Social Sports Fan

I'm what I would call a social sports fan -- I watch most sports simply so that I can keep up with social conversations in the days afterward. I'm already so socially awkward that it would be completely impossible to relate to anyone if I didn't know what they were talking about.

For example, I don't really like basketball. And I almost never watch it. But I watched Game 7 of the Cavaliers-Celtics series yesterday, because that's all anyone would be talking about for the next day or so. And I didn't want to be that guy who was the only person that missed it.

I started this behavior in grad school, when I used to take spinning classes at a nearby gym. The class was at 6AM, which was perfect for the schedule that I was on at the time. And it was being run by an instructor who geared the classes towards serious cyclists (unlike most spinning classes, which are geared toward the general population that just wants some sort of aerobic exercise). I loved the classes, because I got an incredibly intense workout. I carried two water bottles, my heart rate monitor, clipless pedal shoes and an insane amount of towels with me to those classes, and was never disappointed. But it seemed like all we ever talked about in those classes was football. So, I started watching NFL games fairly regularly just so that I could keep up with the conversations.

Now I watch all kinds of crap that I wouldn't watch if I didn't have to do such cumbersome things as actually talk to other people. Considering that I watch almost no TV these days, watching all of this crap is kind of a burden.