Why Do We Watch Sports?

Millions of us spend the time and money every year to watch our favourite sports. Whether it be the world cup, NFL, Basketball or even the Olympics. The world is obsessed by sport, and people even dedicate their whole lives to following their favourite athlete or team. But why?

What is it about sport which has us so enraptured and captivated? Why is it that people running around on a field kicking a ball can cause immense excitement, devastation and even vandalism in humans? You don't see any other animal reacting the same way, so what makes us different?

Sport is such a diverse thing and can include anything which involves some sort of physical movement. And so many of us flock to by sports tickets every week to see our heroes in action. Of course, a simple explanation is that watching people succeed physically is entertaining, and it brings people together in social gatherings to watch their sporting heroes get to work.

It gives friends a way to bond with each other, and allows us to make new friends with the mutual knowledge of a sporting activity. Many of us live through our favourite players as a way of living out our dreams. It teaches us about teamwork, dedication and authority. We might even just watch it because our parents used to.

Or maybe we are all just big kids living out our childhood play in the form of watching others. Life can be complicated as an adult, with work, bills, social life and looking after the family draining us physically and mentally. But what sport gives us is much the same as a good book. Escapism. We can sit down and watch people play, and for that brief period we forget about the stresses of everyday life.

Sport can also fuel the adrenaline junkie in us all, much like the hoards who recently went to watch the new 'IT' movie in the cinema. Sport can be full of drama, injury and exhilarating moments. It can have us on the edge of our seats, waiting for the perfect goal or that well deserved home run.

And if you really want to delve into the deeper meaning of why we enjoy sports, you need to look into history. Sport is a fairly simple game; it involves a struggle, competition, and eventually a clear winner. If you look back at evolution, you will know that we are more connected with the animal kingdom than you think, and we share the same innate values.

We all have a primitive desire to be the top of the food chain, to be dominant. And this manifests itself in sport. We want our favourite team to win because we want to be superior. It is the same principal as war. We might like to think we are far more intelligent and advanced, but really it always boils down to someone wanting to be the most powerful.

But when it all boils down to it, we watch sport because it is fun. It showcases the skill of the human body and it makes us want to strive to be better ourselves. Sport is awesome.

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