I don't understand the attraction of sports, either, but I try to think of time spent watching them as being analogous to a ballet performance, a night of musical theater, or watching a movie. Participants get swept up in the action, the archetypes, and imagine themselves as part of the story.

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I watch New York Knicks games and have for years. For a long time I thought basketball was dumb, then I went to see Michael Jordan play the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden and was blown away.

There is a ton of creativity in basketball, as well as strategy, which you can not appreciate unless you have played the game or watched a masterful performance. It looks like tens guys running around at first glance, but really it's a chess board and some of the pieces are epic performers.

I'll take you to a game some time and you'll understand. :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WmNHGA5jh8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lgAZqhHVGQ

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=19746585
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I think there are a lot of reasons people watch sports.

For one, there is a social aspect. For me, this is the primary reason I watch sports. Not so much the game, but spending time with friends over a shared interest.

Sometimes there's a connection between a fan and the team. That's why I watch a certain college football team's games, even though I watch very little other football.

As was mentioned, the athleticism of sports is amazing to watch, especially if you have some knowledge of what goes into it.

Finally, I think that people like to yell and scream and get excited about stuff, whether it is a concert or a game. Sports helps that outlet for people to be wild and crazy within social norms. Like a type of Dragon*Con for mundanes.
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