that a Philolexian gathering was disrupted by "those rascally Peithologians"; and firecrackers and stink bombs, tossed into the midst of each other's meetings, were usually the weapons of choice.

Membership in these societies was not only open to all the students in the college, but in many cases membership was all but required. At the opening of University of South Carolina virtually all students were members of the Philomathic Society which was soon divided by lot into the Clariosophic and Euphradian societies. The Euphrosynean Literary Society was later formed at the University of South Carolina to include the female population and serve as a sister society to the Euphradians. In some cases, intense recruitment battles would ensue over new students, and to avoid problems some colleges chose to assign incoming students to one or the other literary society. This pattern was followed, for example, at Dartmouth, where the faculty imposed rule was "The students of College shall be assigned according to the odd or even places which their names shall hold on an alphabetical list of the members of each successive class..."[6] Having two societies on a campus encouraged competition, and a thriving society would have interesting enough meetings to attract full attendance from its membership and perhaps even people from the community. These societies met publicly, sometimes in large lecture rooms, and in most instances the literary exercises would consist of a debate, but could also include speeches, poetry readings, and other literary work

:LOL:

 

But, honestly, I get more enjoyment out of watching a local softball game as I do going through the hassle of attending an MLB game live, or sitting through 3.5 hours on tv.

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Let's all pretend we'd prefer this, from the mid 1850s, before the advent of college football

 

Typically, a college would have two or more competing societies. The campus societies were generally intense competitors. Some examples include the Philodemic and Philonomosian Societies at Georgetown University, the American Whig and Cliosophic Societies at Princeton University, Social Friends and United Fraternity at Dartmouth College, the Philorhetorian and Peithologian societies at Wesleyan University, the Philologian and Philotechnian societies at Williams College, the Philomathean and Zelosophic societies at the University of Pennsylvania, the Philolexian and Peithologian societies at Columbia University, the Clariosophic, Euphradian, and the Euphrosynean societies at the University of South Carolina, the Phi Kappa and Demosthenian societies at the University of Georgia, the Linonia and Brothers in Unity at Yale University, the Miami Union and Erodelphian (previously Adelphic) societies at Miami University and Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. These societies were usually in a limited adversarial role; at Columbia University the Peithologian and Philolexian were competitors, and they maintained a rivalry that was friendly at best and highly charged at worst. In his famous diary, George Templeton Strong recorded that a Philolexian gathering was disrupted by "those rascally Peithologians"; and firecrackers and stink bombs, tossed into the midst of each other's meetings, were usually the weapons of choice.

Membership in these societies was not only open to all the students in the college, but in many cases membership was all but required. At the opening of University of South Carolina virtually all students were members of the Philomathic Society which was soon divided by lot into the Clariosophic and Euphradian societies. The Euphrosynean Literary Society was later formed at the University of South Carolina to include the female population and serve as a sister society to the Euphradians. In some cases, intense recruitment battles would ensue over new students, and to avoid problems some colleges chose to assign incoming students to one or the other literary society. This pattern was followed, for example, at Dartmouth, where the faculty imposed rule was "The students of College shall be assigned according to the odd or even places which their names shall hold on an alphabetical list of the members of each successive class..."[6] Having two societies on a campus encouraged competition, and a thriving society would have interesting enough meetings to attract full attendance from its membership and perhaps even people from the community. These societies met publicly, sometimes in large lecture rooms, and in most instances the literary exercises would consist of a debate, but could also include speeches, poetry readings, and other literary work

Prefer?

 

I don't pay attention to college football. I wouldn't pay attention to "competing societies". I don't think I have a preference.

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It depends how you define 'spectator'

 

if you’re watching/listening to other people play sports, then you’re a spectator, be it on television, on the radio, or in person.

 

My question is: Do you “need” it in your life? If your favorite sports stopped for good, would it cause any real harm to you?

Nope.

 

I generally just catch highlights from time to time on YouTube, and really only get interested during the playoffs (or major events for golf, tennis, world soccer...). Big salaries, longer games and over-exposure pushed me away from my boyhood fascination with pro- and college sports.

It also seems to me that most popular sports in the US have morphed into something almost unrecognizable. An abandonment of fundamentals across the board.

Over-exposure, over-analysis, hyper-conditioned athletes, hyper-engineered equipment... It all adds up to :yawn: at some point.

Yeah, players were REAL MEN back in the 1970s. And they just KNEW a Bregman type was much better than someone like that Trout guy because ur Bregman is a WINNER!!!!1!1!

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It depends how you define 'spectator'

 

if you’re watching/listening to other people play sports, then you’re a spectator, be it on television, on the radio, or in person.

 

My question is: Do you “need” it in your life? If your favorite sports stopped for good, would it cause any real harm to you?

Nope.

 

I generally just catch highlights from time to time on YouTube, and really only get interested during the playoffs (or major events for golf, tennis, world soccer...). Big salaries, longer games and over-exposure pushed me away from my boyhood fascination with pro- and college sports.

It also seems to me that most popular sports in the US have morphed into something almost unrecognizable. An abandonment of fundamentals across the board.

Over-exposure, over-analysis, hyper-conditioned athletes, hyper-engineered equipment... It all adds up to :yawn: at some point.

Yeah, players were REAL MEN back in the 1970s. And they just KNEW a Bregman type was much better than someone like that Trout guy because ur Bregman is a WINNER!!!!1!1!

But...value!

 

timeline_memorystorage_1951.uniservo.jpg

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I'd be completely lost in life unless professional cornhole is on tv.

 

you can tell they're professionals because they have nice shirts with sponsors and someone else holds their beer when it's their turn.

 

Most of my life i had known cornhole as...that other thing. Then, about ten years ago when i was visiting family and friends in my hometown, an old family friend said to me, "Hey Johnny, the autumn fair is going on this weekend. Why don't you drop by? We've got cornhole!" It was then that I learned of THIS recreational activity.

So if you don't mind me asking what sounds for all the world like an indelicate question!!! ..... what the hell is cornhole!!!!????

 

Here's the recreational activity definition:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornhole

Ah ha!!!! The penny drops! Last couple of times we've been out to my cousins' place in Missouri we played this!!! A lot of fun! I just didn't realise it was called cornhole ..... name kinda makes sense!

 

yeah, might want to see how the urban dictionary defines it too.

 

i first saw the term used a games name when i saw a church was having an cornhole tournament. i could not stop laughing at the time. the cornholing priests.

 

back in the days here in the states, people used to wipe their asses with corn cobs. hence ye olde corn hole.

 

Are you familiar with the great cornholio? ( a true american hero )

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It depends how you define 'spectator'

 

if you’re watching/listening to other people play sports, then you’re a spectator, be it on television, on the radio, or in person.

 

My question is: Do you “need” it in your life? If your favorite sports stopped for good, would it cause any real harm to you?

Nope.

 

I generally just catch highlights from time to time on YouTube, and really only get interested during the playoffs (or major events for golf, tennis, world soccer...). Big salaries, longer games and over-exposure pushed me away from my boyhood fascination with pro- and college sports.

It also seems to me that most popular sports in the US have morphed into something almost unrecognizable. An abandonment of fundamentals across the board.

Over-exposure, over-analysis, hyper-conditioned athletes, hyper-engineered equipment... It all adds up to :yawn: at some point.

 

yep. one long commercial.

 

football in particular has IMO lost most sense of sportmanship. cheap shots are applauded and in general a negative energy exudes from the sport. IMO

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I'd be completely lost in life unless professional cornhole is on tv.

 

you can tell they're professionals because they have nice shirts with sponsors and someone else holds their beer when it's their turn.

 

Most of my life i had known cornhole as...that other thing. Then, about ten years ago when i was visiting family and friends in my hometown, an old family friend said to me, "Hey Johnny, the autumn fair is going on this weekend. Why don't you drop by? We've got cornhole!" It was then that I learned of THIS recreational activity.

So if you don't mind me asking what sounds for all the world like an indelicate question!!! ..... what the hell is cornhole!!!!????

 

Here's the recreational activity definition:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornhole

Ah ha!!!! The penny drops! Last couple of times we've been out to my cousins' place in Missouri we played this!!! A lot of fun! I just didn't realise it was called cornhole ..... name kinda makes sense!

 

Also a term for an anus.

 

Now you see the irony of a. the concept of 'professional' cornhole (people that actual take this silly game seriously) and b. the game being named for an asshole.

 

I've seen professional cornhole on tv. seriously. I watched it thinking that someone will eventually announce 'hey burgers are ready! come and get it!'

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I'd be completely lost in life unless professional cornhole is on tv.

 

you can tell they're professionals because they have nice shirts with sponsors and someone else holds their beer when it's their turn.

 

Most of my life i had known cornhole as...that other thing. Then, about ten years ago when i was visiting family and friends in my hometown, an old family friend said to me, "Hey Johnny, the autumn fair is going on this weekend. Why don't you drop by? We've got cornhole!" It was then that I learned of THIS recreational activity.

So if you don't mind me asking what sounds for all the world like an indelicate question!!! ..... what the hell is cornhole!!!!????

 

Here's the recreational activity definition:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornhole

Ah ha!!!! The penny drops! Last couple of times we've been out to my cousins' place in Missouri we played this!!! A lot of fun! I just didn't realise it was called cornhole ..... name kinda makes sense!

 

Also a term for an anus.

 

Now you see the irony of a. the concept of 'professional' cornhole (people that actual take this silly game seriously) and b. the game being named for an asshole.

 

I've seen professional cornhole on tv. seriously. I watched it thinking that someone will eventually announce 'hey burgers are ready! come and get it!'

 

you know ESPN was hating it when cornholing was their top program!

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I'd be completely lost in life unless professional cornhole is on tv.

 

you can tell they're professionals because they have nice shirts with sponsors and someone else holds their beer when it's their turn.

 

Most of my life i had known cornhole as...that other thing. Then, about ten years ago when i was visiting family and friends in my hometown, an old family friend said to me, "Hey Johnny, the autumn fair is going on this weekend. Why don't you drop by? We've got cornhole!" It was then that I learned of THIS recreational activity.

So if you don't mind me asking what sounds for all the world like an indelicate question!!! ..... what the hell is cornhole!!!!????

 

Here's the recreational activity definition:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornhole

Ah ha!!!! The penny drops! Last couple of times we've been out to my cousins' place in Missouri we played this!!! A lot of fun! I just didn't realise it was called cornhole ..... name kinda makes sense!

 

Also a term for an anus.

 

Now you see the irony of a. the concept of 'professional' cornhole (people that actual take this silly game seriously) and b. the game being named for an asshole.

 

I've seen professional cornhole on tv. seriously. I watched it thinking that someone will eventually announce 'hey burgers are ready! come and get it!'

 

you know ESPN was hating it when cornholing was their top program!

It's orders of magnitude better than Stephen A. and Kellerman's unwatchable crap.

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I'd be completely lost in life unless professional cornhole is on tv.

 

you can tell they're professionals because they have nice shirts with sponsors and someone else holds their beer when it's their turn.

 

Most of my life i had known cornhole as...that other thing. Then, about ten years ago when i was visiting family and friends in my hometown, an old family friend said to me, "Hey Johnny, the autumn fair is going on this weekend. Why don't you drop by? We've got cornhole!" It was then that I learned of THIS recreational activity.

So if you don't mind me asking what sounds for all the world like an indelicate question!!! ..... what the hell is cornhole!!!!????

 

Here's the recreational activity definition:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornhole

Ah ha!!!! The penny drops! Last couple of times we've been out to my cousins' place in Missouri we played this!!! A lot of fun! I just didn't realise it was called cornhole ..... name kinda makes sense!

 

Also a term for an anus.

 

Now you see the irony of a. the concept of 'professional' cornhole (people that actual take this silly game seriously) and b. the game being named for an asshole.

 

I've seen professional cornhole on tv. seriously. I watched it thinking that someone will eventually announce 'hey burgers are ready! come and get it!'

 

you know ESPN was hating it when cornholing was their top program!

It's orders of magnitude better than Stephen A. and Kellerman's unwatchable crap.

a day without Stephen A or Keith Olbermann is a good day

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a day without Stephen A or Keith Olbermann is a good day

 

Every day is a good day for me. I don't give one second of my time to any of those nincompoops. :no:

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What LABT said: no one really "needs" spectator sports -- I'd imagine that for most of history, most people haven't had it...

Bread and circus has a long tradition, no?

 

1bb232152b1c40b30032c4f260b0320c.jpg

 

A long, intermittent history, yes, which is why I used the word "most!" The "gladiator" period of Rome wasn't even the whole duration of the Republic or Empire, and then it went away (even the lions eating the Christians, if you can imagine!). Every culture has had sports, but as a routine featuring large-scale spectatorship? Less so.

 

You're right to point to Rome, though, since the bread and circuses were designed to keep people from noticing too much how much their daily lives sucked. Very similar, really.

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I'd be completely lost in life unless professional cornhole is on tv.

 

you can tell they're professionals because they have nice shirts with sponsors and someone else holds their beer when it's their turn.

 

Most of my life i had known cornhole as...that other thing. Then, about ten years ago when i was visiting family and friends in my hometown, an old family friend said to me, "Hey Johnny, the autumn fair is going on this weekend. Why don't you drop by? We've got cornhole!" It was then that I learned of THIS recreational activity.

So if you don't mind me asking what sounds for all the world like an indelicate question!!! ..... what the hell is cornhole!!!!????

 

Here's the recreational activity definition:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornhole

Ah ha!!!! The penny drops! Last couple of times we've been out to my cousins' place in Missouri we played this!!! A lot of fun! I just didn't realise it was called cornhole ..... name kinda makes sense!

 

Also a term for an anus.

 

Now you see the irony of a. the concept of 'professional' cornhole (people that actual take this silly game seriously) and b. the game being named for an asshole.

 

I've seen professional cornhole on tv. seriously. I watched it thinking that someone will eventually announce 'hey burgers are ready! come and get it!'

 

Right.

These were the two definitions of cornhole I had before I found out about the sport:

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=corn+hole

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I'd be completely lost in life unless professional cornhole is on tv.

 

you can tell they're professionals because they have nice shirts with sponsors and someone else holds their beer when it's their turn.

 

Most of my life i had known cornhole as...that other thing. Then, about ten years ago when i was visiting family and friends in my hometown, an old family friend said to me, "Hey Johnny, the autumn fair is going on this weekend. Why don't you drop by? We've got cornhole!" It was then that I learned of THIS recreational activity.

So if you don't mind me asking what sounds for all the world like an indelicate question!!! ..... what the hell is cornhole!!!!????

 

Here's the recreational activity definition:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornhole

Ah ha!!!! The penny drops! Last couple of times we've been out to my cousins' place in Missouri we played this!!! A lot of fun! I just didn't realise it was called cornhole ..... name kinda makes sense!

 

Also a term for an anus.

 

Now you see the irony of a. the concept of 'professional' cornhole (people that actual take this silly game seriously) and b. the game being named for an asshole.

 

I've seen professional cornhole on tv. seriously. I watched it thinking that someone will eventually announce 'hey burgers are ready! come and get it!'

 

Right.

These were the two definitions of cornhole I had before I found out about the sport:

https://www.urbandic...?term=corn hole

 

a6804868aa413be39077a86142f0bb24.jpg

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Let's all pretend we'd prefer this, from the mid 1850s, before the advent of college football

 

Typically, a college would have two or more competing societies. The campus societies were generally intense competitors. Some examples include the Philodemic and Philonomosian Societies at Georgetown University, the American Whig and Cliosophic Societies at Princeton University, Social Friends and United Fraternity at Dartmouth College, the Philorhetorian and Peithologian societies at Wesleyan University, the Philologian and Philotechnian societies at Williams College, the Philomathean and Zelosophic societies at the University of Pennsylvania, the Philolexian and Peithologian societies at Columbia University, the Clariosophic, Euphradian, and the Euphrosynean societies at the University of South Carolina, the Phi Kappa and Demosthenian societies at the University of Georgia, the Linonia and Brothers in Unity at Yale University, the Miami Union and Erodelphian (previously Adelphic) societies at Miami University and Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. These societies were usually in a limited adversarial role; at Columbia University the Peithologian and Philolexian were competitors, and they maintained a rivalry that was friendly at best and highly charged at worst. In his famous diary, George Templeton Strong recorded that a Philolexian gathering was disrupted by "those rascally Peithologians"; and firecrackers and stink bombs, tossed into the midst of each other's meetings, were usually the weapons of choice.

Membership in these societies was not only open to all the students in the college, but in many cases membership was all but required. At the opening of University of South Carolina virtually all students were members of the Philomathic Society which was soon divided by lot into the Clariosophic and Euphradian societies. The Euphrosynean Literary Society was later formed at the University of South Carolina to include the female population and serve as a sister society to the Euphradians. In some cases, intense recruitment battles would ensue over new students, and to avoid problems some colleges chose to assign incoming students to one or the other literary society. This pattern was followed, for example, at Dartmouth, where the faculty imposed rule was "The students of College shall be assigned according to the odd or even places which their names shall hold on an alphabetical list of the members of each successive class..."[6] Having two societies on a campus encouraged competition, and a thriving society would have interesting enough meetings to attract full attendance from its membership and perhaps even people from the community. These societies met publicly, sometimes in large lecture rooms, and in most instances the literary exercises would consist of a debate, but could also include speeches, poetry readings, and other literary work

 

You actually read that and it made sense? Some traditions deserve to end up in the dustbin of history.

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It depends how you define 'spectator'

 

if you’re watching/listening to other people play sports, then you’re a spectator, be it on television, on the radio, or in person.

 

My question is: Do you “need” it in your life? If your favorite sports stopped for good, would it cause any real harm to you?

Nope.

 

I generally just catch highlights from time to time on YouTube, and really only get interested during the playoffs (or major events for golf, tennis, world soccer...). Big salaries, longer games and over-exposure pushed me away from my boyhood fascination with pro- and college sports.

It also seems to me that most popular sports in the US have morphed into something almost unrecognizable. An abandonment of fundamentals across the board.

Over-exposure, over-analysis, hyper-conditioned athletes, hyper-engineered equipment... It all adds up to :yawn: at some point.

 

Too much talking about foolishness, like in the run up to the Super Bowl we learned the names of all the second cousins once removed of the team members and how they loved (insert your choice of hobby) in their school days. :laughing guy:

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