Is There a Difference Between What Sports People Play Compared to What They Watch?
By Luca B., Grade 9
I’m going to watch the same sports I play, right? Well, according to a recent poll, that’s not the case at all.
The survey asked MIS senior school students what their three favorite sports to watch are, and what their three favorite sports to play are. The results might shock you. Out of the 77 responses, Soccer was by far the most liked sport to watch with 50 students saying Soccer and the second most watched only having 19 votes (Tennis).
(Results of student survey conducted by MIS students, 1.10.2024)
But when we look at students’ favorite sports to play, it is extremely evenly matched with Soccer getting 30 votes and Volleyball and Winter Sports both having 29 votes.
(Results of student survey conducted by MIS students, 1.10.2024)
But why might this be the case? Two ninth-graders, Amerie M., and Antoine P., both provide different reasons.
“I watch sports to be entertained, but I don’t play sports to be entertained,” Amerie M. said.
Implying that a sport like Volleyball or Winter Sports might be fun to play but on the other hand, might not be the most exciting sport to watch.
Antoine P. talked about the difficulties of finding sports being broadcasted. “Sometimes it’s tough to watch the sports I want to watch because they aren’t on any channels when I want to watch them,” Antoine said, “Primarily Rugby and Mountain Biking”.
However, Tennis, Track and Field, and Basketball all had the same number of votes for both questions asked in the survey (watch and play). Scarlett T., and Alejandro M., both Grade 9, have a theory of why they think people watch similar sports that they play.
“I watch the same sports as I play because I understand them more,” Scarlett T. said.
This view has been confirmed by many other students. Alejandro M. has a simpler point of view as to why he thinks the two correlate.
“I think people just have a tendency to watch what they play,” Alejandro, Grade 9 said.
And although there doesn’t seem to be a clear answer as to whether people watch the same sports they play, based on the results from the survey, the answer would probably be no, with the main reason being the availability of sports on TV.
