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| Are these pictured the only real sports? |
So while I think few would argue that the Major 4 sports (baseball, hockey, basketball and football) and probably soccer are sports, the rest seem up for debate. What are the criteria for being a sport? How would you define it (since the web definitions vary quite a bit) Can horse racing and car racing (like NASCAR) be considered sport since the actual physical exertion is non-human? Some people don't consider golf a sport but many others will argue with that.
Is the main requirement that ESPN covers it? So does that put poker in that category or is that more of a "game"? What about pool? Tennis? Ping pong? Beer pong? Flip cup? Darts? The hot dog eating contest? Cheerleading? Gymnastics? Chess? Boxing? Swimming? Wrestling? WWF wrestling? Strongest man competition? Or does it have to by in the Olympics to qualify as a sport?
The subject is open for debate and I'm curious your decision. Where do you draw a line? What is your definition of a "sport"? Let us know in the comments below.
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I think that in order to be considered a "sport" the activity in question must be a combination of a "game" and a physically demanding "competition."
ReplyDeleteThat's why football is a sport. It is a game, since there are goals and players and rules and regulations. But it's also a competition, because players compete to achieve their goals, such as a WR outrunning a DB or an LB pushing past an OT.
But let's look at another activity: cheerleading. It's a physically demanding competition, since each (very athletic) squad tries to score better in front of the judges than other squads. But it's not a game. There are few (if any) rules or regulations, and there are few (if any) objective scoring criteria. To win, you pretty much just have to visually impress the judges more than another squad. This is very different than, say, figure skating, which has VERY technical requirements. That is much more of a game.
This is why I don't think billiards, beer pong, darts, flip cup, chess, and poker are sports. They are games but they're not physically demanding competitions.
Here's where I'll get controversial. Swimming, track, car racing, boxing, and wrestling are not sports, per se, because there is no "game" involved. They are very, very physically demanding competitions. But can you really say that running the 100 meters is a sport? It's a competition to see who is the fastest runner. But there really aren't any rules involved. It's just a contest of foot speed. Same with swimming the 100 meter freestyle. Or winning the Indianapolis 500. All of those are physically demanding competitions of speed and endurance and strength, but there's no *game* involved. It's just physical competition.
A "sport" is a very NARROW concept, and it lends itself well to team activities. But since the physical tasks and abilities of some sports players (say, Titans RB Chris Johnson) might overlap with those of track stars (say, Usain Bolt) you can't really blame ESPN or SI for covering both of those activities as if they are both sports. It's just that not every activity IS a sport...some of them feature only part of what makes a sport, a sport.
P.S. Andrew and Ben...yes, I know I've retreated from my opinion that car racing is a sport. After much thinking on this subject, I now believe it is a physically demanding competition...but not a sport, per se.
I think that physical competition menas it is a sport--- since swimming, track, boxing etc. are defineltey measures of strength, speed, agility, etc. Those all do have specific rules.
ReplyDeleteI think horse racing and car racing get an asterisk as sports and are deemed so by the control and driver of a sporting entity--- machine or horse. they are special exceptions since a fat bastard can be a great car driver with no athletic ability or even healthy physical condition--- which further cements that they are anomalies.
Which leads me to golf. A game I used to enjoy playing but do not now since I have kids. One day I will play again outside my yard when my kids can join me for a round. i digress. It is a game since you do not need to be fast, or strong, or agile etc. you need mental strength but you need that for chess also and it is not a sport. If the pros carried there own bags and ran from shot to shot with a time component then the discussion changes.
To me golf is a game like darts, billiards, or bocce. Poker is a card game and is gambling, entertaining when edited immensely for tv but not a sport.
As far as cheerleading, it is great organized complimentary support groups for sports and the cheerleaders utilize the same skills and maneuvers as other sports but they don't keep score during normal activities therefore not a sport.
Alex, great comment. I just have a question and a follow up comment. First, what rules are there in track? Aside from don't-step-out-of-your-lane, I'm not sure I know of any rules. Same with boxing. Other than no kidney or rabbit punches (and don't-bite-the-other-guy's-ear) it's mostly a competition of landing punches and staying on your feet.
ReplyDeleteAs for the comment. I know you don't play anymore, but golf is pretty physically challenging. I think you're arguing the degree of its difficulty, since it's clearly not as demanding as football or soccer or basketball. But have you watched a tournament recently? I always laugh when Phil (who does not look like much of an athlete) pulls out an 8-iron for a 190-yard par-3. Holy crap! Most of us do not hit an 8-iron more than 140 yards or so.
And wait till you see Tiger or Padraig or even Freddy Couples crush a 350-yard drive. None of us weekend warriors will ever have the strength, flexibility, hand-eye coordination, and muscle control to (1) launch a drive that far, even with a tailwind and downhill fairway, (2) control it so that it lands in the fairway rather than the clubhouse, and (3) be conditioned enough so that we can repeat that swing a couple hundred times over a period of 5 hours.
So do I think golf is as physically challenging as most sports? No. But it's not easy to play that game well, especially at the professional level. Just because those guys make it look easy, doesn't mean it is!!
Not saying it's right, but Wikipedia has the definition as "A sport is commonly defined as an organized, competitive, and skillful physical activity requiring commitment and fair play. It is governed by a set of rules or customs."
ReplyDeletePrinceton's definition is: "an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition"
That would seem to encompass quite a few of the exclusions from the "sports" list above.
I also think that you endure a slippery slope argument here: tennis is a sport (I doubt many would argue with that)--so table tennis (or ping pong) is a sport--so beer pong is a sport? See what I mean? Where do you definitively draw the line in those three? It's not easy but love the discourse
P.S. Jay, I am SHOCKED you changed your mind on racing since you were the biggest advocate of it during many hours of college radio debate. As Rocky said to the USSR in Rocky IV: "I guess what I'm trying to say is, if I can change, and you can change, everybody can change."
And, on that note, boxing is not a sport? Really? There are other rules besides "no cheap shots". I think you may have to review that one again.
The Wikipedia and Princeton definitions are pretty broad. Too broad, in my opinion. I am very hesitant to label beer pong and billiards as sports, which those definitions would require. The slippery slope, as Andrew mentioned, would be very, very slippery. You'd even have to include Wii sports tournaments, as some of those video games do require some physical exertion.
ReplyDeleteAs for the car racing thing, if you'll remember, I mostly harped on the fact that racing is very physically demanding for the driver. More than most sports fans will ever realize. I remember you and Ben suggesting that it's not demanding because the machine does all the work. That's clearly not the case, and I don't think anyone will argue that it's not physically hard to drive a race car 200 MPH...because it is.
But if I have to slap a definition on it, I'll say that auto racing is a physically demanding competition, but it's not a "sport." It all comes down to semantics and how you define something. In college, I think we were debating the physical demands of each activity, not necessarily how we would linguistically classify it.
P.S. Andrew, since you brought it up, I'll ask you to review boxing. Give me a link to a boxing rule book, and then I'll consider reviewing boxing again ;-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing#Rules
ReplyDeletehttp://boxing.about.com/od/amateurs/a/amateur_rules_2.htm
Boxing certainly has "rules" AND professional boxing has a governing body
Track has rules besides stay in the lines----- besides it is arguably one of the original sports--- going back further then the Greeks.
ReplyDeleteGolf fails the physical exertion part of Princeton's definetion. Like I said it might be different if they carried their own bag. I never said Golf was easy, I know first hand that it is not. Leads me to 2 good quick stories: A guy I used to work with played Golf in college and has a 4 handicap. he went out to play Bethpage Black one year before the US Open was there a few years back. He could not break 100.
A guy in a gallery was amazed after watching Gary Player crush a drive down the middle of the fairway. The guy said to player" I would give anything to hit a golf ball like that!" Gary Player's response was : "really, you would practice for hours on end until your hands had blisters day after day, for years in order to do what I just did?"
That story reminds me of the misconception that Tiger has natural talent. Remember he started playing as soon as he was out of the crib and was hitting golf balls on TV at age 4 or 5.
Golf will always be considered a game to me and not a sport. What other SPORT could a guy as old as Tom Watson was almost win a major championship?
Agree to disagree, Alex! The fact is, to be a competitive golfer these days, you need to be in good shape. That's why John Daly sucks now and guys like Camilo Villegas, Vijay, and Tiger have won over a long period of time because they hit the gym once or twice every single day.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I agree with you on one thing -- Tiger's success is not completely due to natural talent. He works his ass off. Not just hitting golf balls at the range, but lifting weights and working on his balance, flexibility, and posture. (http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=2921413) Why does he do all this? Not because it's fun, but because success at golf requires physical exertion, more than just carrying a bag. Look at the current PGA tour. Look at Villegas alone! You do not see guys with beer bellies smoking cigarettes. You see muscles and toned, strong physiques.
Also, re: the Gary Player story. I could practice 6 hours a day, every day, and create some wicked blisters on my fingers. But unless I work on my strength, flexibility, and hand-eye coordination, I'm never going to hit 350-yard drives. Especially through the wind at courses like Pebble Beach and St. Andrews. It's not enough just to work at it. You also have to exert the hell out of your body to make it happen.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/break_torn_asks_conn_judge_report_IClrlFO1xA2ceLyxB4zRgM
ReplyDeleteIs breaking into a bank drunk after hours a sport? Does it matter if you think you broke into your own house or not?
LOL
ReplyDeleteWhat about Ultimate Frisbee? Competition, game, physical exertion, defined rules. Does it fit?
Heck yeah ultimate is a sport. Mass exertion. Obviously you must be able to throw and catch but the team that can run in that game will destroy a bunch of out of shape guys--- effort is heavily rewarded.
ReplyDeleteFrisbee golf----- not so much.
Alex and I agree on this -- ultimate is definitely a sport.
ReplyDeleteOn NPR this morning they talked to a bare foot runner and how running barefoot makes you glide more and not put as much stress as when using running shoes and you slap feet down causing much stress. Very interesting. i guess they had a big run of bare foot runners in NYC yesterday---- no injuries running bare foot the streets of NYC. I was a long distance runner in my youth so this is very interesting.
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