Are sports fans ignorant about the arts? Do opera buffs have trouble distinguishing a fastball from a slider? Greta has never been much of a sports fan, but she loves taking in the arts, cultural events, and Broadway shows. I know lots of sports fans who've never heard an opera. Are sports and fine art mutually exclusive?
If this is a rule, there's at least one exception: I love sports, but I also enjoy visiting museums and listening to the symphony. But maybe I'm not as uncommon as it seems. Maybe lots of people enjoy both fine arts and sports. Now's our chance to find out. This week's Casual Fridays study asks you both what type of arts activities you like, and what sports. Perhaps we'll find that certain types of sports fans are more amenable to the arts. Or perhaps we'll find there's no relationship at all between sports fans and arts buffs.
But we'll only know the answer if enough of our readers take the test:
Click here to participate in the sports versus the arts study.
The survey is brief, with just 10 questions. It should take only a minute or two to complete. You have until the morning of Thursday, May 24, to complete your response. There is no limit on the number of respondents.
Don't forget to come back next Friday to see the results!
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Meh, I guess I am easily entertained. Opera, museums, and theater are great. If I had to choose, I'd take football, but until then the arts and sports are both vastly more interesting than shitbrained sitcoms, reality tv and church.
I think this survey is flawed. I'm guessing "sports fans" who read this blog are more likely than the general population to also be art people.
I really enjoy these Casual Friday surveys and reading about the results. Thanks for doing them.
Anyway, I think including "watched on TV" for sports without having a comparable choice for the arts will skew things towards the single minded sports fans. I listen to classical music on the radio and search out photography on the internet, but neither of those methods of enjoying the fine arts were represented.
Just skewed your results. It's a hobby of mine. :)
With the recent Cricket World Cup I (and maybe several of your readers) listened to coverage via the BBC (you are NOT going to see cricket on American TV!). In short, I would have liked to see options "cricket" and "internet radio" on your survey...
Thanks a lot! Now I realize just how little I've gotten out in the last year. ;-)
Having small children skews my results toward the sports. I'd love to go to more concerts, but it's hard to keep a three-year old in his seat for more than ten minutes, so a baseball or hockey game is much easier!
Should have mentioned sailing under sports, considering the currently running Louis Vuitton/America's Cup competition.
Also, yes, it seems the readers of this blog wouldn't make for the most representative sample...
I agree with Alex (above) that you should have included a "watched on TV" category for the arts events as well. I've seen plenty of musicals, dancing competitions, concerts, and other art-related activities on TV. Also, why not include movies? They're forms of art.
Also, sometimes the line between sports and art can be hard to draw. Dancing and gymnastics, synchronized swimming, diving, skating - some sports and competitions can be very artistic.