Sports Watching Reduction

In the last couple of years, I've significantly reduced the amount of sports I watch. Though, I must admit, there was no where to go besides down after college (Let's just say I went to as many games as humanly possible).

At UConn, I used watching sports as stress relief and a great way to get away from engineering work. It was also a way to socialize with fellow Huskies while supporting my peers on the court/field.

Now I feel less connected to sports than ever before but I'm okay with that. While I can appreciate the skill and talent of athletes, I rather spend more time improving myself or enjoying other interests. I often have sports in the background while doing other things or watch it as a way of relieving my mind from other things. More often than not, I see myself critiquing the camera work and TV production more than watching the actual game.

Don't get me wrong, I still watch a game here and there. But it is for more social reasons than anything else. Just like television shows, movies, weather, and dreaded route talk, sports tends to be a go-to conversation topic. Sports also provide a means to connecting people in a broad sense; making it a decent social activity for a wider demographic.

And it looks like it's not just me reducing the time spent watching sports; viewership of sports has been significantly down this year. This could have been affected by the election, but I think it's more than just that. There are more options, whether that be streaming other content or interacting with others on the internet. Another effect of sports being so prevalent in our culture is that we just become tired of it; particularly with the world of 24/7 analysis.