Its rhe only thing I wish could change about my experience using Lemmy, for more active users in the communities like NFL or NHL and the affiliated team pages of those sports. I haven’t had any social media in decades, my main source for sporting news breaks up until 1-2 years ago was Reddit.
I love the small community that makes up Lemmy. As someone just posted, it feels like a small town community. I like the absence of corporate shills and ads and bots.
Back when I switched from Reddit to Lemmmy, I made an effort to upvote and comment on the NFL and Buffalo Bills communities. I eventually gave up because it was like months of posting, voting and commenting but when I would go back to check the communities, everything would still be sitting at like 2 up votes and 0 comment replies or if it was my own post, 1 upvote and 0 comments. For a majority of cases. Every once in a blue moon I would come accross a post where another user voted or commented but it was never more than me and one other user.
I know there is a certain demographic that uses Lemmy that is mostly driven by the required IT prowess needed to set up, use and even understand the federated concept. I also recognize that this demographic is traditionally disinterested in sports. Im not complaining about this or the users who are on Lemmy. Im also not wishing for any changes be made to aggressively expand Lemmy’s user base. Its just an impractical wish I have so I could get my sports news from the same source I get all my other news.
I will prolly spend more time this coming year settling on a 2ndary source for sports news from sources similar to sleeper app but it would be so nice if the Lemmy sporting communities blew up so I could keep everything aggregated to one source.
I like NHL and MLB. Both my teams are on the other side of the country, though. I cannot watch unless I pay out the wazoo. It ain’t worth it. Plus, cable? No thanks. Can’t afford it anyways, really. I used to listen to MLB radio at my old job with the AtBat app but they changed the subscription and it got too expensive.
Plus, it’s just not accommodating to people like me. I mention liking a team and I get bombarded with questions like “who was the 2nd baseman during 1998?” Or “what’s the current batting average for the designated hitter?” Or “who’s the coach right now?”
Like I have to prove I’m a ‘true fan.’ I don’t care about that. I see ball go fast, and get hit out the park, it is fun. I see a hockey player toss a puck across the ice, it is fun. I love games but I don’t know who the developer is by name. Just the company. Dunno where the best loot chest was in the dungeons of Oblivion/Skyrim/whatever. I just enjoy things the way I enjoy them.
After work, I’d rather spend time reading or playing video games or playing an instrument. Watching ads on TV makes me want to pull my eyes out with a fork. Ads on anything.
Overall… expensive. Ad breaks. And sports fans are not a welcoming bunch. Communities for them are awful, and filled with the kind of men who don’t realize it but have every stat memorized and have to belittle everyone about it to prove they’re the highlander of sports. The one and only true fan. No thanks.