I’ll preface this debate by stating that I really am not a fan of scifi and have little knowledge of it as an art form. I do appreciate that there are many who feel that it’s an important genre, and I respect their opinions.
Resolved: Overall, Sports is a better form of entertainment than Science Fiction.
1) Sports is real time. There is no waiting for the next installment. Even professional American football, with a week between games, is more current than waiting for a year for the next installment of your favorite scifi book series.
2) Sports has a larger fan base which provides for more interaction between fans. As a diversion, the main point of entertainment, it’s more likely that someone the average person knows follows sports than scifi.
3) Sports has better rivalries. Sure there’s that whole thing between Issac Asimav and Arthur C. Clark, but it doesn’t really compare with Red Sox/Yankees, Canadiens/Maple Leafs or Raiders/Any Other Team. The history of sports goes back to gladiators in the Collosseum, scifi to H. G. Wells, or so.
4) Sports has more constancy. If a person dies, it goes on. No one person can stop the team. A scifi series ends when the creator dies. Each day or week, sports renews itself with a new game, each year with a new season. It’s the circle of life played out.
5) Sports is pointless. It’s totally a diversion. If your favorite team wins the championship after an 86-year drought, the next day, other than the hangover, nothing has really changed. Scifi has a nasty habit of inspiring real world change. That’s not what entertainment is for.
6) Sports does promote mind exercise. This is where scifi fans have a definite edge, but the backplane of sports is statistics and their manipulation, so sports is not bereft in this arena.
7) Sporting events have a stand-alone quality. Even if you are not abreast of the standings, a single sports event still can be enjoyed. Picking up on the 35th episode of a scifi series is tough to do without being totally lost.
8) Sports has better public displays of affection. If I’m traveling and I sit next to someone with a Red Sox cap, there’s an immediate conversation opener. How often do you see someone walking down the street with a Babylon 5 t-shirt?
9) Sports has better spin-off entertainment. Terrell Owens’ antics make as many headlines as the Dallas Cowboys games. And who will ever forget Tanya Harding’s soulmate taking out Nancy Kerrigan’s left knee? Now THAT’s entertainment. The list could go on forever.
I welcome opposing viewpoints.