Why We Watch Sports

On Thursday evening I was sitting on the couch, surfing the Internet with SportsCenter on in the background, when clips from Portland’s 101-99 win over Houston came on. I watched with interest as Roy hit his huge turnaround, and as Yao sank the and-one bucket to pull ahead by one. When Roy hit the enormous flat-footed three, I let out a loud yelp of ‘Ohhhh!’ Ivy looked at me like I was crazy.

Though it was a surprising and unexpected moment of victory, Portland’s win (to a casual sports fan) doesn’t seem like it should excite me at all. After all, what emotional connection do I have to the Trailblazers? Yao’s Chinese (+1). I love Ron Artest’s play (+1). I love watching to see if Artest is going to do something crazy (+1). Always been a fan of Tracy McGrady (+1). Very bullish on Brandon Roy (-1). I’ve always thought the Blazers should’ve drafted Durant (+1).

I believe that puts me at +3 in the rooting section for the Rockets.

But simple rooting interests represent only a small part of why we really watch sports. It’s just the first level of sports enjoyment.

Being a fan of a team is a sufficient condition to watch the team’s game, but it’s far from the only reason for doing so. You might watch a game because of its importance in the world of sports (the "Tiger Woods" effect). You might watch a game because of a transcendent star who demands your attention (the "Michael Jordan" effect) - note to Lakers fans, Kobe Bryant does not qualify. You might even watch a game for the pure passive entertainment value (the "Game and a beer" effect).

While all of those reasons are valid, the real reason we (addictive sports fans) watch sports is the simple possibility of amazing moments. Moments like the time Brandon Roy scored twice (including a 35-foot three-pointer) in the last 1.9 seconds to pull his team to a two-point victory. Or when the Tampa Bay Rays hold off the Red Sox in a fantastic Game 7 in the ALCS Championships. Or an unreal LeBron James hammer dunk. Or when Nick Robinson beat Arizona on an unbelievable half-court shot to keep Stanford’s unbeaten season alive.

We watch sports in the hope of moments like those. We sit through boring blowouts in the middle of the season and last-minute comebacks that fall seconds short just for the mere possibility that those games might result in a fantastic moment or two. Usually it doesn’t happen, but those rare moments more than make up for all of the unspectacular hours.

It’s why we can’t understand people who leave at the first sign of possible loss or folks who decide to just check on the score later. And it’s certainly why we detest bandwagon jumpers who root for a team only in the good times. Because those spectacular experiences are rewards for the commitment and investment of our time.