📺 Watching sports alone versus with a group, does it actually change the experience

Watched an important match alone last weekend purely because everyone I would normally watch with happened to be busy elsewhere that specific day, and the actual overall experience felt noticeably different compared to how I normally watch matches, surrounded by friends reacting loudly together to every single significant moment as it actually happens in real time. Found myself genuinely missing the specific shared reactions, someone to actually celebrate a good moment with immediately, someone to commiserate with just as quickly when things go badly instead, the whole entire experience felt considerably more subdued and honestly slightly hollow watching completely alone by myself compared to how it normally feels with company present. That said, watching alone did let me actually focus considerably more closely on the specific tactical details of the match itself without any distracting side conversations happening simultaneously, noticing things about actual strategy and specific individual player positioning that I genuinely would have completely missed while distracted by group banter and side conversations the way I normally would be. Mentioned this specific contrast to a friend who actually prefers watching alone most of the time himself, and he said he specifically values that increased focus considerably more than any social element most other people seem to genuinely value about watching together as an actual group experience instead. This makes me think there is probably no single universally correct way to actually watch sports properly, some people genuinely value the shared communal social experience above all else, while others clearly prioritize their own personal focus and undistracted appreciation of the specific actual tactical details unfolding on screen in front of them. Do people here have a genuinely strong personal preference either way themselves, and does it actually depend on the specific sport or particular match involved, or is your own preference generally fairly consistent regardless of what is actually being played or watched at any given time?

My friends circle treats watching together as basically a small social event now regardless of who is even actually playing that particular day, snacks and reactions matter just as much as the match score itself somehow, which took me a genuinely fair while to properly get used to at first before any of it ever finally clicked properly for me at all.

Watching alone lets me actually notice things properly, little tactical shifts and small individual moments that get completely lost the second a group starts talking loudly over each other about something else entirely happening off screen at that same exact time. Group watching wins on pure energy and shared noise, solo wins on paying much closer attention throughout the match.