I think you might be missing all of the tech people who love sports, but know you don't like them so they don't talk about them with you.
I am a software developer, and my work has a large community of sports fans. However, we keep our sports talk to some special slack channels for sports, because we know there are a number of people who really don't care for sports at all. So, you might be surrounded by geeky sports fans that you don't even know are there!
As for why I love sports, there are many reasons. I am a geeky sports fan; I love sports stats and analytics. Baseball is perfect for this, but other sports have their stats, too.
I love how sports are very logical; there are clear, well defined rules that everyone knows. There are specific and finite objectives, and there is never any uncertainty about what success is. I love the strategy involved at trying to figure out, within those confines of the rules, how to achieve that victory.
I also love playing sports; I don't generally like exercise (e.g. running, lifting weights, or other only-for-exercise activities). I do love playing sports, though, because my activity has a purpose (trying to win). I love competing, and that is in sports, video games, board games, etc.
I agree, and there's a world of "high intelligence" entertainment options opening up every day - deep videogames, compelling serialized TV, hyperniche social media content. The old model of sports entertainment - mostly passive spectating - seems counter to the richly interactive, highly social trend that software is leading us toward.
Sports are / can be massively nerdy tbh, some of them crunch more numbers and statistics than the average Eve Online spreadsheet warrior. And the bigger fans cosplay to the sports conventions.
Also, there's Football Manager, which takes the 'playing football' game out of the game.
I think Baseball is excellent to watch while in the background, e.g. in a restaurant. There is a lot of build-up when you can continue eating and during the few seconds of action you can watch the TV. And if you missed, there is enough time to show replays.
Then there’s also fantasy sports and gambling that encourage you to keep up with every game that is going on in the league, not just your own local team.
I am on HN because I am an active hacker and startup junkie. I might have similar feelings about the Olympics and professional sports if I participated in those activities AND could draw useful data to help my personal endeavors.
Being that an in depth knowledge of football and related player stats gives me no benefit or edge in my pursuits, I choose not to dedicate time that could be better spent actively doing or learning on spectating.
It was explained to me using the analogy of watching sports: One of the most entertaining activities for a human is to watch other humans do things. This is why professional sports leagues exist. This is also why “Watching people play computer games” is a perfectly reasonable entertainment option, despite it not being your preference.
Why do people watch sports, reality TV, or Jeopardy? It's a zero-risk, low-effort way to participate in something interesting or the community surrounding it.
Mostly the same for me, except baseball. I get to follow teams, reporters, and players. I learn about charities the players are involved in, statistical reports on the sport and games themselves, etc. It's pretty useful.
Starcraft 2 pro matches, interesting algorithms and maths, lots of bodyweight fitness/calisthenics/gymnastics- it's fantastic!
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