Okay, I had this discussion again for about the hundredth time last week. So for those who have heard my argument, this will sound familiar, but for those of you who are uneducated in my ways, well this will surely be new and enlightening (just as all my blogs are).
In our society, we will make a competition out of anything. Those competitions come in two forms; contests and sports. Yes, I know we use them interchangeably; however, the truth is, when defined correctly (as I always do and or makeup) they are very different animals. A contest is a competition where points are awarded based on subjective grading. A sport is a competition where the winner is based on the points scored or the timing involved in the event.
Many people generally consider figure skating to be a sport , yet they are seriously mistaken. Figure skating along with gymnastics, beauty pageants, synchronized swimming, sand-castle building, decorating your yard at Christmas, and anything else that requires winners to win a subjective grading competition are not sports, they are contests. This does not mean that a gymnasts, figure skaters, or synchronized swimmers are not athletes, only that their chosen competition is not a sport, but a contest. There are many great athletes who have competed in contests.
With that in mind, what is a sport? A sport is any competition that is scored using a system based on points scored by the competitor or based on a time kept. Sports include football, baseball, track and field, tennis, horseshoes, basketball, car-racing, ping pong, bowling and many others. Now just as with the above stated contests, sports can, and do, contain athletes as well those of the non-athletic variety. I mean seriously, what athletic man would wear some of the goofy clothes they wear on the PGA tour (that’s pro golf for those who participate in contests).
Why would I be so worried about this sort of subject, well I will tell you. Because I am sick and tired of seeing figure skating on ESPN or other sports oriented programming. Yes I know these people spend years and years preparing for the Olympics, but lets face it, most people only pay attention to these during the Olympics and then it’s like, “WHO?”
Other than these contests invading my sacred sports programming, I really have no other point for this blog. I just wanted to make the point that bull riding and cheerleader contests should not be on my sports networks. I would seriously watch curling or the international darts association rather than one of these contests. Now I don’t want to offend the serious rodeo fan (many of which are touched enough to want to whip my rear), but really, how many of you go to see the actual riders ride and how many of you are sadistically waiting for the chance to see a bull get a hold of one of the riders.
I like to watch bull riding, but that has more to do with the fact that I think those guys are crazy and watching crazy people do absurd things is something of a pastime for me. Thus the reason I like to watch those in government try and fix the country.
Well that’s about all. I hope I haven’t offended any one. That truly was not my intention. I only wanted to inform those who had not been given the chance to experience some of my enlightening knowledge of the competitive world. Oh yeah, and I wanted to make sure that my mother knows that figure skating is NOT a sport.
Aloha,
Bill
Want Economic Development – Buy Local
5 years ago
Well said, Bill, but I think you could go further than that. Just because an activity fits your definition of a sport doesn't mean we should see it on t.v. So why don't we further divide that group between "real sports" and "recreational activities." Bowling, for example, is a recreational activity. Perhaps one of the criteria for this distinction should be whether you can do it at the same time as you drink a beer. Texas Hold'em, while technically a sport, can definitely be done while drinking beer, but you see it on t.v. all the time. Maybe another one should be whether you can do it while wearing sunglasses indoors. Another one should be, and this refers to skating and gymnastics, if there is glitter involved, it's not a sport.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work and let's home you offend someone, because then you know you've hit a nerve.
Later,
Caseman
So what about lawn mower races?
ReplyDeleteSport, but not by athletes!!
ReplyDelete