I actually understood sports fandom for the first time because of watching streamers play video games. I was like ooooohhh, this is a very challenging skill, and I'm watching someone do it very very well, and I'm fucking hyped and I want to see more.

I never in my life had that for basketball or anything. But it made sense when I saw it for video games.

Most of the time it's the social aspect that is infectious. It gives you something in common with other fans that would otherwise be strangers to you

As someone who was born into the ball chasing cult, there are three things:

1. The social aspect. It's the one thing that brings my family together, each week, to watch the game. For away games, you have a cookout with some family friends, buy some drinks and then you watch the game. If it's in the evening, then you go out afterwards. For home games, you gather the same group, but now you're gonna meet more people in the arena, people you know because they're also in the cult. You have a drink, you have a laugh and you catch up with them. Our team is a second division side with some okay players and a great goalie, so the game is almost relegated (heh) to play second fiddle.

Oh and don't get me started on the choreos.

2. Hometown pride: This team has been here since the 19th century and for me, going to the games or even having just a passing interest in the team is part of being from that town.

You tag lamp posts in your town with their stickers and you do the same in the surrounding smaller cities. By looking at the stickers in any given town, you can see to which city their youth gravitates, which tickles my brain in ways I can't explain.

3. It's fun to watch: Arguably the weakest reason, but God damn, sometimes even second division footy just looks so good! When you see someone pull off a sick trick or make a clean tackle or catch, you get that sweet dopamine kick, it's insane.

I'd never beat someone because of their allegiance. Those people can kick rocks.

Practicing masculinity, delighting in skilled human action, and bonding with peers.

Not my thing, but I get it.

Expanding on the penis in vagina theme for a minute...

Each to their own pal. I’m sure there are things you do that others find a mystery.

The male ball chase cult is not even into women's sports. I always found contradictory that the crowd that qualifies itself as the manliest and straightest, enjoys looking at sweaty males that grop each other celebrating scoring. The whole thing reeks of suppressed sexuality.

its like joining a cult, you swap your weaker identity with the stronger cult identity

On the contrary, I think baseball obsession is more 'grounded'. There's no illusion that the players are your personal friends, they are a team and the social part is cheering them on with fellow fans.

Holy fuck I wish lemmy gold was a thing i could give you. Sport fans always seemed like cultists to me.

Who wouldn't be?

As someone that works in software, what he does to turn running code inside out, is kinda sexy. The guy is like a bloodhound for bugs and poorly-built software.

Game developers: Yeah, buy our game and play it however you want. It's all for fun!

Josh: ::proceeds to out-QA the publisher's QA department, breaking the game in the most egregious ways imaginable::

Game developers: No, not like that!

Speedrunners:: ::furious note-taking sounds::

So u never wanted to have Zero Master's Doom babies?

Wait you can do that?

Gross, no.

Uh… no?

With the exception of some c-section babies, every penis has been in a vagina, even if only in passing. It's the "but I didn't inhale" of peepee in the vajee.

Have you?

Sexual attraction and frustration, sure. Also loneliness, loss of community, loss of purpose, loss of meaning.

Maybe not every guy who watches her is like that, but some definitely are. I would especially be concerned for those who watch her consistently and donate large amounts of money to her. But I feel the same way about anyone who watches a lot of streamers and donates a lot of money (relative to their own income of course).

Parasocial relationships are a deeply concerning development.

but there is also the aesthetic allure of the adorable

yep

i think it's like this:

men walk around aimlessly until they find something they like (woman). that calms them down and they stop wandering around. that's the "appeal of the adorable" or sth.

so is estrogen

I don't watch Twitch but the youngin's in my family do.

Female streamers don't have that fake obnoxious rage yell/scream the guys do.

Last streamer I watched by choice was Skyrim Grandma BTW.

Holy shit, is "YouTube accent" that weird, half broken English baby voice to sound like an anime girl?

Every WoW guild I've been in has one.

Have you ever been on pornhub?

Obviously women have long hair, and that can get in the way, making it harder to see. You don't want hair in your face when you got to fit that piece through the side precisely, making a last second rotation to fit lest you end up with a hole on your stack

With all that being said, I understand the appeal of wanting to watch something that you think is pretty. Hell, that’s the entire reason I played cyberpunk as a female character despite being very cis, and male.

2077's female VA is incredible. She sounds so much more 'real' than clips of the male VA I heard, and the bit of rasp is utterly perfect for the setting.

Same with Kassandra, Femshep, and (I think) FemRyder.

Basically I've been trained into assuming the female VA is going to deliver a better performance.