Debate II: What do you consider a sport?

[BeerGuyJordan]

Am I the only one who is kind of impressed when the guys who don't look like the poster child for the sport excel? It's kind of like: good for that dude, keeping up with people it looks like he shouldn't be able to.

[Magnus]

A sport, to me, is any activity which involves physical movement of the entire body, and is typically done for either personal enjoyment, physical fitness, or entertainment purposes. This, for me, rules out activities where you are both (a) seated, and (b) not subject to high amounts of physical stress (i.e. televised poker), but would include activities such as hiking, race car driving, and potentially even LARPing. 

A sport can be competitive in nature, or not, but must involve a set of rules to be considered an "organized" sport. 

 

[The Six]

Golf is definitely not a sport. If the best defense of it is "it's really hard to walk the course when it's hot", that's not a good sign. It's not enough of a physical test. Performing one repetitive motion with a little variation is not enough. It's a game of skill, not a sport.

[smzimbabwe]

My friend's definition of sport is anything where the final outcome is not determined by a judge. So to him, Gymnastics, Figure Skating, etc. are not sports, just "athletic competitions". He is fine with judging or refereeing, as long as it's not the sole determination of the final outcome. According to him, a boxing match loses its "sport" qualification if it comes down to a judges vote and not by knockout. There are other loopholes in his definition, but I'm sure he has those covered.

[LA_Angels]

My definition. If you can smoke while doing it, then its not a sport. (i.e Golf, Chess, World Series of Poker)

[dsaline97]

15 hours ago, LA_Angels said:

My definition. If you can smoke while doing it, then its not a sport. (i.e Golf, Chess, World Series of Poker)

 

 

Maybe not. 

[Sport]

 

 

 

 

 

Not every thing needs to be incredibly physically exerting to be a sport. Does it require some combination of athleticism and/or skill and is there competition? Bonus points if there's mental strategy involved. 

 

 

[2001mark]

4 hours ago, McCarthy said:

 

 

Not every thing needs to be incredibly physically exerting to be a sport. Does it require some combination of athleticism and/or skill and is there competition? Bonus points if there's mental strategy involved. 

 

 

I concur.  Just because Johnny Manziel chose to be a future washed up drunk in his prime, & even though his capacity for mental strategy is nil, didn't make him less of a sporting athlete for me.  

A laughingstock clownshoe of a burn out bust QB, sure.  Still an athlete playing sports.

[Cujo]

We have five new Olympic sports for Tokyo 2020 -- including skateboarding.

 

(And y'all can rejoice 'cause baseball is back!)

 

 

[BeerGuyJordan]

1 hour ago, Cujo said:

We have five new Olympic sports for Tokyo 2020 -- including skateboarding.

 

(And y'all can rejoice 'cause baseball is back!)

 

 

*grabs popcorn and pulls up a chair in anticipation of various "not a sport" and "Olympics trying to be the x-games" rants*

[ramsjetsthunder]

Sport is a hard thing to define, but here are some examples and non-examples, leaving out obvious answers:

 

SPORTS:

-Tennis

-Golf

-Rugby

 

IN-BETWEEN:

-Wrestling

-Boxing

-Swimming

-Surfing

-Snowboarding

 

(not sports) ACTIVITIES:

-Dancing

-Singing

-Karate/Martial Arts

-Climbing

 

Here is a simple definition: If you say "National ______  League" and it doesn't make good sense, then it is not by my definition a sport.

 

"National Football League" Yes

"National Hockey League" Yes

"National Baseball League" Not existent, but makes sense.

"National Dancing League" .....No

 

[neo_prankster]

I'd count auto racing as a sport.

 

Pro wrestling would be without scripts or predetermination.

[2001mark]

1 hour ago, BeerGuyJordan said:

*grabs popcorn and pulls up a chair in anticipation of various "not a sport" and "Olympics trying to be the x-games" rants*

I think Olympic sport is a niche of its own.  Snowboarding is an Olympic sport, & quite a successful one, I'm good skateboarding.  Besides, it won't take $75million to build a new skate park every 4yrs.

 

While auto racing is a sport for me, I'd never want the likes of Lewis Hamilton & Jimmie Johnson driving cars for medals.  

[Cosmic]

1 hour ago, ramsjetsthunder said:

Here is a simple definition: If you say "National ______  League" and it doesn't make good sense, then it is not by my definition a sport.

 

"National Football League" Yes

"National Hockey League" Yes

"National Baseball League" Not existent, but makes sense.

"National Dancing League" .....No

I don't think that's a good test.

 

[goalieboy82]

3 hours ago, BeerGuyJordan said:

*grabs popcorn and pulls up a chair in anticipation of various "not a sport" and "Olympics trying to be the x-games" rants*

[Cujo]

5 hours ago, neo_prankster said:

Pro wrestling would be without scripts or predetermination.

 

Yeah, it's called UFC/MMA.

 

I put pro wrestling in the same category as Cirque du Soleil. Takes athleticism and skill to pull off the stunts, but is nothing more than a story being played out inside an arena.

[Sykotyk]

I consider a difference between sports/games and sports/athletics.

 

Sports, to me, are invariably competitive team athletic competitions. Where one team directly affects the ability of the other team. Rather than competing for lowest/highest score.

 

Any competition that's organized in some fashion with rules is a 'game'. Anything physically exerting is 'athletics'.

 

Golf is not a sport. You can't play 'defense' against another guy trying to make a putt. You're basically only competing with yourself.  Meanwhile, a football team's ability to win is based entirely on how well they actually defend the other team and attack them on offense. Bowling isn't a sport, either, in that regard. Though, both golf and bowling are athletic (to some extent).

 

Motor 'sports', aren't a sport, to me, because they're not athletic. They may be an endurance test. But any sport that requires you to sit for the duration of your competition loses the ability to be athletic, and therefore, not a sport.  Though racing CAN be much closer to a sport than, say, drag racing where your performance has nothing to do with your opponents. Since, you can trade paint, block your opponents from passing. Adjusting your fuel stops based on your advantage to affecting your opponents, etc.

 

Tennis isn't a sport because it's 1v1 or 2v2. It isn't a team. Even 'team tennis' can change who plays for who for each tournament. It is an athletic competition, though, as you actively affect your opponents ability to play. But, it's not a 'sport' any more than calling table tennis a sport. Or beer pong.

 

I guess, I would love to see a marathon where you could block and tackle the other guy from advancing. Though, making 26.2 miles would take FOREVER. And that's if someone ever made it out alive from the pack.

[BeerGuyJordan]

7 hours ago, Sykotyk said:

I guess, I would love to see a marathon where you could block and tackle the other guy from advancing. Though, making 26.2 miles would take FOREVER. And that's if someone ever made it out alive from the pack.

I ran cross-country in HS, and though there's not supposed to be any physical contact (I caught a few "stray" elbows in starting packs), it's not uncommon to see people blocking each other. Keeping an opponent from getting around you frustrates them, expends their energy, a bit, and sometimes has the result of them blowing by you, and winding themselves, making it easy to pass them up a little further on. 

 

Nowhere near as exciting as what you described, though.

[stumpygremlin]

13 hours ago, Sykotyk said:

I consider a difference between sports/games and sports/athletics.

 

Sports, to me, are invariably competitive team athletic competitions. Where one team directly affects the ability of the other team. Rather than competing for lowest/highest score.

 

Any competition that's organized in some fashion with rules is a 'game'. Anything physically exerting is 'athletics'.

 

Golf is not a sport. You can't play 'defense' against another guy trying to make a putt. You're basically only competing with yourself.  Meanwhile, a football team's ability to win is based entirely on how well they actually defend the other team and attack them on offense. Bowling isn't a sport, either, in that regard. Though, both golf and bowling are athletic (to some extent).

 

Motor 'sports', aren't a sport, to me, because they're not athletic. They may be an endurance test. But any sport that requires you to sit for the duration of your competition loses the ability to be athletic, and therefore, not a sport.  Though racing CAN be much closer to a sport than, say, drag racing where your performance has nothing to do with your opponents. Since, you can trade paint, block your opponents from passing. Adjusting your fuel stops based on your advantage to affecting your opponents, etc.

 

Tennis isn't a sport because it's 1v1 or 2v2. It isn't a team. Even 'team tennis' can change who plays for who for each tournament. It is an athletic competition, though, as you actively affect your opponents ability to play. But, it's not a 'sport' any more than calling table tennis a sport. Or beer pong.

 

I guess, I would love to see a marathon where you could block and tackle the other guy from advancing. Though, making 26.2 miles would take FOREVER. And that's if someone ever made it out alive from the pack.

This definition takes away many things that almost any reasonable person would call a "sport." That's because individual sports exist, and are definitely sports in the same way that team sports are. Tennis, track & field, and swimming are prime examples.

[The Six]

Swimming isn't a sport. It's an element of a sport. It's an activity.