Two things:
1) You get to like what you like, sure. But steadfastly refusing to look at things to see if you can find a way to like it isn't virtuous.
2) Note that the point isn't that I found a way to like football, In general. I still don't - I don't pay any attention at all to regular season play, or the playoffs, or anything. I have not, in my memory, ever watched a whole game of football that wasn't the Superbowl with the Patriots playing.
I found a way to like it enough to enjoy time with my friends maybe once a year, if the team is lucky.
So, it isn't, "like it anyway". It is "find a way to like it enough to get at the things you really want."