spectator sport

spectator sport (plural spectator sports)

1. A sporting activity which has a relatively high ratio of watchers to direct participants.
   • 1953, "Yonkers Doodle," Time, 5 Oct.:

     Today harness racing is a $430 million-a-year business, the fastest-growing spectator sport in the U.S.

2. (idiomatic) Something, especially a process or activity, which is a popular object of observation; an activity which a person prefers to watch rather than to participate in.
   • 1977, Muriel Clara Bradbrook, My Cambridge, →ISBN, p. 120:

     Politics for me was strictly a spectator sport.

   • 2008, David Randall, "Britney Spears, one-woman disaster zone, leaves hospital after two days," The Independent (UK), 6 Jan. (retrieved 31 Aug. 2009):

     The singer Britney Spears, whose descent into a personal abyss has become a ghoulish worldwide spectator sport, yesterday left a Los Angeles hospital.

3. (idiomatic) An activity which consists of watching or observing.
   • 2007, Brian Dakss, "Expert Offers Basics On What Some Call Nation's No. 1 Spectator Sport," CBS News, 1 June (retrieved 31 Aug. 2009):

     Thompson, who's the digest's publisher, says bird watching is a hobby, a pastime and a spectator sport that can be enjoyed anywhere.

   • 2008, Andrew Savva, Trisomy 13, →ISBN, p. 112:

     Rubbernecking is only a spectator sport.