We were driving home when my girlfriend said: “Do you know who won?”
“No, don’t tell me. I want to watch it later.”
“Why would it matter?”
“What do you mean, why would it matter?!”
“Well, surely you don’t watch the game solely for the result?”
She was baiting me. “Well, no…”
“Well then, I can tell you who won and it won’t impact on your enjoyment.”
“But then I won’t get any of the tension about who is going to win.”
“So, it IS just about the outcome. OK, what if I tell you that it was a really close game and then pause and then tell you the result, you’ll still get that tension.”

There was definitely tension building in the car. We were getting into a weird space here – sports philosophy. Do we actually care what happens during the match? Do we care if every pass by All Blacks scrum-half Piri Weepu was a perfect spiral at chest height? Do we care that Wayne Rooney was actually offside when he scored that goal? Do we care that Maria Sharapova didn’t score a point off her backhand?

The casual sports observer wouldn’t. The more intense would, but only in order to predict the result of the next match. What do we want when we watch sport, beyond that knowledge of what the scoreboard will say when the clock shows all zeros?

This can be seen easily when the game is a blow-out. Before the end most fans will leave - which has led to many people missing amazing comebacks. But if all you cared about was the result, why did you buy a ticket and then take the time to go to the game? What drew you to the game?

I believe it is the possibility of seeing something spectacular. We watch sport to see people doing something that we could not. We watch, mouths agape, as human beings run as fast as a car, as they lift massive weights over their head, as they tumble through the air with poise and symmetry. Even watching the concentration of a mastermind calculating the near-endless possibilities of a chess game to beat a super computer can enthral and amaze us. Well, some of us.

I recently watched the Chicago Bears play the New York Giants. I don’t support either team, yet I was whooping and hollering at the TV as the Bears ran a missed New York field goal 108 yards for a touchdown, equalling a record for the longest play in NFL history. That moment of brilliance as the entire team worked as a flowing force down the field, attentive to the directions of the runner, was something amazing to watch.