1. free entry 5. wild crowd 2. a bad decision 6. empty seats 3. sore loser 7. accidents happen 4. chance participant 8. thrilling match a. for sports fans, attending a sporting event is often an amazing experience. they get to shout and cheer for their team amongst a huge group of like-minded supporters. but then there are those rare moments, in a baseball game, for example, when the hitter knocks the ball into the stands. that’s why some spectators bring gloves, in the rare event that they become part of the game. b. people like different sports for different reasons. most fans of tennis talk about how it’s filled with a lot of action. if you’ve got two great tennis legends playing, watching them hit the ball back and forth across the net really holds your attention. you’re waiting for one of them to slip up, and you can’t take your eye off the ball! c. for many people, visiting a stadium to see a game is not feasible within their schedule. instead, they stay at home and watch it on the tv with a group of friends while they enjoy snacks and cheer for their team. sometimes it seems as if too many people have had the same idea, so you’re watching your team play but you can’t help but notice there’s hardly anyone in the stands! d. occasionally you hear about this in the news - fans of a certain football team, who love their team seemingly more than life itself, get into huge fights with supporters of the other team. it often has a terrible ending, too. it’s hard to believe people can behave so stupidly sometimes. it’s enough to make you not want to visit a sporting event. e. the whole idea of a competition is that someone wins, and someone doesn’t. but sometimes the latter person in that equation doesn’t take it too well. they throw a fit, and storm off the field or court. it doesn’t help the situation, and it looks very bad. if only they realised what fools they’re making of themselves, they might not behave that way. f. sporting events are really popular, and radio shows know this. that’s why they host programmes where you can call in for a chance to win tickets to your favourite match. usually they ask some sort of trivia question, like who scored the winning goal in the last world cup, for example. if you’re the first to call in and get the answer right - congratulations! you’re going to a football match! g. it’s so frustrating when you’re watching your favourite team play and they get robbed of a goal. take football, for example. players have to get the ball past the line in front of the net. if the goalie stops the ball before it passes the line, the team won’t get the goal. what if the ball looks as if it crosses over, but the referee rules against your team? oh, the anger!