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While thinking about something entirely other, I was brought to my knees under the weighty force of Truth. Truth with a capital T. Yes, it's true, I came to realize something deep, dark, disturbing, and several other ominous d-words about spectator sports. Particularly, we're going to speak of the psychology of spectating.

I know, I know. You're all thinking that I couldn't possibly be shocked that spectator sports could be a dank pool of cess, that the act of spectating itself could be feeding into the filth of the human soul, probably causing more problems than Hitler. I know that all these things may seem obvious to you. But please, for the sake of the children, humour me.

Here, in a nutshell, is the problem with spectator sports. It's the rooting that does it.

It's not in the competition or the aggression of the athletes but rather in the spectators themselves, the fans, in whom we find the mortal flaw. When a group of Kings fans gather to watch their team take on the ducks, they are not just rooting for the victory of their own team but they also cheer the failure of others. These are people who are rejoicing in the inadequacies of others. Further, they are happy to judge the errors and inadequacies of those from other teams. They even look forward to it with relish.

It's the same story with sports fans the world over.

Philadelphia Flyers fans? Bad people. San Diego Chargers fans? Bad people. L.A. Lakers fans? Bad people. UCLA? Buckeyes? Sabers? Dodgers? Green Bay? Tiger Woods? Mike Tyson? Yep, that's right. Their fans are bad people, relishing the opportunity to rejoice in failure, suffering, and inadequacy. They are the worst of society, dancing in celebration upon the ruin of their arbitrary foes, capitalizing on weakness and cherishing the the exploitation of mistakes.

So then spectator sports: healthy celebration of athleticism and physical greatness OR despicable vehicle designed to draw out the worst from its audiences. I don't think there's really any question, so I would encourage us, as a society to spit on the practice of rooting when viewing sports events.