27 October, 22

How To Survive 5 Sports Seasons If You’re Not A Fan

Well, everyone, the time has come. Sports-induced sensory overload is upon us. Five sporting seasons are overlapping as we speak.

That’s correct – soccer, football, basketball, baseball, and hockey are all occurring at the same damn time — and that time is now. Perhaps this excites you, perhaps this terrifies you. Either way, it’s happening. And this time period is essentially unavoidable.

I love live sporting events. There’s nothing more thrilling – and vile – than a hometown crowd cheering on their team. I’m from Philadelphia, where the fans are known to be particularly ruthless. Yet, there is no place I’d rather be right now than the sports complex cheering on my team IRL.

But for you, or maybe someone you know, this is the worst-case scenario. There are people – and this may be a hard pill to swallow, fellow sports fans – couldn’t care less about sports. Gasp.

Regardless of where you fall in the sports-loving spectrum, you can’t avoid it. If you leave your house at any given moment this week and enter any public establishment, I guarantee the latest Grey’s Anatomy won’t be playing on TV.

And what happens when your boyfriend calls and you have no choice but to watch the game and suffer? I’m not saying sports are insufferable, but I can see how non-fans get overwhelmed by the hype.

I get it! Games can feel slow and too low-stakes until the playoffs. There are so many rules to follow and positions to understand…not to mention all the players wear helmets so you can barely tell who they are.

On any given day, three separate sports games can be going at once. So brace yourselves, ladies and gentlemen, because sports season is upon us and not slowing down. If you’re not into this, it’s okay.

Here are some ways we can survive this together, as a collective. Because chances are, someone you know cares too much about sports, and you will have to endure it at some point.

Tailgate

There’s nothing quite like going to the stadiums — even if you don’t have a ticket. Tailgating starts early on game days and often lasts well beyond the game. At pregame: head to a local bar with your friends in tow, so when kickoff starts you’ll catch all the action.

Often, tickets will drop in price right when the game starts. So going on Ticketmaster while in the stadium parking lot is not off-limits. You may end up enjoying yourself at a discount.

Focus On The Playoffs

Sure, you can disassociate through every single sporting event during regular-season baseball…but playoff baseball is actually more interesting. That’s because it finally feels like there’s a point to the game after playing a lengthy season.

When a championship is within reach, Fans go extreme. So you can guarantee entertainment by attending or even just watching one of these games. Why not have a bunch of friends over and simply hang out while lazily watching.

Use It As An Excuse To Hang Out

Casually watching the game is still considered … watching the game. You don’t have to have your eyes glued to the screen every play. It’s okay to miss ten full minutes because you were talking to your friends.

So, ask your friends if they’d like to do something “for the game” but all that really means is you guys hang out, order drinks from Drizly, and eat good food…or you go to a bar and make it one huge hang out.

Use It As Background Noise

What to do when the game’s on and you could care less? Use it as background noise or mindless entertainment that you don’t need to focus on to know what’s happening. You may learn to enjoy it. Let it play while doing chores.

Clean your living room, do the dishes, and catch up on meal prep or much-needed baking. Fold clothes while watching the game. Google who is on what team. Try to ease yourself into the world of sports without fully committing.

Seriously…Go To The Bars

Even if you’re not going to drink, it’s easier to tolerate sporting events when there’s an assortment of fans all causing a scene. Not to forget music during the commercial breaks – from a DJ – is awesome.

At the end of the day, no one care if you’re there as a fan or not. While everyone else watches the game like zombies, you can have fun dancing around and chatting to a bunch of people.

While not all sports games may be interesting, you can definitely make them interesting.