What Pastimes Are Fading/Failing With Aging Boomers?

[jollystomper]

Live attendance at professional sports in the U.S. are declining. The cost and hassles of getting to/from stadiums are getting prohibitive to attend for the average younger person. I took some family and friends to an NFL game this past winter, the ticket cost alone was close to $800, add in parking and food and you are at $1000 for a single game. Then there is dealing the traffic and crowds getting to and from the stadium.

With the increase of live streaming and TV that practically make you feel as if you are at the game, the attendance decline may continue.

 

[LRDave]

Golf is interesting. It might be able to survive as a super-elite activity, or it might be in an unrecoverable nosedive. This "pitch, putt and drive" thing is a big emphasis for those at the top of US golf and see the looming crisis.


I actually think football (as we know it) is doomed. (I've strayed here; this isn't something any of us are doing as a past time .... )

 

[Amethyst]

Humans will always run. It's the obsessive, conceited runners of the 70's and 80's that I'm talking about. When I was in my 20's and 30's, total strangers would not only sweat on me as they shoved past - sometimes they would shout insults like "Go faster!" or "You should be running!" because I was, shudder, only walking.

Really? I'm seeing more and more participation in running races these days.

No excuse for getting shoved or even bumped on public paths. They are for everyone, at any speed.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

Whatever happened to the big heavy weight fights? I do not hear or see anything about that at all these days. My Dad told me he saw Muhammed Ali fight Joe Frazier. Nowadays there is nothing going on that I can see for heavy weight boxing. What happened?

 

[hesperus]

I can only hope the mountain bike craze fades soon. At least where we are, they're everywhere. I'm tired of looking at the constant parade of bright euro style cycling clothing atop $6K bikes. Further, they don't always coexist well with hikers on trails.

 

[Fedup]

Live attendance at professional sports in the U.S. are declining. The cost and hassles of getting to/from stadiums are getting prohibitive to attend for the average younger person. I took some family and friends to an NFL game this past winter, the ticket cost alone was close to $800, add in parking and food and you are at $1000 for a single game. Then there is dealing the traffic and crowds getting to and from the stadium.

With the increase of live streaming and TV that practically make you feel as if you are at the game, the attendance decline may continue.

I think same with going to live concerts. Cost is not even an issue. Just the hassle.

 

[RunningBum]

Whatever happened to the big heavy weight fights? I do not hear or see anything about that at all these days. My Dad told me he saw Muhammed Ali fight Joe Frazier. Nowadays there is nothing going on that I can see for heavy weight boxing. What happened?

I thought about mentioning this too. Mixed martial arts have taken their place, I think. You know, those "almost anything goes" cage-style matches.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

Whatever happened to the big heavy weight fights? I do not hear or see anything about that at all these days. My Dad told me he saw Muhammed Ali fight Joe Frazier. Nowadays there is nothing going on that I can see for heavy weight boxing. What happened?

Oh man ill second this one. I remember 1 title ,or may be 2. Now they have A tone of titles and I dont even recognize the names.

 

[Marita40]

I was going to say jump roping, but then I heard a young woman on MPR this morning who apparently is a Double Dutch champion.

A lot of youthful pastimes are gone it seems: paper dolls, color by number, homemade clay/salt figures, model airplanes, embroidery.

Hunting and fishing still seem big here in MN and WI. Bridge is popular here too, at least in my crowd, as is charades.

 

[MuirWannabe]

Bocce and lawn bowling. Canasta and dozens of other card games. Monopoly.

I think the growth of cottages equipped with TV, Internet and other pastimes has killed many of these.

I love playing games with family and friends. Card games, domino games, board games, etc. But all these are probably dying a slow death against the opponents of tv, internet, and video gaming. When we vacation with our larger family (usually once a year) it's always fun to play games. Invariably, someone will turn on the tv and its such a downer to me. It's like a drug and heads automatically turn.

Fortunately, 42 is a domino game many in my larger family likes, and spend hours after dinner enjoying time together playing it. I can watch tv or surf the web anytime. But when we are with the greater family tribes, it sure is fun to shut all that down and play interactive games instead.

 

[MuirWannabe]

Btw, is tennis really a fading sport as mentioned by the OP? I know its heyday was the 70's, but I had the impression it was having a resurgence in the 2000's to some degree. Not sure if that's backed up by actual numbers. More my anecdotal experience.

Muir

 

[GravitySucks]

I think same with going to live concerts. Cost is not even an issue. Just the hassle.

I've been seeing great musicians at less than $20 a ticket lately. The unknowns or little know artists are as good as the big name, big ticket acts without having to fight the crowds.
There's still a few of the big acts I want to see, but it's not the once a month thing it used to be.

 

[ejman]

Golf? Sailing/Boating? Tennis? Country Clubs? Harley-Davidsons? Corvettes? Other?

The median age for all of the above has increased considerably over the past 20-30 years, and some have already seen participation fall substantially. Younger generations aren't as interested, they have other interests. They aren't going to disappear overnight, and may always have niches, but I wonder how these and other traditional pastimes will fare once Boomers can't support them anymore?

Getting a killer stereo/Hi-Fi and some groovy music and inviting friends over just to listen is long gone.

 

[Fedup]

I've been seeing great musicians at less than $20 a ticket lately. The unknowns or little know artists are as good as the big name, big ticket acts without having to fight the crowds.
There's still a few of the big acts I want to see, but it's not the once a month thing it used to be.

My husband swears off live concerts for good. It was too noisy for him in person, he went with my daughter and she even said the same thing. But we do go to small places locally but they are not big names that can attract a crowd.

 

[txtig]

DW refuses to go camping - but she really enjoys RVing.

+1. DW and I are leaving on a month long RV trip on Wednesday. She loves RVing. But, one big concern is picking up Game 3 of the College World Series on Wednesday night to watch our LSU Tigers. The RV is still pretty new and I haven't yet installed a satellite TV system. Maybe I should have done that instead of installing her washer/dryer!!

 

[REWahoo]

But, one big concern is picking up Game 3 of the College World Series on Wednesday night to watch our LSU Tigers.

Be sure to pick an RV park with cable hookups for Wednesday night.

 

[John Galt III]

Whatever happened to the big heavy weight fights? I do not hear or see anything about that at all these days. My Dad told me he saw Muhammed Ali fight Joe Frazier. Nowadays there is nothing going on that I can see for heavy weight boxing. What happened?

Yeah. Tommy Morrison in the late Eighty's, early 90's. The George Foreman comeback. Then Tyson retires, then nothingness. I used to love to watch Morrison and Foreman on Friday Night Fights. Stress relief from programming.

 

[brucethebroker]

Getting a killer stereo/Hi-Fi and some groovy music and inviting friends over just to listen is long gone.

"Groovy music"-was that an intended pun? Haha!

I'll throw out "Rock On" to be a sport!

 

[Scrapr]

The movie theatre chain near us is serving hard liquor. I popped for a whiskey (it was a date so i was trying to impress Mrs Scrapr!) I think the shot was $10 or 12. After that i said I'm tired of sneaking in candy. I'm moving up to liquor

Netflix is much easier. I just walk out to the kitchen and get my own booze

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Coin collecting has already been mentioned. I'm not a collector, but I sat in a coin shop for over 5 hours the other day while the appraiser went through my late father's collection. At age 57, I felt like a youngster in there, compared to both the employees and the customers.

I'm an amateur astronomer. Mostly gray hair in those club meetings, as well.

The homebrew club meetings attract a bit younger audience, although all age groups are represented.

 

[Scrapr]

+1. DW and I are leaving on a month long RV trip on Wednesday. She loves RVing. But, one big concern is picking up Game 3 of the College World Series on Wednesday night to watch our LSU Tigers. The RV is still pretty new and I haven't yet installed a satellite TV system. Maybe I should have done that instead of installing her washer/dryer!!

Seeing as how LSU lost tonight maybe you will get out of having to find cable hook up! Florida sweeps?

I'm an Oregon State Beaver fan. I'm not over your Tigers beating us 2 in a row.



I love college baseball.

 

[Scuba]

I would concur with both or your observations. I'm personally aware of several clubs both golf and boating that 20-30 years ago ran long wait lists, and today offer join now specials. Even the upper tier like New York Yacht Club in Newport, seems to be going slightly down ladder for membership these days.



I hypothesize it is tied to the stagnation of upper middle class, and too many people tied to their computers. There was a significant mega economic trend that took place through the late 60's into the mid 80's. It was the boom of the dual income household, which led to a surge in the upper middle class with a significant disposable income. This resulted in many finding themselves able to afford the "club" experience. The tail end of which is now in their mid 60's to late 70's. This group had huge economic opportunity and rising incomes. This created an inflationary bubble which is presently deflating.



Those in their 40's to early 60's grew up in a time where 2 incomes is no longer a bonus, catapulting them into the upper class, but a necessity in many cases, to prevent them from falling into the lower class. Hence you have a contraction in the upper middle income group.



So the present day 40 year old needs 3-4 incomes to achieve what used to be accomplished with just 2. Furthermore the college bump has almost completely been wiped out by the increased cost of attendance.

I also think that it was more common 20 years ago for companies to fund golf/country club memberships for their executives. Not as common any more for various reasons.

 

[Scuba]

writing letters has declined

Even emailing is on the decline. Our niece and nephew, both in their early 20's, prefer texts, Instagram & Snapchat.

 

[jollystomper]

Whatever happened to the big heavy weight fights? I do not hear or see anything about that at all these days. My Dad told me he saw Muhammed Ali fight Joe Frazier. Nowadays there is nothing going on that I can see for heavy weight boxing. What happened?

Improving economic conditions for athletes in other sports is a big factor. Boxing used to be a sport where ones earnings could outpace other sports. But as more money poured into those other sports, with more opportunities and relatively less physical risk, those young athletes who would have looked to boxing as a first and best choice for them moved to other sports.

 

[scrabbler1]

We've found a solution to crowded theaters that works for us. We attend on Sunday morning during the first scheduled showing (usually around 10 a.m.). Typically there are at most a handful of other people in the theater.

I have been going to movies with my ladyfriend on weekend mornings, the first show airing around 10 AM or 10:30 AM. Parking is easy, seats or plentiful, and she and I are at our most awake at that time of day. and when we get home, we still have the whole day ahead of us including out evening.