my brother and one of our friends were in a very heated debate the other day about which sports require intelligence from their athletes - our friend was arguing that football players are the smartest athletes around; my bro and i vehemently disagreed. my brother argued for baseball, though i'm not so sure about that. we all agreed basketball players were none to bright. we also agreed that, while T+F athletes tend to be very smart, the sport requires little to no intelligence on the part of the athlete. so i come before hatrack with this question - which sport demands the most intelligence out of its athletes?
Posted by MyrddinFyre (Member # 2576) on :
I'd say it depends on what you call a "sport." I've seen billards, chess, poker, and even golf on various espn channels Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
And I say it depends on what you mean by intelligence. To me, an athlete has what I think of as embedded intelligence. They have a natural, applied sense of angles, speed, and precision. They are math in motion.
I think of Larry Bird. When I watched him play, I was in awe of his brain as much as by what his body could do. When I heard him speak, I didn't think he was all that bright.
Posted by Paercival (Member # 1408) on :
hm... good point. to narrow it, since we were mostly focusing on the "big" sports, aka baseball, football, basketball, hockey, soccer, tennis, track, etc
Posted by Paul Goldner (Member # 1910) on :
I tend to claim baseball, largely because the best hitters, AND the best pitchers, have largely been men who had an extremely keen analytical and psychological mind, capable of understanding to a deep level the game between pitcher and hitter, and applying situational variables rapidly to the situation they find themselves in, and making adjustments on a second to second basis based off of knowledge of their own performance for each individual event that could occur.
Ted Williams is a great example. THe man wrote a book called "The science of hitting," and thats exactly what he lays out. Barry Bonds is the same way. Scientific method as applied to sport.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
But how not Larry Bird's little backhanded passes, when he knows where and when every other player is without even looking, not the same?
Posted by Paul Goldner (Member # 1910) on :
Not in my mind. I think Larry Bird was extremely BASKETBALL intelligent... but I don't think it had anything to do with analytic ability, nor a keen understanding of the human mind, but rather an extraordinary kinesthetic sense and situational awareness.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Well, let me preface, Paul, by saying that a Red Sox fan needs to say these things about Ted Williams, I understand that, especially after last night.
But for one second, imagine a baseball game taking place at the same speed as basketball. Would Ted be able to keep up the pace?
Posted by Shepherdess (Member # 6115) on :
I know baseball is sometimes referred to as the "thinking man's sport." Does that imply that players in other sports don't think? I prefer to think they don't have as much time to think as baseball players do. They rely on their instincts (ie subconscious thought).
Posted by Paul Goldner (Member # 1910) on :
No, but baseball and basketball require different athletic SKILLS. I do not consider the ability to run fast, or jump high, or change bodily positions rapidly, to be indicative of intelligence.
Turn that around. The greatest basketball player of all time attempted to play baseball... and failed miserably. Ted Williams would have failed miserably at basketball (although he also excelled at flying fighter jets, and fly fishing).
Baseball and basketball mostly require physical skill sets. To excel at baseball requires a keen analytic mind. I cannot say the same thing about basketball, and that was the question my brother is asking.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Wait a minute. Paercival is your BROTHER? I am so out of it.
And Paul, I was thinking more of Ted playing high-speed baseball, not basketball. Could he make those hitting decisions if he had to make one hit right after the other?
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Curling. It's like chess! Only less complex....
Posted by Paul Goldner (Member # 1910) on :
Yes, I think he could. Though, it hardly matters. Thinking analytically is a slower process then muscle memory, which is not intelligence.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Paul, my husband just came down and said the best game ever between the Sox and the yanks is playing at this time. Thirteenth inning.
Correction. He is now saying it was the worst game in the history of Red Sox-Yankee baseball.
[ July 01, 2004, 11:36 PM: Message edited by: Elizabeth ]
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
there is actually a lot of strategy involved in tennis. I am sure that would require you to have something going on in the grey matter.
Posted by fallow (Member # 6268) on :
*envies professional athletes*
anyone who can make more than myself and a fairly extensive group of friends and family combined is definitely smarter than I.
fallow
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
Hmm... It really depends. Baseball is the most skill dependent game out there, I think. More than anything else. Basketball is skill, intelligence, and physicality combined to various degrees... Two or one might opt out the rest. Football is the most strategic game. Memorizing all those plays and seeing what the defense is doing and having to react and having to choose when, I think that, of the big 3, is the most "intelligent."
Posted by skillery (Member # 6209) on :
I don't know about the intelligence of the players, but cricket demands the most intelligence of its spectators.
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
Yeah. England just doesn't let stupid people in.
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
The problem with this question is that I believe even in a sport where the "mental" game is as important as the "physical" game, that still doesn't necessitate "intelligence". Intelligence is not the same as precision, and ability to see the field(court), or be strategic(especially when the strategy is a learned do A when B, C when D, E when A and D, etc..) Sports like running or biking where i think the mental game is very important to the competition, I still wouldn't say the athletes are any more intelligent than other athletes. Or atleast they don't have to be. Maybe all that free time to just think helps them become more intelligent. Posted by Bekenn (Member # 6602) on :
quote:which sport demands the most intelligence out of its athletes?
That's easy!
Counter-Strike. At least, that's probably what the CPL (Cyberathletes Professional League) would say, though I really can't agree with them.
It's actually Allegiance.
Posted by kwsni (Member # 1831) on :
Dressage.
Requires intelligence from both it's competitors. Just because equestian sports are shunned by americans...
Ni!
Posted by Taberah (Member # 4014) on :
Going back to what skillery said, I've heard that Cricket requires a decent amount of intelligence. This is why the games take so long--it takes the players a while to figure out the best thing to do. But then, I've never played cricket, so I really don't know.
I find football really interesting to watch because it requires great intelligence from the coach. At a far greater level than baseball or basketball, there are key decisions that must be made that usually involve great opportunity cost and difficult coordination. The quarterback also has to be pretty sharp, since he gets to call the plays and must make on the spot adjustments as necessary. So to a limited extent, the quarterback has to understand what the coach has in mind and be able to implement it in a dynamic environment.
I suppose that it's possible to be dumb and yet good at golf, but most of the best golfers in the world have a detailed knowledge of every factor that affects their game. If you don't believe me, read any one of the dozens of books written by professional golfers. They all have considerable natural ability, but they all amplify it with focused personal training and a close study of the mechanics of their swing.
Posted by The Silverblue Sun (Member # 1630) on :
quote: which sport demands the most intelligence out of its athletes?
Total Enlightenment
Posted by The Silverblue Sun (Member # 1630) on :
Baseball players spit the farthest.
It is true!
Posted by fallow (Member # 6268) on :
golfers spend the most.
it's true!
Posted by Happy Camper (Member # 5076) on :
I'm not sure if it's a demand on the athlete or if it's something about the type that gets attracted to the sport, but I've always found swimmers to be (on average) a very intelligent bunch.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
baseball-- Object of the game--hit a ball thrown at you at 100mph before said projectile hits you first. Not smart way to spend the day.
football--where several 300lb men in armor have the sole objective of leaving you immobile on the ground. Very-not smart.
hockey--all your opponents have razor sharp blades on their feet and long wooden sticks at their disposal. At best they are shooting a rock hard plastic projectile across the ice at incredible speeds. Goal of the game, thump you before they can get a puck into a goal. Not smart.
basketball, soccer, tennis, track all seem to be better choices for intelligence, cause you gotta be down right stupid to try the other stuff.
Posted by Trondheim (Member # 4990) on :
You probably didn't expect much support, kwsni, but here it is
Equestrian sports require a lot of intelligence, both in dressage and show jumping. Of course you need a good horse, but you also need to make a good strategy, to be able to change it when needed, to calculate the impact of your opponents' performance, and to respond to sudden challenges.
I'm really not claiming they are the most intelligent, but I have a hard time seeing baseball players as the brightest. It's mostly played by Americans, so it should not enter into the competion. We should be looking for performers in an international sport.
Posted by littlemissattitude (Member # 4514) on :
I don't know. All I can say is that I've gotten into some quite interesting, intelligent, and deep discussions in pool halls. And I'm talking politics, religion, and philosophy here, not "Who is going to win the Super Bowl" type discussions.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I enjoy rowing quite a bit. For me it raises the question of whether you need to be smart to be good at a sport, or whether being good at a sport makes you smarter.
I find being out on still water moving in rhythm with another person very zen-like.
Posted by kwsni (Member # 1831) on :
I refuse to think of things like Pool and Poker as sports. If you don't get any physical benefits from playing, it's not a sport. Bowling is questionable.
What I want to know is why ESPN will play poker ALL the time, but doesn't show anything horse related but the Triple Crown. Thoroughbred racing isn't even exciting!
Ni!
Posted by Erik Slaine (Member # 5583) on :
NASCAR requiers intelligence, if not on the part of the driver, then on the part of the crew chief.
Just thought I'd throw in motorsports....
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :
I've seen the occasional horse event (of varying type) on ESPN or NBC or some other network. I've only ever seen biking on an actual network when it was a one hour segment once a week last year during the Tour de France on NBC. That's not coverage!
[EDIT: despite what you may think, I'm actually griping with you Becky ]
Hobbes
[ July 02, 2004, 06:46 PM: Message edited by: Hobbes ]
Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
Becky, I would imagine it has a lot to do with their expectations of how many people would watch a televised equestrian event as compared to how many people would watch a televised poker event.
Posted by kwsni (Member # 1831) on :
you're probly right, saxy, but dammit, Horses ARE more exciting than poker! at least there's the danger of getting hurt.
Hobbes, I've only ever seen the Triple Crown on ESPN. Animal planet sometimes plays show jumping at 4 or 5 in the morning, and USA for some reason was playing the Rolex, which is Dressage, Show Jumping and Cross Country.
Ni!
Posted by littlemissattitude (Member # 4514) on :
quote:I refuse to think of things like Pool and Poker as sports. If you don't get any physical benefits from playing, it's not a sport. Bowling is questionable
I'm not sure what you would consider a "physical benefit". However, I can tell you that for the year and a half or so that I shot pool every day, or nearly so, my arthritic knees - which make it very difficult for me to do much conventional exercise - were much more flexible and less painful than before or after that period of time. For me, that was a significant physical benefit. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to go out to shoot pool right now.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
I saw some of the Olympic coverage of the Equestrian events in 2000, like actually quite a bit of Dressage, and some three day, not much show jumping.
I will agree that Dressage requires more thinking than many sports because you are working with a horse that weighs more than a thousand pounds (assuming that is correct, the arab I ride weighs 750) not a ball.
I would say that sports where the induvidual is competing require a higher intelligence than most team sports but I could be wrong.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Grumble]](graemlins/grumble.gif)
That's not coverage!![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
]