Sports Addiction – Addicted to Football, Hockey and Golf

Tell me if this sounds familiar: It’s a snowy Sunday afternoon. A foot of fresh powder glistens outside, calling your name to come out skiing. You get excited and actually start walking down the hall to find your husband, but then you stop. Almost as suddenly as the thought of going out occurred, your heart sinks, and you turn back around. It’s Sunday. During football season. If you’re going anywhere, it’s going to be alone. Your husband is currently sequestered in the living room with his nachos and PBR, watching the Bears. He won’t be coming out anytime soon.

You narrow your eyes, silently cursing the National Football League. Thanks to them, you have even less time with your significant other. Football is now on all day Sunday, Monday night, Thursday, and Saturday. You sigh, wondering if it would be worth it to just stop paying the cable bill and see what happens. Do sports addicts go through withdrawal symptoms?

While it may sound a bit funny and harmless to some, there are plenty of families facing this reality every day, and they’re not laughing. Sports addiction can wreak havoc on lives just like any other addiction. Whether it’s fantasy football, real football, soccer, hockey, baseball, or curling, addicts can be found in living rooms all over the world.

Understanding the Impact of Sports Addiction

There is not much information available on sports addiction, but the problem does exist, and it can be blindingly destructive. Take the man in China who let his house burn to the ground while watching the World Cup. At least he had the foresight to save his TV when he was finally forced to leave, though he wasted no time searching for the nearest plug to continue watching. Fortunately, his wife and baby made it out on their own.

While frantic World Cup addicts tend to get a lot of press, outrageous fan behavior can be found in any sport, with similar consequences.

What defines sports addiction isn’t how many hours you spend watching each week, but whether that time is causing negative behavior in your life. If you’re tuning in to watch games despite your wife threatening to leave you, bills going unpaid, and laundry piling to the ceiling, then you may have an addiction. Whether it’s 10 hours per week or 40, it all hinges on how you’re managing your real-life obligations.

If you Google “Sports Addiction,” it becomes immediately clear that very little research has been done on the topic. No statistics show up, and there are only a few informative articles. Most of what you find revolves around sports gambling, not watching. Most results are blogs or personal stories of people affected by this addiction, or their loved ones seeking help.

There is some useful information out there, however, if you look hard enough. The question of why some get addicted to sports while others don’t is probably the easiest to answer.

It has to do with the pleasure principle, which is common in any addiction. At the beginning of any behavior—whether it’s drinking, shopping, or watching sports—the activity releases pleasure chemicals in the brain, making the user feel good. However, as the activity continues, it takes longer and longer to achieve that pleasurable feeling. The behavior then becomes more about avoiding pain than seeking pleasure.

Sports provide an escape route for many people, allowing them to avoid confronting problems or feelings they don’t want to face.

So, how do you tell if you or someone you love is addicted to sports? A “yes” to one or more of these questions might point toward an addiction:

• Do you think about sports when you’re supposed to be doing other things, like spending time with your family?
• Do you rush home to catch games or listen obsessively on the radio while you’re out?
• Do you feel irritated when family or friends interrupt a game to involve you in another activity?
• Do you spend time at work surfing sports sites to stay updated?
• Do you use sports as a way to gamble?
• Do you call in sick to work to watch games, especially during the playoffs?

Recovery from sports addiction can be a long process. Getting the person to admit they have a problem is often challenging. However, once they truly understand that their behavior is negatively affecting those they love, steps can be taken to cut back on the addiction.

Unsubscribing from cable will likely be the most effective—and hardest—step. Kevin Quirk, self-professed sports addict and author of “Not Now, Honey, I’m Watching the Game”, had to do just that. Going cold turkey and making a clean break from sports watching is hard at first, but ultimately more successful in the long run.

When the endless supply of games is gone, it will be vital to fill that void with something positive. Going out to play a sport in real life is often the next best thing, especially if it’s with a group of friends. Getting out of the house and engaging in real experiences will help curb the need to watch sports.