Well, is a spelling bee a sport? How about a piano competition? Those music competitions are exhausting both physically and mentally, and they are judged by skill and choice of music. Aren’t all athletes judged by skill and choice of execution?
I would say the opposite of Bill and claim that most things should be considered sports.
(and yes, I was a total band geek, so there you go!)
In any sport, I would think there are some competitions where the outcome is undeniable - whether (corrupt) judges or referees are present or not.
In a boxing match, if one of the competitors is knocked unconscious and is down for the entire count, it would be fairly impossible for the judges to argue that the person on the floor is the winner of the fight. A form of this analogy could probably be applied to other sports in one way or another. In this Olympics I’ve seen the awe and wonder felt by some onlookers as an athlete wins not by fractions of a second, but by an entire second or even more than one second.
I suppose the best athletes would take this sort of thing into consideration. The best professional athletes probably build up the sort of mentality and capability that they compete with the determination to defeat the opponent so soundly and so decisively that the outcome is a given, regardless of what other authorities, judges, refs, etc. are involved.
IMO, in order to be a sport there has to be a level of athletic skill and an objective way of determining a winner. Referees/Officials can certainly influence outcomes of any sport, but at the end of four quarters, no one has to wait around for a group of people to decide who won a basketball game, everyone can tell by looking at a scoreboard.
That doesn’t mean that athleticism and skill are any less in the judged athletic competitions - in fact they may require more than some actual sports, they just aren’t sports.
Things that are sports: basketball, football, baseball, soccer, hockey, rugby, golf, racing (bike, foot, boat, car, any kind),
Things that are athletic competitions: gymnastics, diving, ice skating, ski jumping, marching band, synchronized swimming.
Boxing is definitely a gray area. When there’s a knock out, it could qualify as a sport. When it comes down to the judges, then it’s an athletic competition.
Games like a chess are not sports. They don’t meet the level of athletic skill required.
Games like a chess are not sports. They don’t meet the level of athletic skill required.
But car racing does (like drag racing)? Any kind of race counts as a sport? How about three-legged racing? Or pinewood derbies?
Why not video games? They take practice, coordinating with teammates, quick reaction times, ability to endure hours physical and mental exertion on nothing but Red Bulls…
Yes, it’s a sport even if the outcome depends on judges, (heck, there are a lot of sports that are judged including snowboarding half-pipe and ski jumping) but the amount of subjectivity involved in some competitions does sort of ruin the enjoyment of the fans. That doesn’t mean it’s not a sport, it just means there’s a certain amount involved in winning a medal that is not in the hands of the competitors. Frustrating, yes, but unavoidable.
BTW, I thought Nastia Liukin’s comments after the competition were classy and right on. She gave credit to her opponent and refused to get drawn into the controversy. The tie breaking system needs work, yes, and maybe they shouldn’t have one, but Nastia would have won if she did her routine perfectly. She didn’t, which opened the door for what happened.
ability to endure hours physical and mental exertion on nothing but Red Bulls…
Kids these days. {shakes head} Back in my day, we didn’t have Red Bull; if you wanted to beat Zelda in three days so you could do it on a single Blockbuster rental, well you just pushed through on nothing but your own stupid boyhood drive for meaningless success.
Again with the sport/not-sport debate! Why are sports fans so defensive and exclusive about their definitions? And does it really matter if the term “sport” rather than “athletic competition” is used? Clearly, gymnasts, boxers and karate participants are pretty damn good athletes.
Beating Zelda (Ocarina of Time) on a single Blockbuster rental would not be meaningless. It would be superhuman, with Red Bull or without. Beating that game is still one of the top acomplishments of my life, and I didn’t do it in three days.
Brian, it’s never too late for a second childhood. If you have never played Ocarina of Time you should run out and get that game immediately, play it until your thumbs bleed and never, ever reveal to anyone again that you don’t own it. Brace yourself for the Shadow Temple. It’s creepy, and beating that boss took me for-freaking-ever.
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And the gold medal for confusing-and-alienating-spectators goes to….
Comment by BrianJ — August 19, 2008 @ 1:24 am
Hard to say. Are umpires, referees, and other such officials judges? It could be that not very many things are real sports.
Comment by Bill — August 19, 2008 @ 2:12 am
Well, is a spelling bee a sport? How about a piano competition? Those music competitions are exhausting both physically and mentally, and they are judged by skill and choice of music. Aren’t all athletes judged by skill and choice of execution?
I would say the opposite of Bill and claim that most things should be considered sports.
(and yes, I was a total band geek, so there you go!)
Comment by cheryl — August 19, 2008 @ 6:42 am
uh, boxing is judged.
Comment by Dan — August 19, 2008 @ 7:33 am
In any sport, I would think there are some competitions where the outcome is undeniable - whether (corrupt) judges or referees are present or not.
In a boxing match, if one of the competitors is knocked unconscious and is down for the entire count, it would be fairly impossible for the judges to argue that the person on the floor is the winner of the fight. A form of this analogy could probably be applied to other sports in one way or another. In this Olympics I’ve seen the awe and wonder felt by some onlookers as an athlete wins not by fractions of a second, but by an entire second or even more than one second.
I suppose the best athletes would take this sort of thing into consideration. The best professional athletes probably build up the sort of mentality and capability that they compete with the determination to defeat the opponent so soundly and so decisively that the outcome is a given, regardless of what other authorities, judges, refs, etc. are involved.
Comment by danithew — August 19, 2008 @ 9:39 am
IMO, in order to be a sport there has to be a level of athletic skill and an objective way of determining a winner. Referees/Officials can certainly influence outcomes of any sport, but at the end of four quarters, no one has to wait around for a group of people to decide who won a basketball game, everyone can tell by looking at a scoreboard.
That doesn’t mean that athleticism and skill are any less in the judged athletic competitions - in fact they may require more than some actual sports, they just aren’t sports.
Things that are sports: basketball, football, baseball, soccer, hockey, rugby, golf, racing (bike, foot, boat, car, any kind),
Things that are athletic competitions: gymnastics, diving, ice skating, ski jumping, marching band, synchronized swimming.
Boxing is definitely a gray area. When there’s a knock out, it could qualify as a sport. When it comes down to the judges, then it’s an athletic competition.
Games like a chess are not sports. They don’t meet the level of athletic skill required.
Comment by spencer — August 19, 2008 @ 10:30 am
Games like a chess are not sports. They don’t meet the level of athletic skill required.
But car racing does (like drag racing)? Any kind of race counts as a sport? How about three-legged racing? Or pinewood derbies?
Why not video games? They take practice, coordinating with teammates, quick reaction times, ability to endure hours physical and mental exertion on nothing but Red Bulls…
Comment by kwk — August 19, 2008 @ 12:12 pm
Yes, it’s a sport even if the outcome depends on judges, (heck, there are a lot of sports that are judged including snowboarding half-pipe and ski jumping) but the amount of subjectivity involved in some competitions does sort of ruin the enjoyment of the fans. That doesn’t mean it’s not a sport, it just means there’s a certain amount involved in winning a medal that is not in the hands of the competitors. Frustrating, yes, but unavoidable.
Comment by MCQ — August 19, 2008 @ 12:50 pm
BTW, I thought Nastia Liukin’s comments after the competition were classy and right on. She gave credit to her opponent and refused to get drawn into the controversy. The tie breaking system needs work, yes, and maybe they shouldn’t have one, but Nastia would have won if she did her routine perfectly. She didn’t, which opened the door for what happened.
Comment by MCQ — August 19, 2008 @ 12:55 pm
Kids these days. {shakes head} Back in my day, we didn’t have Red Bull; if you wanted to beat Zelda in three days so you could do it on a single Blockbuster rental, well you just pushed through on nothing but your own stupid boyhood drive for meaningless success.
Comment by BrianJ — August 19, 2008 @ 1:49 pm
Again with the sport/not-sport debate! Why are sports fans so defensive and exclusive about their definitions? And does it really matter if the term “sport” rather than “athletic competition” is used? Clearly, gymnasts, boxers and karate participants are pretty damn good athletes.
Sport, not sport, whatever.
Comment by BTD Greg — August 19, 2008 @ 3:57 pm
Beating Zelda (Ocarina of Time) on a single Blockbuster rental would not be meaningless. It would be superhuman, with Red Bull or without. Beating that game is still one of the top acomplishments of my life, and I didn’t do it in three days.
Comment by MCQ — August 19, 2008 @ 5:25 pm
Alas, I never got to play Ocarina of Time. I was referring to Zelda II. Not exactly a Phelpsian achievement.
Comment by BrianJ — August 19, 2008 @ 5:51 pm
Brian, it’s never too late for a second childhood. If you have never played Ocarina of Time you should run out and get that game immediately, play it until your thumbs bleed and never, ever reveal to anyone again that you don’t own it. Brace yourself for the Shadow Temple. It’s creepy, and beating that boss took me for-freaking-ever.
Comment by MCQ — August 20, 2008 @ 3:40 am
I’ve got OoT on my Wii’s Virtual Console. I haven’t gotten out of the Kokiri Forest yet, though.
Comment by BTD Greg — August 20, 2008 @ 7:39 am
You have to get through the great deku tree. Good luck and watch out for big spiders.
Comment by MCQ — August 20, 2008 @ 1:00 pm