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Is It A Sport?

Home ▸ Archive ▸ Serious Business ▸ Is It A Sport?
H

hrspeedmerchant

Senior Member

165 posts
Jun 16, 2010 1:20 PM
karen lotz;391503 wrote:poker isn't gambling.
To play poker well takes quite a bit of skill, but it is most assuredly gambling.
Jun 16, 2010 1:20pm
T

Tiernan

Senior Member

13,021 posts
Jun 16, 2010 1:26 PM
krambman;391417 wrote:Tiernan, I thought about including soccer on the list, although I tend to not hear too many objections to soccer being called a sport. Also, since it's by far the most popular sport in the world, I didn't think it needed to be included. Although I guess we could include all sports on the poll. I have a feeling that none would dispute football, basketball, or hockey as a sport, but I would guess that baseball and soccer might have some opposition. I have a hard time thinking that anyone could come up with a definition of "sport" that could cover football, hockeye, basketball, and baseball, but exclude soccer. Tiernan, if you don't think that soccer is a sport then give me your definition of a sport to explain why soccer isn't one.

You can only put 10 items in a poll, so five "sports" was the most I could do. Some others I considered including are bowling, pool, tennis, swimming, and running.

Because quite simply its extremely booooring and played by the biggest whiners on the planet.
Jun 16, 2010 1:26pm
E

enigmaax

Senior Member

4,511 posts
Jun 16, 2010 1:28 PM
(Competitive) Cheerleading - No, it is a contest
Golf - No, leisure activity that some people put the context of a contest
Auto Racing - Yes, though I understand the debate over whether it requires physical skill
Horse Racing - Yes, for the horse and again I understand the debate for the jockeys
Poker - No

A key point in my mind is whether or not you can have a direct influence over your opponents performance, i.e. you can play defense (or the opponent can play defense). Golf is a game. You go, I go, who ever does better wins but we never have a chance to physically impede each other. If you are "on", I can't stop you (don't give me the I-can-get-in-your-head line).

In racing of just about any kind, I can block you when you try to pass me. I could actually knock you out of the race (maybe legally, maybe not).

Some other examples are discus, shot put, high jump, etc. You could see who can throw a rock further and that doesn't make it a sport. You could stand in place and see who can jump higher - not a sport. These are games or contests, but not sports.

If we aren't head-to-head with a chance to defend, to me, we are simply have a contest. I think of sport in a different regard.
Jun 16, 2010 1:28pm
T

trackandccrunner

Senior Member

1,283 posts
Jun 16, 2010 1:32 PM
Tiernan;391573 wrote:Because quite simply its extremely booooring and played by the biggest whiners on the planet.

Im sure there are people who feel like way about Football, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey...etc.

krambman are you gonna let us know your defintion of what a sport is? I'm pretty interested since you thought of consider tennis, swimming, and running as nonsports.
hrspeedmerchant;391564 wrote:To play poker well takes quite a bit of skill, but it is most assuredly gambling.
In my best Alan voice: It's not gambling when you know you're gonna win.
Jun 16, 2010 1:32pm
Strapping Young Lad's avatar

Strapping Young Lad

Senior Member

2,453 posts
Jun 16, 2010 1:47 PM
No
No
No
No
No
Jun 16, 2010 1:47pm
E

enigmaax

Senior Member

4,511 posts
Jun 16, 2010 1:48 PM
ccrunner609;391593 wrote:that whole post is weird

Okay, well thanks for the insight.
Jun 16, 2010 1:48pm
T

trackandccrunner

Senior Member

1,283 posts
Jun 16, 2010 1:54 PM
How is his post werid? I kinda like it although I don't agree with it I can understand that point of view and his arguement is well reasoned.
Jun 16, 2010 1:54pm
krambman's avatar

krambman

Senior Member

3,606 posts
Jun 16, 2010 1:56 PM
trackandccrunner;391581 wrote:Im sure there are people who feel like way about Football, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey...etc.

krambman are you gonna let us know your defintion of what a sport is? I'm pretty interested since you thought of consider tennis, swimming, and running as nonsports.



In my best Alan voice: It's not gambling when you know you're gonna win.

I didn't say that tennis, swimming, and running weren't sports, just that those are other activities also included in the sport/not sport discussion.

Here is my definition:

A sport is any athletic activity requiring physical ability and specialized skill where there is a winner and a loser, and where the majority of the work of the activity is done by the athlete.

By my definition competitive cheerleading is a sport, golf is a sport, auto racing is not a sport, and poker is not a sport. If we consider horses to be athletes then horse racing is a sport for the horse but not for the jockey. Auto racing isn't a sport by my definition because the majority of the work is done by the car. It moves because it has a combustion engine, etc. Yes, the driver controls the car but the car does the actual work of moving. The driver can be an athlete, but it is not a sport. Poker, while it requires skill, is not an athletic activity and does not require any special physical ability. Golf is a sport because while the club moves the ball all of the club's power comes from the golfer.

Also, tennis is a sport, pool is not, and I'm on the fence about bowling according to my definition.
Jun 16, 2010 1:56pm
M

mattinctown

Jun 16, 2010 2:04 PM
No, but close
Yes
Yes
Yes
Absolutely not
Jun 16, 2010 2:04pm
E

enigmaax

Senior Member

4,511 posts
Jun 16, 2010 2:10 PM
krambman;391614 wrote:I didn't say that tennis, swimming, and running weren't sports, just that those are other activities also included in the sport/not sport discussion.

Here is my definition:

A sport is any athletic activity requiring physical ability and specialized skill where there is a winner and a loser, and where the majority of the work of the activity is done by the athlete.

By my definition competitive cheerleading is a sport, golf is a sport, auto racing is not a sport, and poker is not a sport. If we consider horses to be athletes then horse racing is a sport for the horse but not for the jockey. Auto racing isn't a sport by my definition because the majority of the work is done by the car. It moves because it has a combustion engine, etc. Yes, the driver controls the car but the car does the actual work of moving. The driver can be an athlete, but it is not a sport. Poker, while it requires skill, is not an athletic activity and does not require any special physical ability. Golf is a sport because while the club moves the ball all of the club's power comes from the golfer.

Also, tennis is a sport, pool is not, and I'm on the fence about bowling according to my definition.

If you and I see who can hula hoop for longer, are we playing a sport? How about home run derby - sport?
Jun 16, 2010 2:10pm
lhslep134's avatar

lhslep134

why so serious?

9,774 posts
Jun 16, 2010 2:27 PM
enigmaax;391635 wrote:If you and I see who can hula hoop for longer, are we playing a sport? How about home run derby - sport?

A home run derby is derived from the sport of baseball. It's a competition, but not a sport itself.

A hula hoop competition would be a sport by krambman's definition of sport, which is basically the definition we used in my Sports Economics class at OSU.

Auto Racing is not a sport, because like Krambman said, the majority of the work is done by a machine. Does auto racing require a ton of skill? Hell yes. Does it take a ton of balls to do? Hell yes. But is it a sports? IMO no.
Jun 16, 2010 2:27pm
T

trackandccrunner

Senior Member

1,283 posts
Jun 16, 2010 2:30 PM
krambman, I actually love your definition and I think its pretty much how I fell and view things.
Jun 16, 2010 2:30pm
E

enigmaax

Senior Member

4,511 posts
Jun 16, 2010 2:31 PM
What difference does it make that a home run derby is derived from the sport of baseball? What part of the definition does it not fit?

How about band, like, high school band competitions?
Jun 16, 2010 2:31pm
karen lotz's avatar

karen lotz

TuTu Train

22,284 posts
Jun 16, 2010 2:33 PM
The better question about band is whether it deserves a varsity letter or not. :)
Jun 16, 2010 2:33pm
Websurfinbird's avatar

Websurfinbird

Chosen Person

656 posts
Jun 16, 2010 2:34 PM
It's interesting that the majority of people on here think that horseracing isn't a sport claiming that it is really the horse that is the athlete. I assure you horseback riding at even a casual level is extremely physical and being able to control an unpredictable animal takes a lot of skill. The jockeys that are good are the ones that know how to pace their horse properly in order to win, just like a race car drive would with an automobile.

Yes the horses do a lot of the work but to think that a jockey doesn't do anything is wrong.
Jun 16, 2010 2:34pm
E

enigmaax

Senior Member

4,511 posts
Jun 16, 2010 2:37 PM
What difference does it make that a home run derby is derived from the sport of baseball? What part of the definition does it not fit?

And I take it that by definition, band is a sport, at least at the high school level.
Jun 16, 2010 2:37pm
B

BR1986FB

Senior Member

24,104 posts
Jun 16, 2010 2:42 PM
Strapping Young Lad;391600 wrote:No
No
No
No
No

This
Jun 16, 2010 2:42pm
BRF's avatar

BRF

Senior Member

8,748 posts
Jun 16, 2010 2:42 PM
Just because I don't like something doesn't mean it's not a sport. For example, I don't like soccer, yet I would NEVER say it's not a sport. I have 3 daughters who compete in cheerleading competitions, and seeing what they do...yes, that's a sport. Any kind of competition is a sport, IMO.
Jun 16, 2010 2:42pm
Hb31187's avatar

Hb31187

Senior Member

8,534 posts
Jun 16, 2010 2:43 PM
No for all
Jun 16, 2010 2:43pm
Websurfinbird's avatar

Websurfinbird

Chosen Person

656 posts
Jun 16, 2010 2:44 PM
Hmm what about figure skating or ballroom dancing?
Jun 16, 2010 2:44pm
krambman's avatar

krambman

Senior Member

3,606 posts
Jun 16, 2010 2:44 PM
For those saying no to all, I'm curious what "sports" you do consider sports.
Jun 16, 2010 2:44pm
Hb31187's avatar

Hb31187

Senior Member

8,534 posts
Jun 16, 2010 2:46 PM
krambman;391673 wrote:For those saying no to all, I'm curious what "sports" you do consider sports.
Baseball, basketball, football, soccer, hockey, ect
Jun 16, 2010 2:46pm
E

enigmaax

Senior Member

4,511 posts
Jun 16, 2010 2:48 PM
BRF;391668 wrote:Any kind of competition is a sport, IMO.

So like, quarter bounce = sport? Flip cup?
Jun 16, 2010 2:48pm
T

trackandccrunner

Senior Member

1,283 posts
Jun 16, 2010 2:52 PM
enigmaax;391685 wrote:So like, quarter bounce = sport? Flip cup?
HELL YES Flip Cup, Beer Pong, and all other drinking games are sports!
Jun 16, 2010 2:52pm
W

wkfan

Senior Member

1,641 posts
Jun 16, 2010 3:04 PM
Competition Cheerleading - Yes
Golf - Yes
Auto Racing - Yes
Horse Racing - No
Poker No
Jun 16, 2010 3:04pm