OT: "Why Do So Many Young Americans Hate Sports?"

[NorthernKnight]

Interesting article about young people behind millennials actually "hating" sports (as opposed to just not being interested). The article goes in depth on the cultural contours, as well as why gambling is being used to pull young people in. It also goes into things like what baseball is doing to gain fans and how progress is going.


Why Do So Many Young Americans Hate Sports?

Market data paints a grim picture for the future of pro sports. In league offices around the country, the campaign to secure it is well underway.

"A new study reveals that just 23 percent of Generation Z — people born between 1992 and 2007, as the study defines the age group — consider themselves “avid” sports fans. That’s 19 percent lower than the Millennial mark of 42 percent. Roughly a third of Gen Xers and Baby Boomers, meanwhile, identify as “avid” sports fans, about 10 points higher than members of Gen Z. Perhaps more tellingly, Gen Z folks say they “actively dislike” sports at a 27-percent clip. The correspondent rates for Millennials, Gen Xers and Boomers rate hovered between 5 and 7 percent.

This is not the first time data collectors have concluded that Gen Z is just not that into sports. In November 2020, Rich Luker, a social psychologist who founded his own sports polling organization, told the Washington Post that he’s observed sports fandom drop among young people for the past decade and a half, and has warned major sports leagues that a reckoning is on the horizon. "

Why Do So Many Young Americans Hate Sports?

Market data paints a grim picture for the future of pro sports. In league offices around the country, the campaign to secure it is well underway.

www.insidehook.com

Translation: I’m not a star so I hate it.

 

[fsg2]

Not sure he was teasing.

Not sure it matters. He was parodying the grumpy old man club that uses any excuse to disparage younger generations and pull out mindless meathead cliches like "pussification of murca." Whether he was serious, half-serious or totally joking matters not (so I am sure : )

They deserve that and more. Not even sure why anyone is defending them. They clearly got it completely wrong, again.

 

[fsg2]

I think he was trying to make a point more than be funny. He did it with comic irony, but that was the teasing bit.

Pretty sure he was mostly trying to say that there's some hypocrisy, and perhaps a lack of self-awareness, in parents engaged in bashing their children's generation. After all, it was us that raised the next generation, was it not? Unless ours is indeed the perfect generation (which it obviously cannot be if we failed in raising the next generation).

I like that paradox you set up there. I might use that next time.

 

[ElmiraExpress]

I've been around a ton of kids from middle school to college age. None of them really seemed to GAF about politics. Issues yes. Politics no.

Of course, even the ton of kids I've been around represents an insignificant sample. I haven't seen any polls that attempt to gauge kid's attitudes with regard to politics. I suspect a lot of kids would fail to respond to such a poll, and hang up (or ignore) any attempts by phone. Which would make the poll results dubious.

But from what I've seen personally, an obsession with various socioeconomic issues will still exist, but the obsession with parties, to some extent, and especially political ideologies, will die off. Thankfully. Kids seem to have a very different way of viewing this stuff than our generation.

I work with lot of people in their early 20s. From my observation, they don’t care one bit about Republican vs. Democrat, they think both are ridiculous, and often they don’t vote (which I don’t understand). However, they do care care a lot about climate change, racism, LGBTQ issues. If you consider those to be be political issues (I don’t), then they are political I suppose.

 

[WhiteBus]

I work with lot of people in their early 20s. From my observation, they don’t care one bit about Republican vs. Democrat, they think both are ridiculous, and often they don’t vote (which I don’t understand). However, they do care care a lot about climate change, racism, LGBTQ issues. If you consider those to be be political issues (I don’t), then they are political I suppose.

I'm 60 but I agree with the 20s crowd that politics is stupid in this country anymore. The hatred is going to kill this country. Fueled by Russian and China posts on social media. They loved getting Trump elected. They love the disaster that has become American politics. Nothing gets done except running for the next election.

 

[anon_ivydyf0amkzay]

I'm 60 but I agree with the 20s crowd that politics is stupid in this country anymore. The hatred is going to kill this country. Fueled by Russian and China posts on social media. They loved getting Trump elected. They love the disaster that has become American politics. Nothing gets done except running for the next election.

And the lefts TDS was so strong that the party of inclusion and diversity had to turn to the WHITEST and MOST DC fossil for a chance to “win” (I use that term loosely)… they could not risk running the cool smart gay guy, of the black woman or the 1/96th Native American.
Now we are stuck with the current imbecile and his incompetent side kick!

 

[RUevolution36]

And the lefts TDS was so strong that the party of inclusion and diversity had to turn to the WHITEST and MOST DC fossil for a chance to “win” (I use that term loosely)… they could not risk running the cool smart gay guy, of the black woman or the 1/96th Native American.
Now we are stuck with the current imbecile and his incompetent side kick!

What does this have to do with young people not liking sports? Maybe you and your friends have too much politics on the brain to realize that there's other stuff going on in the world that matters to that generation. You should take up meditating or something.

 

[robcac26]

And the lefts TDS was so strong that the party of inclusion and diversity had to turn to the WHITEST and MOST DC fossil for a chance to “win” (I use that term loosely)… they could not risk running the cool smart gay guy, of the black woman or the 1/96th Native American.
Now we are stuck with the current imbecile and his incompetent side kick!

None of this rant is a relevant response to the post you quoted, which ironically demonstrates its point pretty well.

 

[WhiteBus]

I find it funny that some of the people on here are mentioning that kids just live there lives online on social media at the very same time they are doing the exact same thing on this board. Can't make this shit up.

 

[RUbacker]

Interesting article about young people behind millennials actually "hating" sports (as opposed to just not being interested). The article goes in depth on the cultural contours, as well as why gambling is being used to pull young people in. It also goes into things like what baseball is doing to gain fans and how progress is going.


Why Do So Many Young Americans Hate Sports?

Market data paints a grim picture for the future of pro sports. In league offices around the country, the campaign to secure it is well underway.

"A new study reveals that just 23 percent of Generation Z — people born between 1992 and 2007, as the study defines the age group — consider themselves “avid” sports fans. That’s 19 percent lower than the Millennial mark of 42 percent. Roughly a third of Gen Xers and Baby Boomers, meanwhile, identify as “avid” sports fans, about 10 points higher than members of Gen Z. Perhaps more tellingly, Gen Z folks say they “actively dislike” sports at a 27-percent clip. The correspondent rates for Millennials, Gen Xers and Boomers rate hovered between 5 and 7 percent.

This is not the first time data collectors have concluded that Gen Z is just not that into sports. In November 2020, Rich Luker, a social psychologist who founded his own sports polling organization, told the Washington Post that he’s observed sports fandom drop among young people for the past decade and a half, and has warned major sports leagues that a reckoning is on the horizon. "

Why Do So Many Young Americans Hate Sports?

Market data paints a grim picture for the future of pro sports. In league offices around the country, the campaign to secure it is well underway.

www.insidehook.com

They hate competition, they hate working hard at something and hate that one person or team can outplay someone and WIN. Probably the same little idiots that hate America.

 

[Scarlet1984]

They hate competition, they hate working hard at something and hate that one person or team can outplay someone and WIN. Probably the same little idiots that hate America.

That’s an excellent analysis backed by facts and zero baseless generalizations.

You must be a fun guy to sit next to at Thanksgiving.

 

[jordkap]

I suspect part of the reason are their idiot parents who scream at the refs of an 8 year old basketball game. Everyone thinks their kid is Lebron James and I imagine it’s embarrassing and stressful for those kids.

 

[rutgersdave]

That’s an excellent analysis backed by facts and zero baseless generalizations.

You must be a fun guy to sit next to at Thanksgiving.

There’s a lot of angry Rutgers fans that hate other people that don’t think like them.

 

[mdk01]

I suspect part of the reason are their idiot parents who scream at the refs of an 8 year old basketball game. Everyone thinks their kid is Lebron James and I imagine it’s embarrassing and stressful for those kids.

A number of people, including me, have posted similar thoughts.

 

[mdk01]

There’s a lot of angry Rutgers fans that hate other people that don’t think like them.

That statement may cover more people than you think.

 

[Scarlet Bri]

Because they’re pussies?

I know this quote is now 3 days old, but what a perfect response!!! Short, to the point and hilarious. I literally LOL’ed. I haven’t read another word of this thread and probably won’t because you can’t top this. Hat tip to zap.

 

[fsg2]

They hate competition, they hate working hard at something and hate that one person or team can outplay someone and WIN. Probably the same little idiots that hate America.

Oh, hey. This is a little awkward. The angry old guy yelling at the sky conference was three days ago. We're gonna have to ask you to leave now. Security is standing by.

 

[fsg2]

I know this quote is now 3 days old, but what a perfect response!!! Short, to the point and hilarious. I literally LOL’ed. I haven’t read another word of this thread and probably won’t because you can’t top this. Hat tip to zap.

See above. Bye.

 

[mikebal9]

After 6 pages, I feel it's a good time to interject. The most interesting part of this threada is how many of the people posting in it have little to no actual knowledge and are just guessing and name-calling. Do you have young kids? Work with them? SO many of you are just angry old men who have absolutely no idea what is driving kids these days. I am not offering an opinion on the original premise. Just saying, many of you are embarrassing yourselves.

 

[RUScottish05]

Agree with an earlier post, youth sports is high octane, fast paced, extremely competitive and has been taken over by businesses. You have companies and minor league programs managing the youth sports programs. So a 22 year old minor league soccer player takes over for coach dad. The result is far less focus on rec leagues for which 90% of my generation played up until high school. Don't get me wrong you still had travel soccer, travel baseball during the summer, but the rec leagues are now used to weed out the top players from 5-7 years old.

If a kid misses a season or starts late, you're light years behind now in a ultra-competitive league. For every parent that's a crazed sports fan yelling on the sidelines you have 4 parents who could give two shits about their kids playing sports.

Combine this with video games, YouTube, cell phones and lazy parents. I coach my sons 7-9 year old baseball team and I can't believe the lack of commitment from the parents. So and so is gonna miss this game, half or 3/4 of the team shows up for practice. It's sad.

 

[NotInRHouse]

You're way over the top in content as well as in tone. The youngest Boomer on this site is 67 years old. (The baby boom stops in 1964); they don't have any minor children. Few of their parents thought the Beatles were dreadful (they were, after all, much more acceptable than the other rock music of the era) at least until they became apparent advocates of drugs in their songs, which took a few years. And no one thought that the record player (which was around when our parents were growing up, and they danced to LP records just like we did) was the tool of the devil. Cool down.

I am no math major but the oldest would be 57 and it's absolutely in the strong realm of possibility for boomers to have raised Gen Z who were born roughly beginning in 1995. In fact that seems prime age for the young boomers to have had children. The boomers though had the biggest effect on their favorite bete noir, my generation, the millennials, who they for the most part did raise (would have been a big scandal for the silent to have us late in life back then but I know of a few cases). And trust me, they think we're exactly the same in terms of the phone, video games, music, etc. The same crap you hear now about mumble rap or what have you, I was hearing about nu metal and regular rap or how the bass in EDM was dreadful. I won't even get into the technology, whether the questions I am constantly asked about the basics to anger over why we played Mario Kart or Sim City rather than baseball.

I am merely returning fire at people who LITERALLY RAISED the people they are complaining about. I mean there a lot of ironies in 2021 but this is at least a top 3.

 

[NotInRHouse]

This is at least the third post of his on this. If he's trying to be funny, he's doing a really lousy job.

Do you really think I'm lumping you in with those people?

Let's be real here. Are there Gen Z kids who live their lives entirely online and barely leave the house (pre COVID)? Yes, 110%. Do I think that's weird? Of course I do.

But there's two things here. 1) the people who are complaining about this phenomenon literally raised such people and 2) they come from what is, in my opinion, a generation that even putting that massive irony aside, got the same critiques from their parents.

I think when these stereotypes are reversed there is an EXTREME sensitivity going on here. Gen Z has a ton of memes making fun of millennials, I think they're hilarious. Point out boomers needing to call in the cavalry to rotate a PDF, you will often get a very angry response. While the stereotypes of generations have been around for time immortal the sensitive reactions haven't.

Also we can tell the difference between someone like yourself and the retrograde whiners in this thread and their CEsspool performances, versus the older generations who will tell you millennials, who are mostly in their 30s now, are 22 and live with their parents.

 

[RUevolution36]

I am no math major but the oldest would be 57 and it's absolutely in the strong realm of possibility for boomers to have raised Gen Z who were born roughly beginning in 1995. In fact that seems prime age for the young boomers to have had children. The boomers though had the biggest effect on their favorite bete noir, my generation, the millennials, who they for the most part did raise (would have been a big scandal for the silent to have us late in life back then but I know of a few cases). And trust me, they think we're exactly the same in terms of the phone, video games, music, etc. The same crap you hear now about mumble rap or what have you, I was hearing about nu metal and regular rap or how the bass in EDM was dreadful. I won't even get into the technology, whether the questions I am constantly asked about the basics to anger over why we played Mario Kart or Sim City rather than baseball.

I am merely returning fire at people who LITERALLY RAISED the people they are complaining about. I mean there a lot of ironies in 2021 but this is at least a top 3.

It's a long standing custom for older generations to look down on younger ones and vice versa because their respective worlds are different than what they know/knew. Anyone who is saying "but its different this time" is arrogant to think that the situation is unique... and more importantly for the older generation.. that they had no responsibility in shaping the younger ones.

 

[RU205]

Agree with an earlier post, youth sports is high octane, fast paced, extremely competitive and has been taken over by businesses. You have companies and minor league programs managing the youth sports programs. So a 22 year old minor league soccer player takes over for coach dad. The result is far less focus on rec leagues for which 90% of my generation played up until high school. Don't get me wrong you still had travel soccer, travel baseball during the summer, but the rec leagues are now used to weed out the top players from 5-7 years old.

If a kid misses a season or starts late, you're light years behind now in a ultra-competitive league. For every parent that's a crazed sports fan yelling on the sidelines you have 4 parents who could give two shits about their kids playing sports.

Combine this with video games, YouTube, cell phones and lazy parents. I coach my sons 7-9 year old baseball team and I can't believe the lack of commitment from the parents. So and so is gonna miss this game, half or 3/4 of the team shows up for practice. It's sad.

This is accurate. My kids are now in HS and I used to help run a rec baseball and softball league. Parents are not overly interested, kids miss practices so much so that if you get 50% of your team to show up that is a lot. Kids miss games as well, mostly because of competing activities. Kids will be signed up for softball, gymnastics, dance and cheer during the same season. Leagues that used to rely solely on parent volunteer coaches need to hire out paid coaches to run clinics and practices. These coaches also run club team, and use this as an opportunity to recruit the better players to their club team leaving what's left for rec.

 

[mildone]

That’s an excellent analysis backed by facts and zero baseless generalizations.

You must be a fun guy to sit next to at Thanksgiving.

"Grrrrrrr. You ignorant grandkids! Listen to me. When I was growin' up, we knew when turkey was done by stickin' our fist up the damn bird's butt, like all good Muricans do. If we pull it back out burned, it's done. None of that damn __________________ (fill whichever political ideology you hate) pop-up timer stupidity. Grrrrr." 😃

 

[mildone]

There’s a lot of angry Rutgers fans that hate other people that don’t think like them.

There's a lot of people all over the planet like that. The human race has a whole lot more evolving to do, I think.

Thankfully, it seems that each new generation evolves just that little bit more. Maybe in another 1000 years...

 

[mdk01]

"Grrrrrrr. You ignorant grandkids! Listen to me. When I was growin' up, we knew when turkey was done by stickin' our fist up the damn bird's butt, like all good Muricans do. If we pull it back out burned, it's done. None of that damn __________________ (fill whichever political ideology you hate) pop-up timer stupidity. Grrrrr." 😃

"And we walked to our grandparents house to celebrate. UPHILL BOTH WAYS"

 

[mildone]

"And we walked to our grandparents house to celebrate. UPHILL BOTH WAYS"

30 miles, in the snow. In bare feet.

 

[robcac26]

They hate competition, they hate working hard at something and hate that one person or team can outplay someone and WIN. Probably the same little idiots that hate America.

By that logic, e-sports would cease to exist.

 

[Scarlet1984]

By that logic, e-sports would cease to exist.

“By that logic”? That post was devoid of facts or logic. Other than that it was a compelling argument!