Define Sport

mings · Post by **mings** » January 19, 2006 4:08 pm

What is a "sport"? According to Messers Mirriam & Webster, the definition referring to such things as football, baseball, etc is as follows: 1) a source of diversion, 2) a physical activity engaged in for pleasure. Hence, with this in mind, I believe that Sports can be broken down to a few subcategories. If the thing in question clearly falls into one of these categories, then it's a sport.

Initially, I believe that all sport requires athletic prowess on a level above the common person. For example, this eliminates chess. Chess is a game, but not a sport.

Category 1: A contest of defense and offense - The four major pro sports fall into this category. For instance, football is a game with athletes engaged in offensive efforts countered by a defense tasked to protect a certain goal. Soccer, Hockey, Basketball, Baseball, Lacrosse, etc.

Category 2: A competition of measured performance - This is when there is a common, and infallible system of measurement used to compare the results of at least 2 participants. Downhill skiing is racing against the clock, where a better athletic performance helps to reduce the skier's time. Golf also falls within this category as the course par is the measured amount by which all other golfers are compared.

Category 3: A head-to-head competition to a fixed point - The key thing that should not be forgotten here is that the participants need to be athletes employing skill and talent and requiring finely tuned and developed muscles. Take for example, sprinters, rowers, swimmers, speed skaters, and the like. Everyone involved is an athlete, and their skills and talents help them to reach the finish line first. I contend that NASCAR drivers are not elligible for this category. In fact, I don't believe that NASCAR is a sport. (I am not singling out NASCAR for any other reason other than the fact that it's representative of auto racing as a whole.)

Sports can be games, but games cannot be sports.

So what are your thoughts on this? I ask because the NASCAR thread.

Lisa G · Post by **Lisa G** » January 19, 2006 4:17 pm

Lets look at what a NASCAR driver must endure. Aside from having to wear a fireproof suit and full helmet attached to the HANS restraining device, he is in a car for usually more than 4 hours where temperatures get up 115 degree's. Now factor in the concentration of dealing with 42 other cars at speeds up to and over at times 200mph. I know of no other sport that is more demanding...........

rednekkPH · Post by **rednekkPH** » January 19, 2006 4:17 pm

This coming from a guy who sees sport in a bunch of guys in a boat yelling "stroke, stroke, stroke".

SharkOnLand · Post by **SharkOnLand** » January 19, 2006 4:17 pm

I'm not really a NASCAR or any other type of auto racing fan, but I think you've overlooked the physical conditioning involved in sitting in a 100+ degree car in layers and layers of protective clothing for hours on end, and still having the where-with-all to not screw up and send your car flying into the wall (it only takes a mistake of millimeters to send you flying into a wall at 200 mph).

dawgfan · Post by **dawgfan** » January 19, 2006 4:24 pm

You must also consider the G-forces that is put on a drivers body for that 4 hours. Most people get light headed after a 90 second rollercoaster ride

LIPH · Post by **LIPH** » January 19, 2006 4:25 pm

Lisa G wrote:Lets look at what a NASCAR driver must endure. Aside from having to wear a fireproof suit and full helmet attached to the HANS restraining device, he is in a car for usually more than 4 hours where temperatures get up 115 degree's. Now factor in the concentration of dealing with 42 other cars at speeds up to and over at times 200mph. I know of no other sport that is more demanding...........

So what you're saying is that in order to be a NASCAR driver it helps if you're a f**** moron?

tikitatas · Post by **tikitatas** » January 19, 2006 4:35 pm

It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye, and THEN it's a SPORT.

mings · Post by **mings** » January 19, 2006 4:36 pm

Lisa G wrote:Lets look at what a NASCAR driver must endure. Aside from having to wear a fireproof suit and full helmet attached to the HANS restraining device, he is in a car for usually more than 4 hours where temperatures get up 115 degree's. Now factor in the concentration of dealing with 42 other cars at speeds up to and over at times 200mph. I know of no other sport that is more demanding...........

I don't doubt that what the drivers endure is typical and can be done by any Joe Schmoe from the street, HOWEVER, I don't believe that its a sport. The car does the work. Sure, they control it, but I have a hard time agreeing with the fact that they are more than just skilled. In other words, I believe that you can be in a position where you are required to perform at exceptional levels, but that doesn't automatically qualify it as a sport.

springparrot · Post by **springparrot** » January 19, 2006 4:40 pm

If trainers are involved, it should be a sport.
And I think most race car drivers (NASCAR, NHRA, or any other type of auto racing) have personal trainers.

Cubbie Bear · Post by **Cubbie Bear** » January 19, 2006 4:43 pm

Sport is giving a prawn a head start

buffettbride · Post by **buffettbride** » January 19, 2006 4:44 pm

This isn't a poll. Polls are sports, aren't they? Or is that pole?

MelliJellyBean · Post by **MelliJellyBean** » January 19, 2006 4:44 pm

I'm a juggler and I consider it a sport, not just a hobby. I think anything where there is a level of competition to be better than someone is a sport.

ejr · Post by **ejr** » January 19, 2006 4:45 pm

Where I have problems with the definition is when you get to such things as sychronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics---a bunch of people doing things in unison is not sport, it is performance. When a large part of the judging is determining if they are all precisely together, i do not consider that to be sport.

mings · Post by **mings** » January 19, 2006 4:45 pm

rednekkPH wrote:This coming from a guy who sees sport in a bunch of guys in a boat yelling "stroke, stroke, stroke".

Technically, yes. As a former rower, and current coach I do believe that rowing is a sport. However, the coxswain (the little dude that steers the boat) may be athletic off the water, however his presence in the shell and on the crew is contingent on his ability to steer, plan, motivate, and lead a collection of rowers. In this sense, the coxswain is not an athlete.

The rowers are most definitely athletes and rowing is a sport. It's a race to a fixed point, where the boat/shell is propelled solely by the strength of the rowers sitting in the shell. At National/International and even elite collegiate levels, the rowers can propell the boat fast enough to water ski from, reaching speeds of over 15 miles per hour.

Additionally, the belief that coxswains yell "Stroke, Stroke, Stroke" is rooted in the fact that in the early part of the century this was said. Now you will never hear a coxswain say that repeatedly. It's basically a common misconception perpetuated by the lack of real experience.

SharkOnLand · Post by **SharkOnLand** » January 19, 2006 4:46 pm

mings wrote:I don't doubt that what the drivers endure is typical and can be done by any Joe Schmoe from the street, HOWEVER, I don't believe that its a sport. The car does the work. Sure, they control it, but I have a hard time agreeing with the fact that they are more than just skilled. In other words, I believe that you can be in a position where you are required to perform at exceptional levels, but that doesn't automatically qualify it as a sport.

Under these qualifications, downhill skiing doesn't qualify as a sport. Gravity does all the work, all the skier has to do is hold his skis straight.

mings · Post by **mings** » January 19, 2006 4:46 pm

springparrot wrote:If trainers are involved, it should be a sport.
And I think most race car drivers (NASCAR, NHRA, or any other type of auto racing) have personal trainers.

I disagree. This is too much of a blanket statement.

Cubbie Bear · Post by **Cubbie Bear** » January 19, 2006 4:47 pm

rednekkPH wrote:This coming from a guy who sees sport in a bunch of guys in a boat yelling "stroke, stroke, stroke".

I thought that is what they will be yelling tonight when he meats Lisa G

LIPH · Post by **LIPH** » January 19, 2006 4:48 pm

Can we all agree on one thing? No matter how much it may be on ESPN, POKER IS NOT A SPORT!!!!!

springparrot · Post by **springparrot** » January 19, 2006 4:50 pm

LIPH wrote:Can we all agree on one thing? No matter how much it may be on ESPN, POKER IS NOT A SPORT!!!!!

ABSOLUTELY!

mings · Post by **mings** » January 19, 2006 4:52 pm

ejr wrote:Where I have problems with the definition is when you get to such things as sychronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics---a bunch of people doing things in unison is not sport, it is performance. When a large part of the judging is determining if they are all precisely together, i do not consider that to be sport.

Agreed. I deliberately didn't include anything where the performance is judged. There is no absolute value consistent enough to measure all performances accordingly.