I’ve grown up thinking that as a man, I’m required to be a “sports guy”. As I grow older though, I feel like I care less about the mask of masculinity and more about accepting the things that truly make me who I am.

Fear of ridicule

I’d say the main reason that I grew up into sports was because that is what I was groomed to do.

I can remember if you didn’t know who the star players were or what they’d accomplished in that weeks game, you were an outcast. I really only kept up with stats and highlights so I would be able to contribute to conversations in meaningful ways.

Kids can be mean.

At that age, the only thing I had was my immediate environment of family and kids I went to school with. With that circle of influence being so small, judgements and perceptions can have a huge impact on the self-esteem of a kid trying to discover who they are.

Sports as a way out

Now that I actually think about it, my parents like sports but my mom is only a passive fan, and my dad will turn them on if a game happens to be on TV when he decides to rest.

My grandma was a huge basketball fan. She did the whole screaming at the TV bit when the Mavs were sucking it up. 😆

I think the main thing my parents used sports for was actually a way out. I would even say they used it partly as an organized babysitter, but also a distraction from the happenings in our neighborhood. Trouble was always around the corner, but we never really knew it because we were always at church, practice, or a game.

I’d say the benefits of team sports are definitely worth it. Learning how to be a team player has proven super valuable in my life now, and the drive given from learning how to compete at a young age is beneficial too.

Although I was never destined for any league of any sort, I think I still got “out” of our situation in a roundabout way on the longer route.

I don’t really know that much about sports 🤷🏾‍♂️

When you actually reduce my knowledge of sports down to a nice rue, I know the basics of all of them but I’m no statistician.

I know people that are TRUE fanatics and can tell you individual stats, historical context, and even team dynamics not visible to the human eye. I’m not that guy.

There are totally people that if their team loses it messes up their WHOLE day as if they were in the game and fought a hard battle.

I like the strategy behind sports. How do people react when they’re in certain situations? What is going on inside the teams head mentally when under duress? Can you tell who has been consistent and who hasn’t? These are all the things that I think about when watching the games. Honestly, I don’t care what teams are playing…

Me pretty much…

In the end, I’ve come to grips with me not being a fanatic and I’m ok with backing out of Fantasy Football leagues because I’d rather focus on other aspects of my life. I’m also ok with not being at home if a game is on. I am fully confident in the things that I love and real life experiences that directly impact my life, so I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything.