You said Fun doesn't require realism. I say that's very subjective.
Did you seriously just compare things that don't actually exist and are based on fantasy (sci-fi, fanatasy, medieval), to things that actually exist (sports)?
Of course things based on fantasy doesn't require realism. Last I checked traveling to other planets in spaceships to meet aliens doesn't actually exist. So of course those genres aren't going to be based on realism. You're trying to make comparisons between incredibly dissimilar genres.
I'm talking about SPORTS games. Based on something that actually exists. Specifically Madden. Why are you even mentioning genres so totally unrelated to Madden on a Madden board?