If Sports Became Completely Predictable Tomorrow (100% Accuracy), Would You Still Watch Them?

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FadeThePublic

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Thought experiment: Tomorrow morning, you wake up and every sporting event is now 100% predictable. Perfect accuracy. You know exactly what will happen before it happens.

Obviously betting is dead. No uncertainty = no betting.

But the question: would you still watch sports?

Like if you KNEW the Chiefs were going to beat the Bills 31-24, would you still watch that game?

I'm genuinely not sure I would. And that's concerning.
 
Everygame
Brutal honesty? I probably wouldn't watch most sports.

Maybe playoff games or championships for the spectacle. But regular season? No.

The uncertainty is what makes it interesting. Take that away and it's just... choreographed theater.

And that's depressing because I used to love sports before betting.
 
I'd still watch Chiefs games!

Like even if I knew they'd win, I'd want to SEE them win!

But other games... yeah probably not lol
 
This question scares me because my honest answer is "probably not much."

I coach football. I SHOULD love football for its own sake.

But if every game was predictable? I don't think I'd watch.

What does that say about what betting has done to me?
 
I'd watch Wales rugby.

Every match.

Even if I knew we'd lose.

It's not about the outcome it's about being Welsh innit.

But other sports? Probably not.
 
Would not watch.

Sports interesting because of uncertainty and analytical challenge.

Remove both and activity becomes pointless observation of predetermined outcome.

Like watching recording of game you already know result.
 
No. Would not watch any sports.

Uncertainty is entirety of appeal. Remove that, nothing left.

Would find different intellectual pursuit.
 
wouldnt watch anything... dont actually care about sports... just need the uncertainty for betting... no betting means no reason to watch...
 
You guys are so sad!

Sports are fun to watch even without betting!

The players are amazing! The plays are exciting!
 
Princess be honest: if you KNEW the Chiefs would win 35-21, and you couldn't bet, would you watch all four quarters?

Or would you check in for highlights?
 
Correct analysis.

Uncertainty provides dopamine. Sports merely context.

Remove uncertainty, remove neurological reward.
 
This is quite a devastating question because it forces me to confront something I have been avoiding, if football matches were entirely predictable I suspect I would not watch them regularly, I might watch Arsenal occasionally out of decades of habit but the intellectual engagement would be gone, what made football fascinating was not the sport itself but rather the challenge of predicting uncertain outcomes, the beauty of the game and the skill of the players has become secondary to the analytical puzzle, Margaret used to say I no longer watched football I watched probabilities manifesting in real time and she was correct, without uncertainty there is no puzzle and without the puzzle there is nothing that interests me, this suggests I have completely lost my original love of sport and replaced it with love of analysis which is rather melancholic realization.
 
Prof that's really honest mate.

And really sad.

You don't love football anymore you love the math.
 
Prof's being brutally honest and I respect it.

I think most of us are in the same boat but don't want to admit it.
 
I'm in the same boat Prof.

I tell myself I love football but what I really love is trying to predict football.

Those aren't the same thing.
 
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