Why does playing sports in high school make you popular?

Question

WhiteSteve · Accepted Answer

I don’t know, I thought girls were into dudes like Timothée Chalamet now, and looking at all athletic was out the window?🤔😂

In seriousness…. I’ve kind of wondered about genetics, and the correlation I see sometimes with athleticism and good looks. It’s not universal, but I feel like there are a good amount of athletes who have good facial structure in addition to their athletic talent. Kind of that “some folks just seem to have it all” thing.

To be fair…. you seem some rough looking people too, lmao. But if we’re just talking about the generic “Johnny Football Hero” at most American high schools, I feel like that guy is very often a good looking kid, at least relative to the pool they’re in.

Onset of puberty differences could also correlate. We usually play sports just with people our age, or a year ahead or behind. But not everyone develops at the same rate and time. I remember being 15 or 16…. some guys still looked like they were in middle school, other guys were shaving and were 6’4, haha. And the 6’4 guy is obviously likely to perform better than the kid a foot shorter and 50 lbs lighter, and that comes with some accolades and social currency for the more developed guy.

I saw a picture of one of the teams that had won a state championship a few years back and there were like five dudes on there who looked like they were 25 years old, lmao. And they were good looking bros, no Diddy/no pedo😅😝 To be fair, my girlfriend makes fun of me all the time for misidentifying what women would perceive as good looking, maybe these dudes are uggos and I’m just making bad calls, lmao. But I stand by it, those dudes in the picture probably had their pick of ladies at their school.

So yeah, with genetics, I feel like there are just people out there where everything just went right for them, or at least did in the sense of making them desirable to others. Those people may find their way into sports, have success in those sports, and the combination of that with the way they look (and their bodily fitness is probably good from the exercise) makes them a hot commodity. Oftentimes while still being jerks, personality-wise, haha. That might just be human psychological inability to handle positive attention in great abundance.

It can translate to women as well, but I feel like it’s not as strong. I don’t know if I count high school cheerleaders as “athletes” in the same way as I would a basketball or field hockey player. Depends on the level of difficulty, I guess. CRAZY respect for COMPETITIVE cheerleading, that stuff is ridiculous. But at least at my high school, it was just girls with uniforms doing chants. No pyramids, no flying acrobatics, just “Push ‘em back, push ‘em back, waaaayyyyyyyyyy BACK!!! Yeeeaaaahhhh!!! Woooo!!!” I feel like THAT brand of cheerleading is more of a club for the pretty, popular girls, and just was kind of the female counterpart to the football player. High school was like 30 years ago for me, lmao, so maybe things are different, I have no idea.

But in my day, that was how it went. The cheerleaders and the female athletes weren’t the same people. And to be bluntly honest, it wasn’t uncommon for some of the guys to have negative things to say about the latter’s looks. They’d be called “burly” or a “beast”, stuff like that, to insinuate that they weren’t feminine enough for our liking. And you realize how much that sucks with the benefit of age and wisdom, but at the time, that’s just kind of the mood, unfortunately. Not always, but sometimes. Depended a lot on the sport in question too. Also, to be fair, my high school was all dudes, we imported cheerleaders from an all-girls school, I’m going back to public middle school for some of these athlete comparisons.

Anyway, this is super long, lmfao…. point is, I think the main thing is that there’s just a measurable social currency from being a standout athlete. Your school probably has like 400-1,000 kids total, and at a given time, there might be a dozen or fewer “star athletes”, which makes you stand out from the crowd in a positive way, and in a way we can relate to adult athletes who are superstars. Athletic body types (whether natural or developed through effort) seem to be organically attractive to many people, so they’ll likely have that advantage. Plus, growing up being the fasted kid on the playground gives you an abundance of confidence, adding to their persona, even if it’s sometimes overboard…I think all of us WISH we had cause to be that confident, even sometimes in cases where it becomes arrogance. And like I said, I swear I just see good facial bone structure in a lot of top athletes. Why? I don’t know. But I can’t help but notice.

Ironically, as much caché as it gets you as a teenager, it’s funny that, unless you continue into college athletics, it ends there. I remember one of the first rules I learned my first year of college: DON’T be that guy wearing his varsity letter jacket from high school around campus, that’s a dork move. Close the yearbook and grow up, lmao. And I saw MANY people thrive as young adults that weren’t necessarily Captain Cool back in high school👍 So, whether you’re in that crowd or just wish you were, know that, either way, that chapter closes when your diploma hits your hand.

lightbulb27 · Accepted Answer

makes you more confident... people admire your abilities, you stand out. Now if you are terrible and cry a lot when running the ball, might not be so popular.

please, no teenage bathroom selfie pics on the site.

PeachyPie93 · Accepted Answer

It doesn't necessarily but you do end up hanging around a lot of people and know lots of people when you are on a team so it kind of just happens..

alice55 · Accepted Answer

Because it's seen as cool, I used to get bullied until people saw I was the best girl of the school and then they stopped bullying

Athletic Chloe · Accepted Answer

Playing sports in high school often makes students popular because sports are a major part of school culture. Athletic achievements are celebrated, leading to recognition and admiration from peers. Being part of a team fosters camaraderie and builds social connections. Athletes often demonstrate qualities like leadership and perseverance, which are respected. Sports events are also social gatherings, providing athletes with visibility and opportunities to interact with a broader student base. 🏆

exitseven · Answer

all the cheerleaders hung out with the jocks. everyone else wanted to be them. I never could figure it out either.

myloveforuisinfinte · Answer

It's pretty simple - If you're on a team, you're going to be interacting with more people which means large friend cicle , which is automatically going to make you popular 💕

molonski2 · Answer

Its about general health and well being , so those playing sports are the fittest and thus in general the most appealing , you also learn a lot particularly from team sports.

Anonymous · Answer

For girls, it's general when they're doing dance, like cheer, or gymanstics type stuff, for the obvious.

For men, it's when they're doing sports like football, because we're "expected to" or because "we're meant to", right? RIGHHTHTTTT?

Fucking pathetic pos'

Anonymous · Answer

because people are naturally attracted to athleticism sorry not sorry but being plus size or having a dad bod doesn't cut it no matter how hard the mainstream media tries to lie to society

jahaims · Answer

I assume because athletes are going to be the more fit and attractive ones and because they are on a team. You are going to get cliques out of the different teams. Often times you play sports with the same people season to season.

AviatorTom · Answer

Playing sports can make you popular, since more people get to see you, especially if you are good. But it's not a slam dunk.

TheStaleMarshmellow · Answer

I played sports and no one gave a single fuck about me. I'm even in the yearbook photo of my football team and they didn't bother to put my name in the line up ;-;

MisterMystery · Answer

We become popular because we know more people.

Alex-Snow · Answer

I was on the cross country, swim and track teams. I don't think it made me popular but it did expand my circle of friends

Luopio27 · Answer

It creates a sense of belonging to a team, to a school, to a community! People like cheering for winners and scoring goals feels good!

LiamJHayden · Answer

It can cut both ways. Make the error or miss the tackle or the shot that costs the CIF Championship and be scorned.

linka_pat307 · Answer

BECAUSE most sport students look extremely good and not all students can do that

In_Trance · Answer

Because there's nothing else going on and it's romanticized by the American media

Anonymous · Answer

Because most people like girls/guys in good physical shape.

Christophert10 · Answer

All the pretty fit girls isn’t it.

Sonora81 · Answer

People like people who are fit and active.

Hispanic-Cool-Guy · Answer

No idea. Most of them suck anyways.

Twalli · Answer

It gives you a group to be part of.

andreasderjuengere · Answer

Does it?

Iron_Man · Answer

Yes it does

Why does playing sports in high school make you popular?

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