sport/not a sport

[entitled]

To end the threadjack on the mood thread:

What makes something a sport? i'm not talking the professional bullshit. That's nothing but a bunch of grownups acting like spoiled brats and ignoring the rules of the game, for the most part. i mean on the high school, college, amateur type levels.

i can't define it. There's something much different about some things that most consider to be sports that inherently defines them as something else entirely to me. Yes, this includes figure skating.

It's not that these things don't take a lot of talent, hard work, and athletic ability - they do - but there's something about them that just doesn't jive with what a sport SHOULD be.

 

[minsue]

Winner/Loser - No winner, no sport

Sweat - no sweat, no sport

Skill - no skill/training required, no sport

That's about it for my list.

 

[Wildcard Ky]

I think we each have our own definition. Here's a list of things that I consider to be skills instead of sports:

1. Golf

2. Archery/shooting.

3. Race car driver.

4. Fishing

5. Bowling

6. Darts

For the record: Football (American type) is the greatest sport in the world.

 

[neonlyte]

Fishing is a sport

and yet it is hard to imagine anything more arbitory or less energy consuming than hanging your worm in the water.

 

[entitled]

Nah. Fishing's not a sport.

Maybe it's the team effort that defines a sport for me. hmmmm.....

 

[Guest]

Maybe it's the team effort that defines a sport for me. hmmmm.....

So group sex is a sport, then?

(Just wanna make certain I know all the rules.)

 

[entitled]

So group sex is a sport, then?

(Just wanna make certain I know all the rules.)

Nope. No keeping score, just scoring.

 

[Wildcard Ky]

Nah. Fishing's not a sport.

Maybe it's the team effort that defines a sport for me. hmmmm.....

From an avid fisherman that's fished in many tournaments, Fishing is not a sport. It's a skill

I don't think the team concept applies to the term sport. I think tennis is a sport, but it's an individual game.

I think sport has a mix of athletic ability and skill. You can be a fat slob with little to no athletic ability, but still excel at golf, bowling or fishing.

 

[Guest]

Nope. No keeping score, just scoring.

I suppose it depends upon how many people are on your team.

 

[entitled]

From an avid fisherman that's fished in many tournaments, Fishing is not a sport. It's a skill

I don't think the team concept applies to the term sport. I think tennis is a sport, but it's an individual game.

I think sport has a mix of athletic ability and skill. You can be a fat slob with little to no athletic ability, but still excel at golf, bowling or fishing.

OK, so tennis is the exception.

Maybe it has more to do with a clear scoring system, then? i don't know...

 

[Wildcard Ky]

So group sex is a sport, then?

(Just wanna make certain I know all the rules.)

All depends. Is athletic ability required?

 

[Wildcard Ky]

OK, so tennis is the exception.

Maybe it has more to do with a clear scoring system, then? i don't know...

What about gymnastics? I definitely think that's a sport. It's the ultimate mix of athletic ability and skill.

Skills have definitive scoring systems. Bowling, Darts, golf, etc...

 

[entitled]

What about gymnastics? I definitely think that's a sport. It's the ultimate mix of athletic ability and skill.

Skills have definitive scoring systems. Bowling, Darts, golf, etc...

i don't consider it a sport. Never have. It takes skill, athletic ability, and work, but... no. It's more of a rather intensive personal workout than anything else.

 

[Guest]

All depends. Is athletic ability required?

Damn straight.

 

[matriarch]

I think we each have our own definition. Here's a list of things that I consider to be skills instead of sports:

1. Golf

2. Archery/shooting.

3. Race car driver.

4. Fishing

5. Bowling

6. Darts

For the record: Football (American type) is the greatest sport in the world.

For the record, no it isn't.

For me, its a true sport, when the only difference between each of the competitors, is their individual ability. That's why the ancient Greeks had it right, when the men took part in the original games naked, and all used the identical equipment (javelin, discuss), all made for them by the same craftsmen. The only thing that separated them was their skill.

Nowadays.....technology of equipment, clothes, shoes, skates, skis, etc. etc...can make a lot of difference.

I'm waffling, but I know what I mean.

 

[entitled]

For the record, no it isn't.

For me, its a true sport, when the only difference between each of the competitors, is their individual ability. That's why the ancient Greeks had it right, when the men took part in the original games naked, and all used the identical equipment (javelin, discuss), all made for them by the same craftsmen. The only thing that separated them was their skill.

Nowadays.....technology of equipment, clothes, shoes, skates, skis, etc. etc...can make a lot of difference.

I'm waffling, but I know what I mean.

i understand what you're saying, for what it's worth. And agree to a point.

 

[sophia jane]

i don't consider it a sport. Never have. It takes skill, athletic ability, and work, but... no. It's more of a rather intensive personal workout than anything else.

I disagree with you again. And so would all the athletes of the sports that you're disregarding.

 

[matriarch]

I disagree with you again. And so would all the athletes of the sports that you're disregarding.

Exactly.

 

[entitled]

I disagree with you again. And so would all the athletes of the sports that you're disregarding.

Disagree all you like. Nobody ever said you had to agree. It's a personal opinion.

 

[matriarch]

Although many seem to disagree with voting 'skills' as 'sports' that require judges to make the decision on the winner, I disagree.

All those 'skills' have set rules, specific movements that have to be completed, and even if there is no 'first past the post' ethic, there is still a definite 'best/better' decision to be made.

 

[ElizabethWest]

So group sex is a sport, then?

(Just wanna make certain I know all the rules.)

Can I be on your team?

 

[matriarch]

Disagree all you like. Nobody ever said you had to agree. It's a personal opinion.

*ahem*, children......*glower*.

 

[minsue]

*ahem*, children......*glower*.

You're so cute when you glower.

 

[entitled]

Although many seem to disagree with voting 'skills' as 'sports' that require judges to make the decision on the winner, I disagree.

All those 'skills' have set rules, specific movements that have to be completed, and even if there is no 'first past the post' ethic, there is still a definite 'best/better' decision to be made.

The thing that gets me with those particular decisions, though, is that if a certain person/couple doesn't appeal to the judge(s) on some aesthetic level, their 'score' is immediately lowered, which may eliminate their chances of achieving the level of 'best' - which shouldn't happen in a sport.

If a touchdown is made, or a basket, or a goal, or something similar it can be an ugly play but will still count for the full amount of points. If a routine is done perfectly in a technical aspect, but one judge doesn't like the style, the person doing the performance may still score low. That's not an inherant trait to a sport, imo.

 

[entitled]

*ahem*, children......*glower*.

Heeeey.... Glower at her too!

*insert little kid voice* She started it!