Spectator Sport

Wikipedia defines a spectator sport as one characterised by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its matches. Such sports include cricket, basketball, football, ice hockey etc. I remember reading one of Umberto Eco's articles which likened spectator sports to a kind of voyeurism.

I know that I might incur the ire of some of my friends, but I think Eco is right to some extent. Voyeurism is about deriving pleasure in watching others engage in intimate behaviours. This is not unlike a spectator sport where excitement and exhilaration come from watching the players exert themselves, albeit in a non-sexual way. The difference is that the participants are unaware in the first instance while they are very much in the know in the latter case. But here the difference ends. In both cases, pleasure is derived from watching the participants and without the spectators engaging in the act itself.

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