Spectator Sport Meaning

(idiomatic) An activity which consists of watching or observing.

Example: 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.
1977, Muriel Clara Bradbrook, My Cambridge, ISBN 9780903895842, 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.
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 9781411678132, p. 112:
  Rubbernecking is only a spectator sport.