It may sound crazy to some of you, but I recently made the choice to stop caring about football. The seeds were planted many years ago when I skipped a Super Bowl (the Packers were playing, I think.)
The three reasons why I stopped caring about football:
1) Health:
Three-and-half hours sitting on my butt is not good for me. I already sit a lot for work, and evidently sitting is the new thing that will kill me.
2) Happiness:
My team will lose 50% of the time. Even if my team betters those odds, because losses affect people more than wins (i.e, gains), watching football makes me more unhappy than happy. (I once wrote a paper about this phenomenon.) Moreover, who wants to put their happiness (literally) in the hands of a bunch of athletes and an oblong ball?
3) Opportunity costs
The time I spent caring about football could be better spent doing other important things.
..
This is not one of my reasons, but Seinfeld has a nice take on my choice:
Caveat: I still watch the occasional game, which I will consider doing if: A) friends are involved, B) the game is in some way compelling, and C) I am asked nicely.
(This post was written during the first half of the Bronco’s season opener, while listening to this song over and over.)
Holler.
