Watching vs Playing Sports

My dad would watch American football every Sunday afternoons. As a young child, naturally I would do what he's doing. He was from Pennsylvania, my Mom's side of family from Denver, and we lived next to Tampa, so he would cheer for Steelers, Broncos, and Bucs. The superbowl was a fun family event, where we watched a recording after night church, and get popcorn for snacks. I remember the Broncos winning one superbowl and we were all excited.

As I grew older and became a teen, I stopped watching football with family, because I would rather play video games. I wanted to play them with my dad, but he wanted to relax and watch sports on TV. In high school, many of my classmates were into basketball. Our school had a basketball team, and they would be talking about NBA players and plays they made in games the previous night. I really didn't understand the thrill of it. I liked playing sports, not watching them. I played on the school soccer team. I wasn't into basketball that much.

In college, I made friends with Japanese students. They were not familiar with American athletes and keeping up with games. But we had a "sports Friday" where we would all play something together: volleyball, basketball, or tennis. After graduating and going to Japan, I participated in a couple sports events at the city college and made friends. I haven't watched any sports games on TV for a long time. Not even the Olympics. I guess I find it boring watching other people play. I don't get excited about cheering for the same team as family and friends. I could care less who wins. I'm down to play pick-up games though, and not the stereotypical anti-PE nerd. I like physical activity, though I haven't done much recently. I've been indoors and on a computer too much. That's why I started taking tennis lessons.