[hnnewguy]

>What other corporate products must I consume

There is more to "sports" than watching them on TV. How about participating in them? It's good for your health, sort of like not eating McDonald's.

>If I don't eat at McDonalds because I care about my health, am I unfit for socialization?

There's a difference between "not eating" (or "not liking"), and "showing overt contempt" towards.

So, yes. If you don't understand that, your social skills are probably lacking.

[dragonwriter]

> There is more to "sports" than watching them on TV. How about participating in them?

The context here -- starting with the article, and followed in the thread prior to your response -- was participation in the culture of fandom of popular professional sports.

Obvious, individual direct participation in sports is a completely different thing (and often a thing that competes with participation in fandom culture.)

[Ar-Curunir]

No, there is a direct relation. At least outside the US, many many children are inspired to go out and try and imitate their favourite sporting heroes, and even if they aren't athletic they usually are included in the larger community and get to play and socialize. This is definitely the case with soccer and cricket.

I haven't seen a single case where being a fan has precluded children from going out and playing.

Perhaps as adults the situation might be different, but their are a whole host of other factors at play there, including health and time issues.

[dragonwriter]

I wasn't talking specifically about children, and there is a big difference between saying an activity competes with another activity and saying that it precludes the other activity.