This is it, the big one, the 150th article special. Today we take on the biggest question of all. Why do we watch Formula 1? Why is it enjoyable? Get ready to hold onto your socks, because the answers may surprise you.
Why do we watch sports?
In order to know why we watch F1 we need to know generally why we watch sports? Well a lot of the fun stems from rooting for a team or club, it's very rare that a fan of a sport doesn't have a favorite team. The reason for this is that sports are like a good story, your team, the protagonist and the other team, the antagonist. This is why underdogs are liked so much in sports, because the frequent defeat makes that occasional victory so much better. Plus, lets face it, unless you were rooting for the Ottowa Senators in the 1992-1993 season (seriously, I know it's not F1, but the humor in a 38 consecutive win-less streak is universal) your team will win at some point. This is evident in that Red Bull fans have probably become less passionate during the last season because there was just constant victory. Would you rather have your favorite driver win the race by 20 seconds or by .3 of a second? Also sports are always made fair while things in life are not. It wouldn't be any fun to watch a race between a GP3 car and an F1 car would it? Finally, sports are a great retreat because they're blissfully simple. The games or races are very black and white, you have your reasons for rooting for one team and despising another, there's no question in your mind of who's in the right and who's in the wrong.
Why F1?
Well F1 has the unique quality of being international, which adds to the excitement, because it bumps up the intensity tenfold. It's not just Prost vs. Senna, it's France vs. Brazil, it's not just Vettel vs. Alonso, it's Germany versus Spain etc. This is shown in soccer/football in that the Champion's League is more popular than league games. Also chances are that if you're from England, you're a McLaren fan, and are also very miffed when they finish 5th at the end of the season, it adds to your emotional investment. F1 also provides multiple interests with something to watch. If you are a rugby fan, chances are you are watching rugby for the sake of seeing rugby, simple right? However in Formula 1, you could be watching for the racing, the car design, the crashes (admit it, there's nothing like watching a million-dollar vehicle go spinning and crashing into walls), or maybe even the sponsors for the sake of investing. All these things make Formula 1 more exiting than any other sport.
Verdict: F1 is awesome
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