Why do so many people and communities treat basketball like it is everything?

[NightHawkBuzz]

What I have noticed in life is that there are SO many people who treat basketball like it is everything. There are so many communities and people who treat basketball like it is the most important thing in life. There are so many people who treat basketball like it is the only thing that exist and that anyone who achieves success in that particular area is just so much better and important than everyone else.

Also in society there are so many basketball players who get placed on such a high pedestal and they have so many people looking up to them. I guess I am wondering why so many people in our society treat basketball as if it is just everything in life and that the people that become successful in it are just so much important than everyone else. 

Edited December 12, 2023 by NightHawkBuzz

[Leo Gura]

Cause they got nothing else.

[Hojo]

Basketball is a ticket out of hell dream for alot of people. It isn't but maybe is so big cause there seem to be so few ways out. Basketball is good for the body the mind fun and you can be famous and rich if you are good enough

Edited December 12, 2023 by Hojo

[NightHawkBuzz]

@Leo Gura Yeah your right.

The thing about it to is that these are the people that get placed on such a high pedestal in society to. People like Lebron James, Ja Morant, Jason Tatum or any NBA basketball player gets treated so high and important in society by so many people like the coaching staff, assistants, teammates and other people in society place these people of such high importance and other people aren't. 

It doesn't have to be an NBA player either at my college I went to a D1 school and the college basketball players there are treated so much more importantly by some of the people there then the people that weren't on the basketball team. 

[Yimpa]

I don’t give a rats ass about basketball. I also suck at it, despite being decently tall and having long arms.

[UnbornTao]

I'd say the fascination from sports such as soccer and basketball come from the fact that they are fun and engaging games; grounded, physical, objetive pursuits, like a bodily art form that produces powerful flow states. Real skill can't be faked, has to be continuously demonstrated, and is transparent in these sports. One can't pretend to be a great soccer player, whereas in many aspects of society one can fool others into thinking he understands things he actually doesn't.

Edited January 1, 2024 by UnbornTao

[hyruga]

A friend of mine was so intensely involved I. basketball. Played and trained everyday from young to 30s. He even played for National B team eventually.

[SeaMonster]

Basketball is a great sport, possibly the best sport there is (and I played soccer in HS.)

Also, the selectivity involved with basketball is simply insane.  To make it to the NBA you need to be one of roughly 500 best players on a planet with 8 billion people.  Most people don't understand how good these people actually are.  They're not only skilled but genetic freaks as far as size, speed, leaping ability, mental processing speed, etc.

Like, there are so many levels to it it's unfathomable.  I go to the gym and make shots and kids ask me if I played professional basketball (when I never even played in HS.)  Most people just don't get it.  The worst guy on a major conference Division I college team will look like a god at any gym.  They will score effortlessly and there's nothing you can do to stop them.  And he won't even get off the bench.  Now imagine NBA players.

It's a great sport and if more people played it there'd be less mental illness.  It's great for mental health.  Pumping endorphins into your brain relieves a lot of anxiety and depression symptoms.  The elements of team play are great for stimulating  the kind of neuroplasticity that psychedelics are used for.

People just don't get it.

Edited December 13, 2023 by SeaMonster

[An young being]

The same applies for cricket here in India.

[Yimpa]

Damn, I just remembered that Wilt from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends is actually my favorite character from that show:

 

[meta_male]

@NightHawkBuzz Same here with soccer. It's a simple game with lots of drama, guess why most of society is into it...

[Yimpa]

[EdgeGod900]

@SeaMonster They won't understand. The skill to be able to read your opponents and your teammates in a split second to find the optimal decision is rare and beautiful. This is the type of question that someone who doesn't play sports/ compete at a high level will ask. Also the type of question that doesn't understand human psychology as well.

Anyways, OP, think of it this way: imagine if most people were naturally into spirituality, and they were watching 10-20 Leo Guras on TV discussing their different insights with one another.

[Epikur]

I played basketball quite a lot. Mainly streetball. I would say it is easily one of the most fun games in the world.

Like with most thinks I try to use evolution to explain stuff.
 

Baketball is the closest you can get to fighting another person without 'touching' that person. We are programmed to fight or train to fight. Other sports are either too much of fighting and hurting or not enough. 

Another point of it is that is one of the most creative sports around. It gives more freedom than other sports. I compare it too dancing. Dancing is an activity which probably involves the most freedom. Basketball feels like dancing. 

Of course the war like situation comes without saying. 

There is an eugenics element in Basketball on the top level. 

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In this context I like Badminton for some of the mentioned reasons.

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