Sports that aren't sports?

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by bluegoose

Nobody has been able to convince me yet that Nascar drivers are athletes. Skilled yes, but athletes, no.

How about cheerleaders? SteelBlue has an ongoing debate with a friend about this one. She just can't convince him that they are not athletes.

It's hard to call NASCAR drivers athletes, I agree, but it does take a certain amount of stamina to drive in a race. Dressed in that garb in a vehicle with temps in triple digits and no breaks save for a few quick pit stops is something that I don't want to do. How many, what we would consider an athlete, be able to do what those guys do? Perhaps NASCAR drivers are athletes in the non-tradtional sense?

I'm no fan of NASCAR, but I'd say that they may not be athletic, but they have the same attributes that athletes do when it comes to stamina.

[RockyBalboa]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

I disagree with you about these - sort of. If you play a round of golf just for fun, it can be considered recreation. If you're playing it competitively, it's a sport, as it falls under the definition of what a sport is: A competitive activity in which players contend with each other according to a set of rules.

Of course, golfers don't necessarily compete against each other, but against the course, but the definition still fits.

It also depends on perspective of participation. If you play football, you are playing a sport. If you watch the sport of football, you're watching a game. Therefore, if you're playing golf, it's a sport.

Sorry, but I don't consider golfers athletes just because they can walk an 18 hole course every day or because they're good at what they do.

[DirtyHippieUTE]

I think you've got to make a distinction between "sport" and "athlete."

Anything can be a sport. Think of the phrase "just for sport." Sport has more to do with why you do something and less to do with what the something you do is. Under this model Cheerleading can be a sport (when competing) but can also be a recreation activity. I don't think cheerleading is much different from figure skating... You do something to music and you get graded on how well you do what you said you were going to do and how pretty you look while doing it.

Athlete is a tough one: When I think of an athlete I think of running, jumping, physical exertion, sweat, etc... I normally think that there has to be a combination of intense physical activity/exertion in combination with a ball, puck, a court, field, track, goal, finishline, stadium, ring, etc...

Under my definition... Bass fishermen are "sportsmen" but not "athletes."

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by RockyBalboa

Sorry, but I don't consider golfers athletes just because they can walk an 18 hole course every day or because they're good at what they do.

Well, your original post was that golf wasn't a sport. Nothing was said about golfers being athletic or not - nor did my post say that golfers were athletes.

Are place kickers and punters on a football team athletes? All they do is kick the ball.

Are goalies on a hockey team athletes? All they do is stand in a very small half circle on the ice and stop the puck from getting past them.

[El Guapo]

My rule is that if I can do it well, it isn't a sport.

NASCAR, therefore, is not a sport. I drive to work every day. I generally drive really fast because I am always at least 10 minutes late. My car's air conditioning is broken, so it gets pretty hot in there. In fact, what I do may be even more dangerous because I drive a 1986 Escort with no airbags or roll bars in competition with fully loaded SUVs.

My second rule: if an "extreme" version of your "sport" only involves screaming while doing the "sport," then it is not a sport. That rules out fishing and bowling (though I could imagine an extreme version of darts that could still qualify as a sport; unfortunately, darts remains excluded under my rule #1).