[sebbie]

Choosing a Sport

I have often wondered what role the type of garment required to participate in a sport affect what sports a guy elects to pursue or not. I suppose the classic example is that of a young male taking up swimming or diving in a sport that may very well require him to wear a swim brief. At the time a male picks this as a sport, he must realize that he may be required to wear a swim brief. Or, maybe not, at least not initially. For a lot of teams, the younger members wear jammer-style suits and only “graduate” to a swim brief after some time in the sport. Generally the divers are not as “fortunate” in that regard.

I have read that by requiring everyone to always wear briefs, at least in competition, may have had a negative impact on some boys being willing to participate in swimming as a competitive sport. And that is why coaches started merely requiring swimmers to wear close-fitting jammers when swimming for speed. But jammers have their own issues as well. If a swimmer is concerned that he will be seen with a semi-erection bulge wearing a brief, this issue does not simply disappear if a jammer is worn. A basic “problem” remains, and that problem is that any snug-fitting stretch garment may “inadvertently” cause “problems” for the guy in the groin area. How a guy “copes” with these “problems” is a very individual issue, and, for young males, part of growing up.

And the problem is not only with sports involving water. It used to be that team sports such as football, baseball and basketball all required the guy to wear an old school athletic supporter, aka jock strap, and for sports such as baseball a cup. The male rite of passage was whether or not the guy taking up the sport was going to be able to “cope” with being in a strap (and maybe worse, a cup) while playing the sport. Any garment that by design is intended to fit that snug to actually be protective may cause “issues” and a cup only adds to the “problem” (as in what happens if I start to grow inside the cup, even inadvertently?) This led to the development of the huge “banana cups” that gave the guy more room to flop around inside if this should happen.

But also, this led to replacing the traditional strap with a larger compression gear undergarment some of which had built in pouches to hold a cup if the sport demanded it. Whether guys find the compression gear easier to deal with is an empirical question, except to say that the old school naked butt jock straps are seldom worn in team sport any more, replaced largely by some type of compression/Lycra fabric garment instead.

Then there are the wrestlers, where the one-piece suit has been the traditional garb at all levels, and the snugger and slicker the fit the better from the perspective of not giving your opponent anything to grab on to in the match. But these too have issues that the budding wrestler will have to deal with, issues not unlike the issues faced by the jammer wearer.

Part of the rowing and stationary bike riding activities that I participate in for exercise are made more fun and interesting because of the garments I wear while exercising. Rather than to try and avoid getting into a situation where I am feeling “good” down there I now revel in that. The stationary rowing and bike riding I do a lot of guys would claim to be too boring to keep up. But I have never had that problem as getting myself a little worked up down there is part of my daily exercise routine, and helps me to keep pushing myself longer and harder, so to speak. In short, I have learned to “manage” my body in that regard.

What role if any the things I do plays in what other guys are doing for sport and exercise I have no clue, except to say that many if not most activities whether for exercise, individual or team sport. Do some guys take up competitive swimming in part BECAUSE they get to wear a swim brief in public? A good question to ask! If a guy is losing interest in keeping up a routime, maybe WHAT the guy wears while engaging in exercise or sport needs to be changed out. The human body is wonderful!