The most boring/dull sports, what's the appeal?

Well I love watching Cricket (all forms).

The commentary is what makes the "dull sports" brilliant, aswell as the atmosphere. The mighty Sid Wadell, and the fact that the crowd has usually had a coma-inducing level of alcohol make the entertainment in darts.

Sid Wadell - “The atmosphere is so tense, if Elvis walked in with a portion of chips, you could hear the vinegar sizzle on them."

Now, you just don't get that sort of bat-**** crazy commentary from Alan Hansen.

This. I think people think of Test Cricket being dull just because it lasts so long. On the other hand I think of it as being very suspenseful as wickets could fall at any delivery of hundreds in the day (normally 90 overs in one day of Test cricket, so 540 deliveries right?), and they mean so much more to the swing of the game in Test matches than Twenty20's (where people basically get bowled out for fun) which are far more popular.

Twenty20's are very high octane, fast paced, while Tests are nerve-wracking. Both are very entertaining.

Yeah another thing, sub continent test matches are boring especially since the flat wickets usually its all batsman, and high scoring draws which are pointless.

I guess that's one reason why India never fail to produce good batsmen, they've got the most practice on the best batting surface. Sri Lanka do well with their bowlers too though.

Formula 1.


The only highlight is when a load of cars crash at the first bend.

As Jeremy Clarkson said in one of his books: "The driver rankings change more times in one lap of BTCC, than in a whole season of Formula 1"

I find pretty much every sport except combat sports to be really dull to watch, especially ball sports; I just can't get enthusiatic about people chasing a leather ball around a field - seems utterly pointless to me.

Chasing a ball is pointless, but trying to beat up another human definitely serves a useful purpose?

Yes. If you were to attack me I could restrain you, block your attacks, throw you, break your bones, rip your muscles and tendons, choke you effectively (the difference in effectiveness between a blood choke f.x. the Rear Naked Choke and strangling with hands is vast), punch you effectively without damaging myself. Why? Because I've trained in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo and boxing. I practice BJJ for six hours a week, Judo for four, and MMA striking for four, and I spar for about half that time. Martial arts has applications outside of sports, whereas if you train intensely in football you can . . . just kick a football.

You're missing the point. I didn't say that learning martial arts was pointless, obviously it's not. One purpose of learning martial arts is to learn how to defend yourself, and this is useful. But utilising these skills to fight someone else as entertainment for spectators does not serve a useful purpose. Therefore combat sports are as 'pointless' as ball sports. The skills required to engage in combat sports, i.e. the actual martial art skills, are not pointless. But then, neither are traits required to play football such as agility and stamina.

Watching martial arts, whether it's UFC or Olympic Judo, amounts to watching a demonstration of applicable combat skills. For a martial artist it is educational to watch and helps improvement, whereas following football at best helps you further a useless skill. Comparing watching martial arts and football is like comparing watching a documentary to watching Eastenders.

Formula one is incredibly dull, and the whine drives me mad. Golf is dull to watch as well, though I expect it's more fun to play. I love watching cricket though, it's not dull in the slightest.