Not sure if this counts, but when I was a teen ager I was gung ho about martial arts. I took karate classes for a couple years. I also took a class in foil fencing.
At the end of the day it comes down to each to their own, I won't judge you based on what you watch and all I ask is you do the same in return. But why do Sci-Fi fans seemingly get a bad rep, we aren't exactly known for acts of Hooligansim that some sports fans are known for (true they are a minority)
Those in the 'Stereotypical' scifi nerd group might have a grudge against sports from being bad at it and forced to do it in PE as a kid. Though I think there's a mentality in common between sports fandom and scifi fandom. The same emotional tendencies that make you really love a scifi franchise are the ones that make you really love a sports team. If you happen to be both a smart and a physical person. @Macleod Stereotypical scifi fans aren't known for violence and rioting but they are considered to be rather smug and insulting.
My 'other' interest is rock music. My interest in sport is marginal at best. I used to follow football and still have 'a team' but I'd struggle to name more than a couple of the current team. I still follow England internationals. I'd rather do most things than watch athletics and have little interest in other sports.
Obviously, I love Trek, or else I wouldn't be here, and I enjoy plenty of other scifi/fantasy stuff. I also have an equivalent love for the game of association football(it's not called soccer). In particular, I follow the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, and some La Liga as well as the Italian and Croatian national teams. I am a devoted fan to Arsenal F.C., Everton F.C., and A.C. Milan. Despite being American I can't stand the MLS
No, that was water polo. But for the purposes of this discussion, it's still a sport. Personally, I love college football, and oddly enough (especially for someone in the South) I find I really like going to minor league hockey games.
Then you would hate my dad and brother. According to them, "only REAL MEN love sports, hate sci-fi, and score with as many women as possible", and used to ceaselessly mock me for liking sci-fi, despite my dad hypocritically watching TOS, and my brother hypocritically watching TNG. I say used to because I've long since cut both out of my life (Not just for this, but for a list of other verbal abuses that are not relevant here).
There's a real double standard - if you can name the entire 1985 squad of 'your' team, watch every game, spend time online on sports forums, subscribe to sports magazines and have your teams shirt, you're 'One of the Guys'. If you can name the entire TNG cast, watch every episode, spend time online on this forum, subscribe to sci-fi magazines and have a 'Trek' shirt, you're a real 'Nerd'. With a foot in one camp and maybe a toe in the other, I've got to say sports fans on the whole tend to be less bright and less well educated. You can say the same thing about conservatives and religious people, but, I personlly know a fair few exceptions to all three. Sweeping generalisations aren't really helpful - there's no point calling sports fans 'dumb' - a lot are far from it. I like to refer to them as 'Sports Nerds'. That's harder to refute...
Maybe the stereotypical nerds don't, but I sure do. I know and care immensely about physics, astronomy, Star Wars, literature, video games, and other things that make me classify myself as a nerd, but I also love lifting weights, watching sports, and getting wasted way more than is healthy. I think there are probably a lot of "me's" out there, but our inner nerd tends to be hidden unless we are in the company of close friends. I, for example, fit the description of a stereotypical pothead while I was in college. I played video games, skipped classes, winged projects, and did just enough to get by. Now not everyone is going to be stupid enough to portray themselves that way, but a lot of nerds just don't come off as nerdy.
I find playing sports moderately enjoyable, but no more than any other random pastime. Watching sports for fun has always mystified me. I could kind of sort of get into the nationality angle of the olympics, and certain sports (mainly soccer and basketball) could have a certain sort of beauty in motion that I could appreciate watching, but I never once felt that sports fan feeling of a desire to watch regularly, to identify with a team (or even choose a team), or cheer wins or mourn losses. Then I found eSports and suddenly understood the whole thing. It really is just a question of finding which game speaks to you. Mine is Splatoon.
*Raises hand* I'm a runner who focuses on obstacle course racing. But last year ran a marathon and am thinking of Ironman at some point. Also I love Boston sports. Or competition in general, no better way to settle down and relax with a drink than to just put a competition on and stare at it, get swept up in the drama. A couple days ago I watched nine hours straight of world series of poker, all the way from 24 down to 10 players left. Sports is what allows me to be a nerd without being 250 pounds.
50 year old sci-fi nerd and big Trekkie. Been way into Indycars since the early ‘80s. Followed NASCAR for awhile. Also pretty big F1 fan. Became a huge Patriots fan when I moved to Boston in the early ‘90s. That’s the only stick and ball I watch.
Sci-fi fan and sports fan (mainly Baseball, Football, and Golf) here. They are not mutually exclusive.