Viewing Thread:
"When's a 'Sport' not a 'Sport'?"

What qualifies a sport to be a ‘sport’. I ask this question as in my mind there are several ‘sports’ that aren’t really a sport at all.

If you class a sport as something that’s competitive, then finding a car parking space in a shopping centre is a sport. Playing a computer game against a mate is a sport. But the reality is these aren’t sports, ones blooming annoying and ones a hobby. Therefore it leads me to wonder is several of todays sports should actually be reclassified as hobbies or pastimes rather than a sport.

Darts

Now how can anyone call darts a sport? What qualifies you to become a darts player is that you must:

a) Drink lots of beer.
b) Be really fat…not huge…but bordering on morbidly obese. Pork scratchings are available for free to anyone that looks healthy and fit
c) Have to have cleaned out your local Argos store of all its Elizabeth Duke jewellery…but only the 9ct stuff!!
d) A collection of silk shirts in size XXXL, all with a stupid nickname and pathetic attempt at a cartoon on the back
e) Sweat a lot. If you don’t sweat then you ain’t gonna make it.

Once you’ve qualified using the points above, you can then stand behind a little white line and through some Darts at a board…hmmm fun!! But how has it been classed a sport. There’s no physical activity going on apart from the walk to the dart board once you’ve thrown your darts and back again…hardly strenuous is it.

Cricket

Now how anything that has one game that drags on and on for days and 99% of the time people are just standing about can be classed as a sport is beyond me. It’s entirely possible that a fielder could be standing in one area where the ball never gets hit and have to do no running or physical activity at all. Not only that if you’re batting, if you’re not currently one of the batters, then you just get to sit down and watch for hours whilst two men try their hardest to bearly hit the ball more that 6ft along the ground.

Again though how can these people be classed as ‘sportsmen’ when half of them look overweight and are old enough to be your dad, or worse, your granddad. I mean look at some of the ambassadors for the sport…Ian Botham (or beefy…just a nice way of saying Fat!), Shane Warne, Phil Tuffnel…hardly a whos who of ‘sporting’ greats is it!!

Snooker

Another ‘sport’ that is more like a pastime or a hobby. Anyone that dresses up in a shirt, waistcoat, trousers and shoes whilst they’re playing a ‘sport’ can’t be doing just that. That sort of clothing would restrict your movement and ability to move quickly. But yet again it doesn’t matter, as you can be just like a darts player fat, sweaty etc etc and still be classed as a ‘sportsmen’. Look at the likes of the dinosaurs in the game that are still playing such as Terry Griffith, Willie Thorn, Ray Readon etc They’re not ‘sportsmen’, they’re a couple of old guys knocking a few balls around a table with a stick. Granted it’s a skill to do it with such precision and in a certain sequence, but its still hardly a sport is it.

Golf

This is classed as a popular pastime for English folks of 100yrs ago, so how can it be a sport if it’s a pastime. Especially seeing as once again you can still be out of shape and have Beyatch-T*ts like John Daily or Colin Montgomery but still be classed as a ‘sportsman’ even though you’re just smacking a tiny ball with a stick. If you’re even too fat like the Walrus or even just plain lazy, then you can get a golf cart to carry you and your doughnuts to bunker where your balls ended up.

I would class a sport as something that not only requires skill, but something that requires stamina and the need to be physically at the very best you can be…Ron Jeremy’s out on that last count then!! I know there will be some people now slating stuff like WWE, but that does what it says on the tin…Its Sports ENTERTAINMENT! Now all we need to get them to do is to reclassify the above sports as this:

Darts becomes – FFBS Darts (Fatty Boom Boom Sports)
Cricket – SI Cricket (Sport for the Insomniacs)
Snooker – Walob Snooker (What a load of (sports) balls)
Golf – DS Golf (Depressing Sports)

horse racing is shot. it is only liked by gamblers and the blind

Bob_Monkhouse wrote:

> And Horse racing is very demanding, the jockeys have to be very fit

You mean anorexic race fixers...now I'd agree!!

Ashley wrote:
> i thought you were going to take the sensible argument and lay in to
> motor racing and horse racing. which clearly aren't sport.

I have to agree with the horse racing arguement which boarders more on animal abuse rather than a sport. For those of ou that say that the horses love it, then there should be no need to smack them with a whip then should there...they would be running as fast as they could already!!

Cyclone wrote:
> Look sport up in the dictionary, and then use your head.

Hmmm, you could also use you're own opinion rahter than what someone else has described the word sport as!!

Bob_Monkhouse wrote:
> Ashley wrote:
> um the sports you named are clearly sports.
>
> i thought you were going to take the sensible argument and lay in to
> motor racing and horse racing. which clearly aren't sport. i think
> sport is principly were use of the body is the crucial factor, not
> large scale dependence on a machine or other lifeform
>
> Sorry mate, have to disagree, motor racers are extremely fitness
> freaks, they have to be to be able to stay racing for long periods of
> time where they are exposed to high speeds that a body should not
> have to deal with.
>
> And Horse racing is very demanding, the jockeys have to be very fit
> and be at their optimum weight for rides so calling these events not
> sporting you are wrong.

that may be the case, most motor "sport" drivers or jockeys are very fit/healthy. But so are lots of people, for me a sport must be something you compete on a fairly level playing field, where the main division is human skill and physical ability. The main problem with Motorsports and horses is that this doesn't exist, whilst there is undeniable skill and a certain physical element involved this is negated by the vehicle they use.

If michael schumacher drove for a lesser team he wouldn't win any where as many races, he may still win some as a superior driver but the machine is the critical deciding factor. same with horses whilst there is skill and physical fitness and maybe also ability to ride the horse and know how and when do use it but the quality of horse is again the critical factor.

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