It's almost to the level of a cultural marker, where you're an outsider if you DON'T get the local sport.
I might be something of an outsider in my own country (the US) because I do not get the appeal of football at all. I understand it intellectually but find most sports to be a huge bore. If I recall correctly, I made my dad leave a baseball game (which I've heard is "the American pastime") early when I was 5 or so because I was THAT bored. I'm female, which probably makes a difference in how odd people find my disinterest in sports.
I had/have (we're still friends) in high school that friend who used often in conversation Japanese words that I didn't know, to the point where I think I learned a few because she used them so frequently.
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I might be something of an outsider in my own country (the US) because I do not get the appeal of football at all. I understand it intellectually but find most sports to be a huge bore. If I recall correctly, I made my dad leave a baseball game (which I've heard is "the American pastime") early when I was 5 or so because I was THAT bored. I'm female, which probably makes a difference in how odd people find my disinterest in sports.
I had/have (we're still friends) in high school that friend who used often in conversation Japanese words that I didn't know, to the point where I think I learned a few because she used them so frequently.