quote: 1. a. Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.
That's not a bad definition, I can get behind that one. It would include curling though.
The lines are fuzzy. I don't consider ballroom dancing a sport, but I do consider gymnastics a sport. Weird. Both require athleticism, grace, involve music (in women's gymnastics anyway, if only in floor exercise) and are judged subjectively.
But I think dance is more of an art form, not a sport. Though the gymnastics my daughter participates in is called artistic gymnastics.
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NASCAR is shown on ESPN, this has always confused me, because I don't consider NASCAR a sport. Does anyone have any idea why NASCAR is a sport?
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Because it NASCAR takes a particular set of physical skills that must be practiced and mastered, requires great physical endurance, and very few people do it well.
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I admire people who have mastered special skills and play sports well, but I don't get the level of mania involved on the part of the fans. I watch some Olympic sports, bike races occassionally (in person, mostly)and Iditarod coverage on TV.
Mostly, I put sporting activities in the same sub-group as sex-- more fun to do than to watch. *shrug* That's just me, though.
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To me, an inherent part of a sport is the competition. Soccer, for example, is inherently competetive with each team trying to accomplish what the other team is trying to thwart.
Activities like golf and archery are not directly competetive like that. You aren't directly competing with anybody -- you're just competing with their results. Still, those results are straightfoward, so I'll consider them sports.
But activities like gymnasticsdiving, and figure scating are even further removed from competition. You can't even compete directly with the results of your competitors -- you're competing with the judge's evaluation of you're competitor's performance.
To me, any activity in which the winner is decided by comparing judge's scores is not a sport. It is a demonstration, just like ballroom dancing and ballet.
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quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: To me, an inherent part of a sport is the competition. Soccer, for example, is inherently competetive with each team trying to accomplish what the other team is trying to thwart.
Activities like golf and archery are not directly competetive like that. You aren't directly competing with anybody -- you're just competing with their results. Still, those results are straightfoward, so I'll consider them sports.
But activities like gymnasticsdiving, and figure scating are even further removed from competition. You can't even compete directly with the results of your competitors -- you're competing with the judge's evaluation of you're competitor's performance.
To me, any activity in which the winner is decided by comparing judge's scores is not a sport. It is a demonstration, just like ballroom dancing and ballet.
I agree with this, for the most part, and I think that you're right on in the distinction that you're making between sport and demonstration. I think that there's often a certain value judgement attached to the lable "sport", with things that are deemed "not-sport" being seen as "less-than" rather than "other", and that that gets in the way of coming to a consensus on what "sport" is.
The one thing that I'd add to your description of what "sport" is would be that the activity would have to involve a certain level of physical exertion. Jacks, to use the example I brought up with Belle, strikes me as an activity that meets all of the points of your description but still can't be considered a sport, and I think that the reason for that it the lack of exertion required to play it.
But then, what about competitive shooting? That seems like a sport to me, and while it's more physically demanding tha sitting on the couch, it doesn't require that much exertion? And if that counts as a sport, what about doing the same thing in a simulator? And if that counts as a sport, what about Duckhunt on the NES?
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quote:Originally posted by Stephan: Poker is shown on ESPN, which says a lot more about their definition then NASCAR does.
I didn't realize this. I tend to avoid ESPN with all possible diligence. I only noticed the NASCAR thing because I was trapped in a room where it was playing (family reunion).
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quote:I was the first guy in my high school class to earn my varsity jacket (two varsity sports letters) and competed on academic decathlon. What the heck clique is THAT? I never did figure that one out...
We didn't have an academic decathlon, but I had 4 varsity letters and was on the quiz bowl team, literary rally team, and in the school plays every year. (does that classify me as 'nerd/jock'?)
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rivka is right - speculative fiction includes both sci fi and fantasy, but the two are not the same and fantasy is most definitely NOT a sub-group of sci fi.
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Oddly enough, I did. I was sitting in a restaurant that had ESPN going on overhead TVs. The guys in the football competitions, at least, were idiots. Way too much into what, for me, is something I do to relax. Still, interesting enough.
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quote:Originally posted by Dagonee: Because it NASCAR takes a particular set of physical skills that must be practiced and mastered, requires great physical endurance, and very few people do it well.
Same goes for singing... even karaoke. That definition is too vague, because many non "athletic" activities are still physically taxing and difficult.
edit: Additionally, many things require skills, are physically taxing, are done for spectators, and are subjects of competition, but are not sports.
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I don't believe there are people who don't like sports. Instead, I just beleive there are people who haven't learned that they like sports yet. Posts: 8120 | Registered: Jul 2000
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That's one problem with selling insurance. A lot of casual business is done over a good game of golf. That is, if you don't like golf. Me, I would love to do casual business over a game of golf.
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quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: To me, an inherent part of a sport is the competition. Soccer, for example, is inherently competetive with each team trying to accomplish what the other team is trying to thwart.
Activities like golf and archery are not directly competetive like that. You aren't directly competing with anybody -- you're just competing with their results. Still, those results are straightfoward, so I'll consider them sports.
But activities like gymnasticsdiving, and figure scating are even further removed from competition. You can't even compete directly with the results of your competitors -- you're competing with the judge's evaluation of you're competitor's performance.
To me, any activity in which the winner is decided by comparing judge's scores is not a sport. It is a demonstration, just like ballroom dancing and ballet.
To me, the most enjoyable aspect of any "sport" is the asthetic of human bodies performing at their peak. It doesn't really matter to me whether is a basketball player jumping, a bike racer sprinting up the Alpe de Huez, a soccer goalie making an incredible save, or a gymnast doing a backward salto.
To me, the competition is only important because it inspires athletes to keep pushing the envelope of what the human body can do. I don't care whether the scoring is determined by time on a clock, getting balls into a goal or by a panel of judges so long as the scoring is leading to better athleticism.
For that reason, I enjoy watching sports that I've have done much more than sports I don't do. My personal experience with bike riding for example makes it more obvious to me how good the top bike racers are. I have a greater understanding for what their sport demands and therefore a greater appreciation of how incredibly their bodies perform. I also get a great deal of enjoyment out of gymnastics because what they are able to do with their bodies is so far above the normal ability of humans.
In contrast, I haven't played football enough to identify the athleticism involved. Golf is even worse.
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quote:Originally posted by Stephan: He noticed the college I went to and asked if I played any sports there. I mentioned that I worked all the way through college, and I am not really a sports fan anyways. His voice got low and basically said, "well anyways, I'll be in touch." I haven't heard back in 3 days.
This is a bit off topic but I thought I mention anyway. You violated one of the key rules for interviewing by talking too much about what you didn't do or what you don't like. I don't know about his interviewer but often interviewers will ask this kind of a question to get you to talk about yourself. The best way to deal with kind of question, assuming you didn't play sports in college is to sidestep and talk about something you did do or do enjoy.
For example, you might have said, "I had to support myself in college so I didn't have alot of time for team sports, but I did swim twice a week and played pool with friends regularly. After college I was a member of a bowling team and right now I'm really into SCUBA diving and hiking." (Of course I don't know if any of those details are correct, but you get the idea). Instead of talking about what you don't do, you've made an opportunity to tell him about yourself and your interests. You've got a long list so chances are he has some interest in one of them. He's likely to respond with something like "Really, I've been thinking about getting into SCUBA". Rather than having put down something that really interests him (team sports), you've turned this in to a chance to talk about you (which is after all what an interview is for).
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Oh I always bring up the fact that I worked through college, I did here to, I just didn't mention in the post. I'll try tacking on the stuff about SCUBA and hiking though, good idea.
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The only sport I watch with any regularity is hockey, which emphasizes the thing I love the most about sports: the unexpected. At pretty much any point, a single flub or brilliant play can turn an ordinary play into a puck in the net, or result in a fantastic save by the goalie.
The score might never be high enough for some people, but even the near goals and near misses are sometimes just as exciting as the ones that actually go in.
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