I’m pretty much where you are - not sure if it’s for the same reason or not. I’ve quit watching almost all sports mainly because, at 72 y/o, what am I going to see?
Football: Circus catches by wide receivers .... oh, wait .... they’re wearing flypaper gloves that allow them to catch a football coming 70mph and catching it with the tips of 3 of their fingers ... uh huh, ok.
NBA/College BB: Jump step? Well, that makes it ok by rule to travel so that what the recruiter saw during summer AAU translates over to actual game situations.
Also NBA/College BB: Is that a basketball game or mugging? Is a guard allowed to dribble or hacking his wrists while he dribbles OK now. How about lowering your shoulder into your opponent, down in the paint, knocking him backwards by 2 feet and then making a 3 footer? Wow .... not.
Or MLB: Pitchers: 6 innings and your done (unless you’re throwing a no hitter) and then 3 different relievers over the next 3 innings (except in the Chicago Cubs case - the just had a combined no hitter - 4 pitchers .... good grief). Baseball used to be situational now it is cookie cutter and therefore more boring than before.
There just isn’t anything new other than athletes run a little faster, jump a little higher, and rule changes that make the games a clown show.
For the nitpickers: I’m a curmudgeon and don’t care if you think today’s sports are great - I don’t - but you do you.
I was an avid NFL fan as a younger man.
I used to watch basketball and hockey, and played hockey in men's leagues after I got out of the USN, but as I got older, it was just NFL. I began watching avidly when my family returned the the USA in 1972, and up until last year, I defended the NFL on these forums and watched it.
Boy, was I ever wrong.
I was operating under the erroneous assumption that the clubs and the league were not wholly onboard with this disrespect to our flag and anthem and the embrace of racism with backing Black Lives Matter. Last year fully showed just how on board they were, and now this year, they are into the mainstreaming and overt promotion of homosexuality in the league.
I came to understand that a large majority of sports figures (particularly in the NFL) have an enormous amount of contempt for people like me who would buy tickets and merchandise to pay their salary. They felt free to insult people like me with my values, and are so cocksure that they feel they can openly express their contempt, and we would keep buying tickets and merchandise to pay them.
They arrogantly think they can piss on my head, feel contempt for me, insult me openly, and then just hold out their hand for me to obediently place my hard-earned money into it as a gift to them as they spit in my face.
Doesn't work for me.
I believe this is a choice people will have to make for themselves. I've made my choice.