Flipping through channels I noticed something that has been bothering me quite a bit every time I see it. This is the playing of poker on ESPN. ESPN stands for Entertainment and sports programming network. I don’t like when it is played on ESPN because ESPN is a channel for sports. Although poker is a game it is not a sport and I feel as if they could put something better in place instead of poker. Poker is a game and is fine to be televised on TV but not ESPN. I feel that there are many other sports that don’t get as much broadcast on TV that they could replace instead of showing the same poker tournament over and over. In class I have learned about many different sports that I did not know much about previously. Learning about new sports is a great way of learning more about sports. Also soccer does not get nearly enough coverage and maybe that is why it is not as popular in the United States. Woman sports would also be a good replacement, they don’t get any coverage either. Sports like rugby, cricket and other international sports would be a place to start also. This will get more people involved with becoming more cultured. Either way there are a lot of other real sports that could fill in this time of poker.
I would have to agree that I am getting sick and tired of always seeing poker tournaments on ESPN. When they first started doing it, I actually enjoyed watching poker. Now I barely even want to play the game because it is on so much. Plus poker would definitely be on my list for what I consider not to be a sport. There is no physical activity whatsoever. Not too mention everyone seems to play poker online or at someones house these days.I would rather see more soccer coverage or woman's sports coverage on ESPN. It is far more interesting than watching poker in my opinion. Unfortunately it will not happen because I'm sure the ratings are still really good for tournament poker on ESPN and until that changes you will not see it taken off.
ReplyDeleteI know earlier in the semester we learned about “tavern” games, and card games were included in that area, but I just don’t get why poker is so widely televised on ESPN and even other networks. The only thing I could imagine is that because of the large cash prizes is why Poker gained so much momentum, but now they poker with the stars and celebrity poker; a waste of airtime if you ask me. It may also relate to the fact that anyone can play poker, you don’t need to be fast, strong, or agile, you just have to take chances, and handle money; stuff regular people do every day. But the airtime is ridiculous! It seems poker is always on ESPN or ESPN2, it’s insane! Half the times I don’t even know what tournament they’re playing in or where it’s taking place, all you see are the tables, the cards, and the chips. I just don’t see the excitement of them flipping over the fifth card, and people go wild, it’s not your money at stake, I guess I just didn’t get caught up in the hype.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your take on poker. I never understood how prevalent it is on ESPN. I would much rather see "real sports!"
ReplyDeleteMegan,
ReplyDeleteI couldn’t agree with you more than poker should not be televised on ESPN. I agree that it is a game but I do not agree that it is a sport. I feel that it is not fair at all that women’s sports are not televised as much on ESPN but they show poker. Is watching poker really more important than watching women play real sports? I think it’s a disgrace that poker is more important than women’s sports!