How to get enthused about sports when you couldn’t care less

Chapman students discuss how they have learned to be passionate about watching sports when they would normally rather be watching Halloween movies on Sundays during this time of year. Photo by DEVON JAMES, staff photographer

Fall is a beautiful time of year when the leaves change colors, the hot cocoa is delicately ladeled into mugs… and football is all the rage. When a constant mumble takes up the aural space of each house every Sunday for four months, there’s no choice but to get into the sport if you don’t want to resent your loved ones’ TV taste. 

The Panther asked Chapman students — ones who are the least likely culprits to be spotted with cheese heads or Ram-adorned sweaters — how they have come to tolerate watching sports with their loved ones. 

Joy Joukhadar, a senior political science, sociology and English triple major, said that food is a great way to bond, so she enjoys bringing hummus based on a recipe from her mothers village in Lebanon to game day potlucks. Themed snacks also up the ante when it comes to getting in the sports spirit, Joukhadar said. 

In general, getting together with a large group of people gets Joukhadar much more thrilled about watching a sports game because she feeds off the loud screams and incomparable energy of football fans. 

Senior creative producing major and avid Clippers fan Jessica Wilson told The Panther she also enjoys bonding with her family over sports because of the excitement they have for it. 

“The vibes of sitting down and watching a sports game with your family — there's nothing like it,” Wilson said. “It's just like watching a TV show because to some people that is their entertainment.” 

Even if the Clippers aren't playing, Wilson said she gets into the game by placing bets on teams with her family members so she becomes more invested in each play. 

“When you have half your family on one team and the other divided routing for the other team, it's so much fun to place bets and chill in between the time period of the game running,” Wilson said. 

Wilson said that she not only enjoys seeing sports play out, but also appreciates the art of the game acted out by each player's innate skill set.

“I can enjoy most sports because I love athletics, so I can watch someone exude their talent, '' Wilson said. 

Although Wilson’s boyfriend is a Warriors fan, they find a way to make their difference work and look at it as healthy competition. 

“(Our rivalry) plays out nice because it keeps our relationship spicy," Wilson said. "90% of the time that sports gets brought up, there's a roast of either my team or his team to a fatal degree."

Although a healthy rivalry between teams can make for a good conversation piece in a relationship, it’s fine if one party just can’t understand why Tom Brady is considered the GOAT (greatest of all time) and simply doesn't care about arguing for or against him. Instead, senior creative producing major Gabriella Lee said watching sports films with your favorite actors might change your mind.
“I just never really cared about basketball, and then I watched Nathan and Lucas Scott play basketball (in “One Tree Hill”), and I was like, 'Okay yes,'” Lee said. “I'm getting the drama behind this fictitious story, but then it's like, ‘Oh you guys have a game? I guess I'll watch it.'” 

Lee made it a point that if someone wants to try and like sports, it ultimately comes down to more exposure to it. 

But, Wilson said that sports are not meant for everyone, just like a genre of music or film. She said there is always the option to go make Sundays “your day” this fall and hang out with other like-minded people. 

“If I don't want to watch something, I’m like, 'Why am I not watching 'Twitches Too' right now instead,''' Wilson said. 

If a Halloween film feels like a better way to get in the fall spirit with that hot chocolate in hand, then so be it. But perhaps these tips could be useful when condemned to the confines of the couch where only screams of the couch coaches are audible. If that term made no sense, then there is always the possibility to learn what a couch coach is by zoning into the art of glorified, broadcasted P.E.