I am a spectator of many sports. mostly Australian Rules Football, Cricket & soccer, but ranging as far as darts & snooker.

I’m not a sporty, macho guy. I played several sports at a junior level with varying degrees of success but, like most people, gave up when I discovered alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, girls, parties etc. (about 15/16 for me).

I don’t go to the gym, I eat what the fuck I want & I don’t value physical fitness highly.

But jesus it gets on my tits when somebody says they “don’t like sport”.

You are not trying hard enough.

If you can not at least enjoy the dramatic side of an intense game of soccer you are not trying hard enough.

If you can not enjoy the sheer spectacle of a Superbowl you are not trying hard enough.

If you can’t just laugh at the drunks in a darts audience you are not trying hard enough (I know this one’s a bit niche, but give it a try, it’s incredibly fun to watch).

There are so many different reasons to enjoy so many different sports. If you don’t at least try then you are cutting off a hugely enriching part of human life.

It’s like saying “I don’t like music”. Bullshit.

If you ‘just don’t really get [insert sport]’, ask a friend to teach you. Sport isn’t a solitary task. You play or train with a team or a coach & you often watch it with friends.

If you don’t get why your SO spends so much time watching, say, American Football, don’t make fun of them. Sit down with them, grab a drink & get them to teach you the rules. I can guarantee that you’ll at least respect it if you take some time & give it a proper go.

There is however, an even worse part of this.

The people who belittle sport.

The people who say something like, “It’s just loads of guys running around in shorts tackling each other. Why do you want to watch that?”

a. That’s incredibly homophobic.

b. Nobody watches a sport solely because of that.

So what I’m saying is, give it a go. And definitely don’t interject into a conversation saying “ugh, [insert sport] is so stupid. In fact all sports are.”.

Sport & competition is & always has been a huge part of human societies. It is foolish to cut yourself off from it. And if you think there isn’t a sport out there for you; try harder. There’s professional wood-chopping for god’s sake.