While not really a sports fan, I do think that sports is one of the areas that could use a lot of improvement.

For starters, there should be multible sports careers. All could take place at the same colliseum.

Soccer, American football, Baseball and basketball could all be available, and additional sports could be added over time.

Seeing how its your town, you should be able to select the name of the sports teams and set the uniform for it. Could just be a single outfit for each sport for both genders, but the colors could be customised and the choice could be made between several symbols. Once thats set any sim that joins that sport becomes part of that team and puts that sports uniform on when going to work.

Instead of starting at a silly job such as water boy, they could start as a beginner in the amateur league. If they do well their pay could increase, and one sim in the amateur league can become captain. Not more than one since there can be only one.
If your sim does really well, they can be picked up by the proffesional league.
Works the same as the amateur league but pays a lot better. Amateur league could pay poorly compared to other jobs while proffesional athletes could bring in a lot of cash.

Career advancement to trainer, coach and such could become available once the sim becomes middle aged. Why take a step back while in their prime after all?
A single sim could eventually become the owner of the sports club. Can only be one owner of course.

Since some positions are limited, the payment of jobs could be more changeable. In sports payment could be negotiated, and many sims could have the dream to become a star player in the proffesional league, not the owner of the club. Though some could still have that dream.

Sim children and teens should also be capable of signing up with a junior league. If they are talented here they might be given the offer to become a proffesional right away once adult. Should be a rare privilege though. But any sim child that was in the junior league could get more payment right away in the amateur league.

Outside of work, all these sports could also be available. I'd actually like to see them as seperate skills from the athletic skill. Simply being athletic doesnt make you a great player of every sport after all.

While playing baseball sims could increase the baseball skill along with the athletic skill for example. same with the other sports.

There could be playfields around town where kids and adults can play the sport. Like with the festivals, the playfield could change. Select to play baseball and it becomes a baseball field. select to play soccer and its a soccer field. etc.
Adults and kids could play together here and just have a good time, nice way for parents to bond with their children.

Aside from these fields any of these sports could also be played at home in the backyard of course. Like was possible in sims3 with baseball and football. Maybe a bit more interactive with sims playing roughly with a rugby ball as they try and take it from each other. How rough could depend on age. With kids adults would hold back.

Sounds like a cool sports game. But for TS4? That's a lotta emphasis on sports.

Not that much deeper than it is currently, just a bit more fleshed out. To me the jump seems about as big as the jump between sims2 and 3 regarding careers.

If there was as much attention to detail in other careers, then I wouldn't mind. I really think careers need to be more than just a meter that goes up if you come every day. I don't need to see what they're doing all the time, I just wish there were more choices when it came to the careers and that they weren't all so static and alike.

I'd like all careers to be equally detailed, for now I just had a neat idea about the sports careers. I'd really want that junior league in the game so that kids have more to do.

I like it But where to draw the line - what sports would get included? Although it would make a nice addition for EPs where they could come with sports belonging to the theme.

I love this idea, but I think a sports-theme for an EP could totally flesh it all out more appropriately. As Kimsie said, where do you draw the line, especially in the base game where sports would never be heavily focused? But yes, as a non-lover of sports, I still want more fleshed out sports in the game for the whole family as a way to give my Sims more to do for both the fun and social motives, as well as for the athletic skill. Even toddlers should have a few sporty activities appropriate for their age.

Here is an example of a basketball set for toddlers, which I'd love to have in the game: http://www.meijer.com/s/little-tike...Acg&kpid=620836

If theres at least 2 sports to choose from in the basegame it would already be a start, the foundation would be there and from there on they can add more sports all to the same stadium. Could add one with some expansions.
A winter themed expansion could add ice hockey for example. As long as its team sports the functionality would be similar and would just require slight modifications. Basicly it would all be variations of the same job.

Good idea! Similar to how the new instruments in TS3 used the foundation that was built around the base game's guitar.

Pretty much yes! only implemented in the job too. I hate how in sims 3 in the music career its all about the guitar skill though, even if you choose the symphonic branch. Piano would have been more appropriate for that branch.

Exactly! It's the very reason I never have rock stars in my game because everyone wants to be one. It's ridiculous!

Probably would work to have some sort of variations of a career where each path requires a different skill.

For sports it would be the soccer skill, baseball skill, etc. and for rockstars you could be a drummer using the drummer skill, a guitarist with the guitar skill, a singer with the charisma skill,etc. Music might be easier even since you could still be a rockstar with all that, simply having different roles in the band.

I'm surprised they never added on to the Theater by offering multiple branches. The text of each branch would be similar, only replacing a few words to match the particular instrument. I don't see how it would've been that difficult to implement. It would've been the only career to have multiple branches.