timdiggerm said:

From the other perspective though, someone who's just met is hoping to make small talk (an important part of any social interaction, especially when you've just met) and picks what, statistically speaking, has been a very dependable small talk topic. Uh....shoot, now what to talk about? Plus, if you don't know many people who aren't into sports, it would seem strange.

I know, didn't I say as much in my post?

You probably exaggerate when you say that they immediately suspect you of being ready to murder, and exaggeration never helped anybody come to a peaceful understanding of one another.

And, if it matters, I'm saying all this as a person who doesn't follow sports.

Of course it is a bit of an exaggeration, but nobody is having any trouble coming to a peaceful understanding. There is almost always a look of minor shock, followed by bewildered questions of "why" and "how".

Warb is a good example of the sort of reactions you get, actually. He seems quite pissed off at me and georgec right now, telling us to leave an all. What other thread in off topic stays on topic? For the most part it is only the sports thread where hissies are thrown in the event someone meanders onto some other subject.