Do people watch sports to be entertained?

The Green Bay Packers just completed one of the most entertaining seasons in franchise history. They set team records for wins (15), points (560), and passing touchdowns (51). They also were undefeated at home during the regular season and swept the division for the first time in their history. If this was not enough, Aaron Rodgers won the MVP in a landslide vote. The 2011 season should be one Packer fans cherish forever, but instead it's going to be viewed as a failure.

Of course, there is a very good reason for this: They were Super Bowl favorites that failed to win the Super Bowl. After blowing through the regular season the Packers saved their worst for last and were soundly beaten at Lambeau Field by the New York Giants. It was an ugly game that was by no means enjoyable to any Wisconsinite, and it does cast a dark shadow over the season. But should it?

Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel called the season a "total failure:"

The outright beating from the Giants rendered a 15-1 season an outright failure. There is no other way to say it, no other way to consider it. Given the gravity of the situation, it might have been the worst performance of the Mike McCarthy era, shutouts by the Bears and losses to a winless Tampa Bay included.

The only reason the Packers' 2011 season can be considered a total failure is if you do not watch the Packers to be entertained, but rather you watch the Packers solely because you hope to see them win. In this sense you are like a roulette player that only plays because of the chance to win money. You may not actually enjoy the act of playing roulette and you may even dislike it, but if it all goes right and the ball lands in the right slot you're going to feel a rush that only winning money can deliver. The same goes for sports. However much you actually like watching the games is not as important to everyone as feeling the thrill of victory. This, I think, is a much larger reason for the popularity of sports in American than people realize.

There is no right way or wrong way to watch sports. However, too many people miss out on enjoyment because they fail to embrace amazing things that are happening right before their eyes. Aaron Rodgers had one of the most incredible seasons in NFL history and was a nearly flawless source of entertainment, but because of how the season ended people are going to fail to appreciate this as much as they should.

It's perfectly fine to watch a game because you want to see your team win. But there is often a lot of enjoyment to be extracted from losing efforts, and this is not a good thing to miss out on. To paraphrase an old adage: it's not whether you win or lose, but if you were entertained.