As a Canadian it is of no surprise that I watch hockey. That used to be my favourite sport. It makes sense. The only major league team we have in Vancouver is the Canucks so the NHL is going to naturally attract attention. There is a greater attraction to a sport if you have a local team to cheer for.
Though I have found over the years that football may actually interest me more. I think the one-game-a-week schedule helps it feel more like a big event. One thing that helped was understanding the rules and strategy. If you don't get that you don't really get football. Amusingly enough I figured out the nuances of football watching computer vs. computer games in Madden '94 for the Genesis.
I also like baseball. I went with my Dad to Wrestlemania XIX which was held at Safeco Field in Seattle. While we were waiting for the event to start we were looking over the stadium and figured that it would be pretty cool to check out a baseball game here. So we did and we loved it and we make a trip to Seattle every year now to see a handful of Mariners games. I don't watch baseball's regular season so much (it has so many games that it feels redundant; the exact opposite of the NFL's 16 game schedule) but love the playoffs. I didn't watch much sports as a kid but I remember bonding with my Dad watching the Blue Jays win back-to-back World Series.
I'm starting to get into basketball. Unlike the other three sports I actually played this as a kid. I sucked at dribbling. I don't know why but it has always been difficult for me. I was a good defender though and had an accurate shot. I played in elementary school and tried out for the team in grade 8 but didn't make it. Later the coach came up to me and mentioned how one of the players was quiting the team and that I was the best of the cut players and could join the team if I wanted to. I figured I would be a bench player and knew that the guy beneath me REALLY wanted to be on the team, while I honestly didn't care that much, so I let him warm the bench instead of me. In retrospect I regret doing that. I did not have a good attitude about sports as a kid. I didn't like them, didn't like all the pressure and competition and as a result I didn't really try all that hard. I joined teams more out of peer pressure and to please my parents. As an adult I like sports and I have a lot more pride and determination in myself. The Ian of today would have joined the team and worked his ass off to be the best player he could. I remember playing in gym class and players from the team were shocked at how good I was at getting open and sinking baskets. What sort of dipshit was I to not want to join the team when I obviously had enough skills to do so? But then I don't really like a lot of things about who I was as a child or teenager.
A few years back I got a chance to play ice hockey for the first time. That was something I had wanted to do for years so it was nice to get the opportunity. So I now play with some co-workers. The only problem is I'm really not very good due to inexperience. Now at first about half of us couldn't play worth a **** but some of the guys have gotten REALLY serious about it and have taken power skating lessons and joined leagues. They have invited experienced players to play with us. The whole thing has gotten a lot more hardcore than I would have liked so I'm not as into it as I was. The sad thing is we used to play street hockey after work all the time but we never do now because everyone just wants to play "real" hockey. Anyway I've taken skating lessons now and I'm getting better but I'm still way behind the skill level of most of the guys, which makes it less fun.