Why are ‘sports’ good?
I see competitive team sports as generally a good thing to have in a professional environment.
I tried taking up a new one recently but didn’t feel like I fit into the environment (and wasn’t good enough for the first / second team).
I love playing recreationally with friends and training (weights, yoga, running, bjj).
Why do employers like team sports? What are good substitutes for team sports?
E-sports will largely replace sports among Gen Alpha. Gen Z has already seen this shift in a big way and it'll only be cemented with the next gen
personally I could not care less. I'm going to continue lifting and staying fit
You’re an idiot
Sorry for starting a fact — look at Gen Z sports viewership vs other generations. It’s literally a statistic, not an opinion. Sorry you’re salty
Don't hate the player, hate the game
You also deny climate change? Sorry bro but those are the facts. Sports are dying out structurally in the US with digital advancements
This guy also denies the Holocaust lmao
“Gen Alpha will kill regular sports and gamers will rule the world! No I’ve never felt the touch of a woman, why is that relevant?” 🤓🤓🤓
Great joke bro, you really showed me!
when did I say gamers will ‘rule the world’? This is just a factual shift, look at survey data for the proof. Guess some folks are easily triggered clowns
Found the 2nd string kicker to the JV high school football team
The way you are describing this trend makes very little sense. Playing video games will never replace actual sports. Yeah, young guys and girls like gaming but even some of these kids play and watch sports. I am going to guess that you did not play sports as a kid, but most kids play sports and sometimes multiple sports. Your interest in sports as a kid often leads to interest as an adult.
In the same way of how computers will never replace typewriters? Or do you mean how the horse was never replaced by the car?
That interest is overshadowed by interest in video games....will be more and more so
Every guy at my office under 30 games but only maybe 10-15% do physical sports (most exercise but that's individual)
For real. I'll watch sports if they're on, don't know any of the players names besides Ovechkin and Crosby, really could not give a frig about pro sports. But playing sports is super fun and helps blow off steam. super important for development of social skills and confidence (imo).
Not just sports, any competition at all is super important.
E-sports will never largely replace actual sports.
Parents will never tell their kids to play video games, for the pure reason it's not active/healthy.
This is coming from someone who has played videogames/esports for 10+ years...
I wouldn't bank on millennials being hard on their kids and trying to ruffle feathers...
Yes they will...this is a structural shift. It's not obvious when these shifts are underway until a generaiton later when they become obvious
They may be more popular but there's a pretty low correlation between those who enjoy e-sports and those who have even a chance at success in client facing roles.
Same way magic the gathering and Pokémon was popular but you just don't see that many people take clients to magic the gathering tournaments.
Above graphs are correct, Gen Z does not watch sports much relative to other generations. Gen Alpha cares even less. Either way, I could not care less if pro sports largely died out
Did you actually read the population data and think about what it means? You’ve got parents of 3-8 (probably more like 7 though since the poll was done in Jan/Feb) year olds and 8-24 years polled here and there’s a very small drop off in most categories (might be explained by age, might be an actual trend) and a big drop off in who watches a sporting event. No fucking shit you’re going to get way more 13-18 year olds watching football than 5-6 year olds. I grew up in Texas as a die hard sports fan and I didn’t really start watching sports on a regular basis until I was closer to 8.
Sports is just something into what one channels his interests and aspiration. For example every boxer, deep down, wants to be a professional so he would look up at others better than him and strive towards/end up being inspired and training harder. Those that play golf look at golf matches also as education but as a source of inspiration of 'what I could be able to do one day', and so on.
People that don't feel this connection with sports are simply people that don't really have any athletic aspiration. They associate sports with just wellness or feeling good, so there isn't much you can do about that. Others may simply watch sports because they may have some emotional connection with that team (his father was a huge fan and he grew up with that), others may simply fall in the psychological theory that their team wins are felt like personal wins and makes them feel better, others may have a stronger sense of community and may be highly supportive of their teams, others may simply be passionate about a team's history and that really made them interested in following this team, etc. etc.
Gen-Z not following sports isn't because of some type of enlightenment, I'd say on the contrary, they don't watch sports because none of them are so into sports. There are new sources of entertainment that compete with sports: E-sports, social media, movies, series, YouTube, etc. etc. the only Gen-Z that are into sports are the ones that seem to do some type of sports.
I wouldn’t worry too much TBH. Remember that the world is not bifurcated between “jocks” and “nerds”: most people fall in between the two extreme ends.
Interviewers/employers like sports because it’s a common ice breaker topic (next to talking about the weather). It’s a common denominator that can quickly connect strangers, so you can see why it’s a popular discussion topic.
It also helps with business. When sellside takes us out to dinner, one of the first sentences that comes out of their mouth is: “hey did you watch the game X/Y/Z last night”.
If you just aren’t interested in sports, there is zero problem with that. I’m not the biggest sports person myself, but I do scan ESPN headlines once in a while just so I’m not 100% clueless. I enjoy other things a lot more (eg politics and history).
Playing a sport helps you learn how to be a good team player, develop a driven work ethic, and discipline your body and mind - all of which are ideal qualities in employees. Not that deep
jfc don't understand why it took this long for someone to point out the obvious....you work on teams in the workplace, they want to test your ability experience being on teams. less often does it matter if it's an actual physical sport, just something team oriented. debate team, FFA, DECA, etc. all serve as proxies.
Sports teach resiliency, dedication, teamwork, working for a common goal, achieving mindset, working through the grind, overcoming adversity, leadership, communication, etc. All of those attributes are quite valuable in business and life. Add the willingness to put yourself out there and push yourself to win.
I wouldn’t look at sports viewership as a marker of a generation’s proclivity to enjoy or play sports themselves. In fact I wonder how the decline of sports viewerships trends alongside the introduction of a 24-hours news cycle and social media. I think viewership is largely trending off of traditional tv and moving into mobile - where each kid can find a very specific niche of content to watch.
Anecdotally, I never was a sports watcher growing up, but I played all through high school and college competitively (varsity / DI). In my free time I watched YouTubers (many of which who actually would play games in my sport or were sport oriented influencers) or played video games myself. Multimedia entertainment is expanding, but we should measure if sports participation across grade school and little league is declining to confirm.
I would argue that this generation has been dragged around to more sports practices by their parents than any other generation. They may not be viewing sports but they are definitely playing them or being forced to play them.
I think the team sport experience is underrated and is so conducive similar to the high stakes, intense team dynamic work environment of HF (and to some extent, PE and IB). You know that internal drill, ritual and pep talk with the team before the game - that's the feels of walking in the office of a HF. Every day is Day 1. Every year, the league table gets wiped clean. You trust your team-mates and put the team before your own scoreboard, but a good team also makes sure to make clear each team member's individual contributions. Tiger Management was so into this dynamic and all the Tiger Cubs look back on those days like a cherished memory, in their interviews.
On the other hand, I can see how this 'hyper-masculinity' of sorts can exclude certain groups from this career, or at least, that's how the pro-diversity people like to put it.
Agreed. To your point about excluding groups, I was surprised at how competitive and cut-throat the "nerds" are. You view them as soft-spoken and keeping to themselves, but many of them grind very hard.
Yea, 100% agree. I'm a powerlifter which is an individual sport, so I can play into that sort of competitiveness. Nerds almost by definition are competitive - 'a person who is extremely enthusiastic or knowledgeable abt a subject'. It's just that we usually conflate nerds with dorks, so the stereotype goes that nerds aren't competitive
Playing sports also shows employers you are socialized, you can go to team events / parties / mixers with other teams, have conversations with teammates and coaches, handle wins and losses in a social environment, etc. Aside from the colloquial common skills sports teach, an interviewer / firm knows you are socialized playing sports in college or recreationally, something they want in an employee at the firm that can be tough to measure in an interview process
I think a big reason that employers tend to like team sport involvement, is that it tends to inspire a certain competitive nature among employees; and by extension, that competitive nature translates into competitive performance in the workplace.
If you consider the high-achiever Alpha mindset, as notably existing among so many in finance (e.g. the typical Finance Bro), that inherent competitive nature tends to surface during competitive activities, and might spark competitive performance around the bullpen, etc. Thus, by encouraging competitive sports (and other activities); it serves thereby, to inspire a competitive (higher) level of office performance, or at least that tends to be an assumption I've heard a few times.
Examples I've seen:
While some of these aren't traditionally "competitive" sports; I believe they still might inspire a certain competitive nature among participants, and thus achieving a similar result.
If seeking an alternative to athletic activities, chess tends to be a hit among at least a few firms. We used to play against another firm near us; also internally, during lunch/dinner, after-hours, etc. I also keep a chess set in my office, if that says anything.
Really, it could be anything, if there is enough common interest, and depending on what the latest trends might encourage.
Sports will largely die out in the US in 30-50yrs. Just as we went from traveling by ship to traveling by plane, the pace of improvement in video games VASTLY outstrips any improvements in physical sports. Way more addicting and the data from those under 25 (looking at the same period of their lives w/ other gejs) that there is a structural shift underway
People will still exercise but less and less so via sports
Sports are simply less appealing vs. video games to younger folks. Video games are more addictive than ever and sports simply haven't materially changed enough
We'll look back in a generation and this won't be controversial anymore but the truth is video games will replace sports over time. Sports will still exist but at a much smaller scale
100% true
Just as we don't grow our own vegetables anymore and we don't make our own clothes, the way we compete will evolve. People are thinking of video games ( sports) and sports as two different things. They're not. The means of competing will evolve from sports and e-sports
People are always pissed off and lash out when things change (as you can see by a bunch of folks above (BigTastyFish, jrpeters25)) but the change is not within our control. We need to accept and adapt to it
This topic has been corrupted by colluded and or suspect accounts.
Been playing sports since I was 5.
Used to play football in high school, teaches you teamwork and cooperation - we support each other and strive toward common goals. It also helps with discipline and focus given we practice for hours to improve our skills.
Best benefit was for college, was recruited to play at my local state school on a full scholarship
I used to play on the varsity bowling team. This was helpful at parties when girls ask if I play any sports and I’d say “yeah, I bowl”
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