My dad tried.
He signed me up for tee ball, watched football, basketball and baseball fervently and extolled the virtues of sports almost every day of my childhood.
My problem was, I was into totally different things. I loved bicycles, minibikes, go-karts, old cars...and martial arts.
Karate drew me in with its sense of personal accomplishment. Blame it on my introverted nature. I always preferred quietly learning and improving with no regard to what others in the mainstream were doing.
I grew up on a farm with several acres. Every day after school, I filled up the gas tank on my Suzuki 125 and rode until dark, doing jumps and wheelies to my heart's content. Meanwhile, I learned how to hot-wire Dad's 1968 Impala. I practiced sliding and regaining control over and over again in the open field behind our house.
Eventually, I made friends with more knowledge than I had. I asked questions, helped them with their projects and read every Hot Rod, Car Craft and Popular Hot Rodding magazine I could find.
It gets a bit awkward when others begin to discuss March Madness, but I always find a way to steer the conversation toward my favorite pastime. After all, there's a reason why they call them SPORTS CARS. lol