Warbler said:

and yet, I am both a geek and a sports fans. *shrugs*

georgec said:

some sports-loving people

I enjoy sports, too. I watch college basketball once or twice a week to follow my alma mater. I casually follow college football. But after college I lost interest in pro sports, since I was no longer exposed to 24/7 ESPN coverage in the dorms or apartments.

I play basketball and tennis, among other things. Though I'm a bit lazy these days, I typically run 20-30 miles per week (some say running isn't a sport, let's call it an athletic activity). I've run marathons. I appreciate athletic activity and exercise, and I also appreciate watching people who are extremely talented at different sports.

So, I will say it's also possible to casually enjoy sports, as a participant and a spectator, without being too extreme or hard core about it. But I find the ESPN culture, for lack of better description, to be excessive and a bit silly. And others would say the same about someone who plays Warcraft 10 hours per day. And I would agree.

Point is, when it comes down, extremism for anything can be annoying. But in our culture it's more acceptable to be extremely into sports than it is to be extremely into SW, gaming, science, etc. In school yards it's the alpha jock-types who tend to bully others. There's a huge stigma people are taught to associate with "geeky" things at a young age, and that permeates into other aspects of life as people age.