It all comes down to competition. Basic human nature. Sports can be perceived as a civilized version of war. Better that professionally trained athletes fight our battles for us in the arena, than soldiers on a battlefield.

Action, excitement, unpredictability, strategy, loyalty, glory and sometimes beauty are all reasons why sports enthrall some people. To those who don't care, the action and excitement can be hard to see. But exciting moments in a game can often transform the most passive person into a screaming maniac.

'Predictable unpredictability' is what makes sports so watchable on TV. Unlike regular TV shows and movies that follow a script, nobody knows the outcome of a game. You can 'predict' what will happen (even gamble on it) but you can't know what will happen.

Understand that there are three fundamental kinds of competition. 1. Team. 2. Individual. 3. Machines or Animals. Team sports usually involve city vs. city or school vs. school. But team sorts can often reach a loftier level when they involve country vs. country. Individual sports pit man against man (or woman against woman) on a more basic level. The 3rd kind of competition, usually horse or car racing, makes human participants somewhat secondary.

What drives these competitions is loyalty and glory. Loyalty to a particular city is one of the most difficult concepts for a non-fan to grasp. For individual sports, personal glory is what most participants are after. Do I hear mutterings about greed and money being the real motivating factor in sports today? Absolutely. But only for the athletes themselves, not the fans who watch.

Sometimes 'partners' of sports addicts find themselves faced with the possibility of being dragged to the actual game, rather than merely watching him watch it on TV. Gandie's general advice here is, don't go unless you can't avoid it. Let him go to as many games as he wants -- with his friends, not you. A baseball game on a warm summer night can be relatively civilized, but for the most part, you'll find the crowd mentality at sports events to be rather intimidating.

Alcohol and gambling are two other elements the non sports fan in a relationship must contend with. Drinking and spectator sports are closely interrelated. If he wants to go to the bar with his buddies to watch the big game, let him. But you stay home. Sports lotteries and pools and outright gambling on sports events can add some fun to the games. But if he gambles and loses a lot on sports events, lose him. It will surely become a big problem between you. And, never, never, never try to influence his decision on which team to bet on.