In the past seven years since becoming very serious about my own activities, I have devoted less time to following professional sports. A large part of this is just that I have less time to devote, given the time now committed to swimming, biking, running, etc, etc. Part of this, though, relates to what is on another thread here - that the nature of athletes and the economics of pro sports often makes following them a very distasteful activity. But am I still a fan of my long-standing favorite teams? Yes? Did I cry a bit when the Red Sox won the World Series? Yes. Am I glad the Patriots won the Super Bowl again? Yes. Would I have been distraught if neither of those had happened? No. Am I missing the NHL? Hardly. (Even though hockey is great for having on while riding on the trainer or rollers, or even while grading papers.) For my money, I would much rather watch Canadian major junior hockey, where all the players put out 100% all the time, as opposed to the NHL where too often the players are just going through the motions. My favorite professional sport to watch right now is lacrosse - no prima donnas there, just a pile of guys who all work regular jobs and put forth a colossal effort when they're on the floor. To answer your ultimate question, I am a dedicated triathlete who has long since ceased being a fanatic - and the two are closely related.