The seven worst spectator sports ever

[jmowreader]

We can argue all day long about whether soccer is exciting or boring, but the simple fact is that in the boringness department, it's a piker next to these seven real winners.

Worst Sport Number 5: Tennis
Watch two people hit a ball back and forth while some guy who makes the Farm Report sound exciting talks about how well they did it. You're not even allowed to cheer for your favorite player. People PAY for this! The only redeeming feature of tennis is that the Russian women who play it are very pretty.

Worst Sport Number 4: Monster Truck Racing
Monster truck racing is a sport that could be a lot better than it is. If they ran the races on football fields, or (better yet) on drag strips, the trucks could get up to speed and it would be a very exciting time for all. They play this game on hockey rink-sized arena floors. The guy gets in the truck, drives it for three seconds and shuts it off before he hits the wall.

Worst Sport Number 3: Curling
This is all about spectator sports, not participant sports, which explains why a good game like curling made this list. Curling is one of the many sports that should only be played. It should never be watched. In the game of curling, you slide a big round stone along an ice rink and sweep in front of it to try to make it go farther than your opponent's stone. This is a truly wonderful game IF you are a curler. It is very much a thinking person's game. Unfortunately, it LOOKS like competitive housecleaning.

Worst Sport Number 2: Golf
Someone on DU said that soccer is the sport that has the highest player percentage in its fan base. That's a damn lie--who watches golf except other golfers? In this game you spend thirty seconds hitting the ball then ten minutes walking over to it to hit it again. And to top it all off, the announcer is even more boring than the one who covers tennis. He's in a soundproof booth; you'd think he could get excited when someone hits a hole-in-one or something...but he won't.

Worst Sport Number 1: Poker
Poker is the world's most popular participant sport. It doesn't matter who you are, you can play poker. You can play poker with no legs. You can play it with no arms. They tell me Shrub likes poker, which means you can play it with no brain. Better, even the most handicapped person in the world can play poker with the top pros.

The problem is that poker's reputation as a fine participant sport has screwed the game up royally by turning it into a spectator sport. The things that make it a great participant sport make it a horrible spectator sport. In short, the element of chance inherent in poker kills it as a spectator sport. The greatest poker player in the world can draw a 2/6/9 hand with a 4 and a 7 in the hole...That's a shit hand no matter what you do.

Special Award of Merit:
This goes to two sports, dogfighting and greyhound racing, both of which destroy every dog they touch. Compared to these sports, dogsled racing and hunting bear over dogs are mild.

[JVS]

1. Monster Trucks are not a sport, they are a Grand Spectacle

And all my friends who have been tell me that it kicks ass!

[IDemo]

2. Pro bowling & billiards

[jobycom]

3. Yeah, you obviously didn't see the curling calender. nt

[Ava]

4. i love watching tennis!

honestly!

[IDemo]

5. Tennis is great

Almost like a civilized boxing match, requiring: speed, reaction, agility, focus, and physical endurance. I just caught the tail end of today's Wimbledon final between Federer and Nadal, and it was great.

Did I mention ice-hockey and soccer yet as guaranteed nap-inducers?

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

25. Fuck Tennis. Give me boxing.

[Bucky]

37. Boxing is watchable. But is it really a sport?

A useful definition of sport is "a physical challenge that you would have fun doing and can enjoy watching either professionals or committed amateurs engaging in. Even untalented football teams, when matched correctly, can provide a few watchable moments. Boxing, once it's off the canvas, is basically two guys hitting each other, hoping to pummel the other one unconscious.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

40. It's definitely a sport as are competitive martial arts.

Both take skill and technique. The style of fighting in boxing is different than what you would see in a street fight. The fighting in martial arts is also different than what you would see in a street fight.

I did competive karate for years and I would definitely consider it a sport and an art. Hell, I also did fencing in HS and that sport is derived from people dueling with swords for real. That doesn't make it less of a sport.

[Bucky]

43. An SAT style response: "Karate is to boxing as ballet is to disco dancing"

I'm not saying there's no point to having boxing skills. There's even a point to having disco dancin' skills. You never know when your life may depend on having them. The boxing, I mean, not the boogyin' down. And I'd certainly argue that at the developmental core of all sports (except for spelling bees) is the need to prepare our youth for warfare. I know people call boxing a sport. I'm just saying it's not all that fun to watch and carries a pretty heavy social cost compared to relatively no social benefit.

I know that's pretty subjective. But we're not just talking about opinions... we're talking about my opinions.

[MissMillie]

20. Me too!

Some of the best fit athletes in the world.

Is poker really a sport? I know it's a game, but is it a sport?

[Karenca]

6. This.......

http://www.wwe.com/

[-..__...]

7. Professional Bass Fishing.

As in Bass Masters

I don't know if it would qualify as a sport... let alone a spectator sport.

Apparently they have rankings, standings, champions, etc.

Todays top story on the website is about Tommy Biffle who just went "over the $1 Million mark in career BASS earnings".

[Ravenseye]

19. Sadly it's one of the world's oldest sports

Early records in Egypt indicate that one of the few sports they had were fishing contests. Fishing, as a sport, is one of the oldest ones in existance.

[shanti]

8. golf, hands down

:thumbsdown:

[northzax]

9. golf and tennis

are both fun to watch in person, at a very high level. not so much on the teevee

[mark414]

10. i don't golf...

but i like to watch it...:(

does that make me a bad person? *sniff*

[KitchenWitch]

11. I love watching curling.

:P

[Strawman]

28. Me too.... and 5-pin Bowling

Back before cable, that might be the most interesting thing on TV (Channel 9 in Windsor) on a Saturday afternoon in Detroit.

[Bombtrack]

12. Um, how can you include Tennis. Maybe decades ago, but now it's bonerific!

That alone gives it purpouse over all but a few sports to watch.

[billyskank]

14. I have seen some riveting tennis matches

:)

[jmowreader]

21. That's "Girls Gone Wild," not a sport

There is a difference.

[Bombtrack]

22. Whether Tennis is a sport is a separate argument

and one you would lose.

[jmowreader]

27. I didn't say it wasn't a SPORT, sport

What I said is that it sucks as a spectator sport--for the spectators at least.

[billyskank]

13. The best spectator sport, in my opinion

is snooker. Dunno if you can really call it a sport, but it's as much a sport as curling is.

[ikri]

15. Tennis is an odd one

It CAN be superb to watch but having watched a few games from Wimbledon in the last couple of weeks I'd say that the game's biggest problem is poor commentary on TV. There have been games that were well commentated and felt exciting and unfortunately there were also a number where the commentary made it seem like it was "Watching Paint Dry. Live®".

On TV, with good commentary, any sport can become an exciting, interesting sport.

[SKKY]

16. NASCAR. I can only handle so much redneckness in one sitting...

[DainBramaged]

23. (Sigh) know where Tony Stewart, the champion comes from?

Or Jimmie Johnson? Or 4 time champion Jeff Gordon? Or 2003 champion Matt Kenseth?

[SKKY]

34. Nope, and really don't care either.

[DainBramaged]

39. I thought your reply deserved an answer in kind

But than I realized ignoring you would be a much better alternative.

[Juffo Wup]

17. F1 Racing

Christ, have a lead change more than twice a race, please. Or even a pass would be nice.

[Robb]

18. What the hell's "hunting bear over dogs"?

Clearly I need ESPN7. :D

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

26. Probably the opposite of hunting bear with dogs.

Which I would think would be crueler than dog sledding...of course, I don't think dog sledding is cruel. :thumbsup:

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

24. Football.

:hide:

Five-minute pauses between ten-second plays. It's like fencing, only more Freudian.

[Burma Jones]

29. I saw Dominos on ESPN2

Dominos......

[Marie26]

30. Chess. nt

[smitty]

31. Lousy spectator sports:

1. Soccer, it's even boring watching your own children play it.
2. Poker, it's not even a sport for God's sake. It's gambling.
3. Golf, hit the ball, watch it fly, watch it come down, walk to the ball, hit it again. Zzzzzzzzzz.
4. Tennis, hit the ball, hit it back. Hit the ball, hit it back.
Somebody kill me, please.
5. Bowling. Let's watch ice melt.

[KFC]

32. Spelling Bee

Except for that one time a couple of years ago when that freak climaxed on stage.

[anarch]

33. hmm

7. Hot Dog eating contests
6. Pin the tail on the donkey
5. Duck Duck Goose
4. Water Tennis
3. Competitive Knitting
2. Male wet t-shirt contests
1. Fly hunting

[Bucky]

35. Hate to say it, but baseball. And, of course, it's polar opposite: sex

Yes, baseball is the opposite of sex. I thought everyone knew that.

[Broken_Hero]

36. Here I go

7. Nascar

6. Bowling

5. Ice skating/figure skating

4. horse racing

3. rodeo

2. soccer

1. Golf....

flame away, if you must...

[barb162]

38. Poker and curling aren't sports

[Hand]

41. Wot? No cricket???

Cricket! Cricket!
(Backup: "Oooooh! Ooooh!")
Why does nobody like it? Cause it's so damn slow! :rofl:

[mzteris]

42. In the most boring category

1st is golf
2nd is bowling
3rd is baseball (yes, I said baseball)