What is (or isn't) a sport?
By: K.J. Stimpson and Cory Munoz
Issue date: 3/17/09 Section: Sports
In the words of K.J. Stimpson ...
A sport by any other name is just as athletic, or is it? The idea of what is and is not a sport has been a topic of debate for my colleague, Cory Muñoz, and me for some time, and I am sure others have debated the same question.
I have defined a sport as anything requiring the physical demeanor and mental capability to perform an athletic activity within the confines (rules) of the activity being played. However, activities I see as being sports aren't always considered sports by everyone else.
First, to start with the activities commonly known as sports that really aren't typically debated by society today; football, soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, rugby, lacrosse, cricket and hockey. After this selection of activities, a gray area is beginning to be reached.
The debatable activities include physical arts; mixed martial arts, karate, boxing and wrestling, as well as sports with no-direct influence by competitors; golf, dive and swimming, tennis, rodeo, skiing and track/cross-country and field. It is here a snag is hit within the argument; I have either taken part in or observed these activities in play, viewing them all and equally as being a sport. They meet the physical/athletic criterion not only within my definition but also within the general definition of a sport, but society as a whole does not see many of them as a sport.
From my interaction with people of the sports world, I was always led to believe by many players, taking part in several activities, that sports were more than just grabbing, hitting, kicking and throwing balls or such. They had always described sports as being a state of mind as well as a cardio-booster.
Yet, the sports determined to be definitively sports all seem to have one thing in common, they are blood sports, being a rugby fan I can honestly say I have seen a surmountable amount of blood shed, as well as within the activities where some rather intense injuries can occur.
My argument, any activity can be dangerous, but just because they don't have some guy being slammed so hard he is in a comma for the next week, does not mean it's not a sport.
Cheerleading is just as dangerous as football, perhaps more so considering those girls and guys don't have the protective gear a football player does, but it is not considered a sport by society because it uses fluid and fancy choreographed athletic techniques as opposed to the typical sport activity of charge, execute and score.
Now, I will admit that some activities being aired on ESPN are not always sports. Poker, for instance, is not a sport; it is a card game. NASCAR is not a sport; it's a gambling competition just as I think Motocross is. Activities like hunting and fishing are not sports; they are hobbies.
Un-recognized sports like cheerleading, gymnastics, surfing and chessboxing, however, are real sports, in my opinion, whether society accepts it or not.
It is argued that chessboxing, which has made its way from Europe to the United States, is not a sport because chess and sports aren't usually considered to be in the realm because they are two different activities requiring different skills.
Yet it is very much a sport because it intermingles the physical with the mental, making the competitor control and function, not only in the ring, but also on the chessboard.
The game involves two competitors alternating rounds of boxing with chess, there are 11 rounds - six of chess and five of boxing. Each round of chess is four minutes, and a round of boxing is three minutes.
The winner is determined by the number of rounds won in boxing and a checkmate. If a stalemate is reached the player with the highest wins from boxing rounds is declared the winner. It also has its own official organization, like football and basketball have, called the World Chessboxing Organization.
A sport should not be defined by the popularity of the activity, the direct influence of the competitors or the amount of blood spilt out on a field, track, ring or arena.
Sports should be defined by the physical requirements and the ability to bring that physical aspect to the world of intellect in order to reach the goal of winning.
In the words of Cory Munoz ...
Sports have been defined by many people over time, but there is still a conundrum when it comes to what is, or isn't, a sport. I'm not saying I have the answer for the mystery, but I'm going to make an attempt.
Let's get the sports that have no reason to be debate out of the way first. Sports like football, rugby, lacrosse and hockey are sports. It may seem a bit barbaric, but those four have point systems and one team can determine whether the other team gets points or not.
Basketball, baseball, volleyball, softball, tennis, soccer and cricket are less brutal than the previous four sports, but that is not a reason for them to be called less of a sport.
There is a next level of sports. These are the sports that can be debated as sports. I think most of these are sports, but I would be willing to hear people's arguments on them. Golf is a debatable. The course is the opponent directly dealing with the golfer.
Anyone can go out and play golf on the same course as professional golfers and shoot a better score - not everyone can suit up with the Celtics and win a title. But I bet the Knicks would take some playground players. That's neither here nor there.
Swimming and track are hard for me. I love watching both - but only every four years - even though your opponent has no bearing on your time. He/She cannot get in your lane to stop you from finishing at a certain time without being disqualified. This may make some athletes on this campus irate, but diving and field events are not sports.
With that said, cheerleading, NASCAR, horse racing and chessboxing are not sports either. The cars and the horses do the work in NASCAR and on the track. That's not saying the people who drive and jockey the cars and horses are not talented. Those things just aren't sports.
What'd you say? Oh, just because they're on ESPN makes them sports. Poker is on ESPN. Just because something is entertaining does not make it a sport.
Mixed Martial Arts, Karate, boxing and wrestling are sports, but I consider them arts within sports. I'm not talking about Hulk Hogan's wrestling. I'm talking Oklahoma State, Iowa wrestling.
You can take a boxer and put him on a field or court and he could do what other athletes do, but not with the same production. It's hard to take an athlete and put them into a ring or the octagon and have them know the different disciplines of fighting.
Any of us can fight in the street, at school or after a long night at Goober's, but it takes skill to box. The dilemma, or whatever you'd like to call it, over what is a sport may never be fixed, but I have a feeling I have just made more athletes on this campus a little more angry with me.
The End.
A sport by any other name is just as athletic, or is it? The idea of what is and is not a sport has been a topic of debate for my colleague, Cory Muñoz, and me for some time, and I am sure others have debated the same question.
I have defined a sport as anything requiring the physical demeanor and mental capability to perform an athletic activity within the confines (rules) of the activity being played. However, activities I see as being sports aren't always considered sports by everyone else.
First, to start with the activities commonly known as sports that really aren't typically debated by society today; football, soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, rugby, lacrosse, cricket and hockey. After this selection of activities, a gray area is beginning to be reached.
The debatable activities include physical arts; mixed martial arts, karate, boxing and wrestling, as well as sports with no-direct influence by competitors; golf, dive and swimming, tennis, rodeo, skiing and track/cross-country and field. It is here a snag is hit within the argument; I have either taken part in or observed these activities in play, viewing them all and equally as being a sport. They meet the physical/athletic criterion not only within my definition but also within the general definition of a sport, but society as a whole does not see many of them as a sport.
From my interaction with people of the sports world, I was always led to believe by many players, taking part in several activities, that sports were more than just grabbing, hitting, kicking and throwing balls or such. They had always described sports as being a state of mind as well as a cardio-booster.
Yet, the sports determined to be definitively sports all seem to have one thing in common, they are blood sports, being a rugby fan I can honestly say I have seen a surmountable amount of blood shed, as well as within the activities where some rather intense injuries can occur.
My argument, any activity can be dangerous, but just because they don't have some guy being slammed so hard he is in a comma for the next week, does not mean it's not a sport.
Cheerleading is just as dangerous as football, perhaps more so considering those girls and guys don't have the protective gear a football player does, but it is not considered a sport by society because it uses fluid and fancy choreographed athletic techniques as opposed to the typical sport activity of charge, execute and score.
Now, I will admit that some activities being aired on ESPN are not always sports. Poker, for instance, is not a sport; it is a card game. NASCAR is not a sport; it's a gambling competition just as I think Motocross is. Activities like hunting and fishing are not sports; they are hobbies.
Un-recognized sports like cheerleading, gymnastics, surfing and chessboxing, however, are real sports, in my opinion, whether society accepts it or not.
It is argued that chessboxing, which has made its way from Europe to the United States, is not a sport because chess and sports aren't usually considered to be in the realm because they are two different activities requiring different skills.
Yet it is very much a sport because it intermingles the physical with the mental, making the competitor control and function, not only in the ring, but also on the chessboard.
The game involves two competitors alternating rounds of boxing with chess, there are 11 rounds - six of chess and five of boxing. Each round of chess is four minutes, and a round of boxing is three minutes.
The winner is determined by the number of rounds won in boxing and a checkmate. If a stalemate is reached the player with the highest wins from boxing rounds is declared the winner. It also has its own official organization, like football and basketball have, called the World Chessboxing Organization.
A sport should not be defined by the popularity of the activity, the direct influence of the competitors or the amount of blood spilt out on a field, track, ring or arena.
Sports should be defined by the physical requirements and the ability to bring that physical aspect to the world of intellect in order to reach the goal of winning.
In the words of Cory Munoz ...
Sports have been defined by many people over time, but there is still a conundrum when it comes to what is, or isn't, a sport. I'm not saying I have the answer for the mystery, but I'm going to make an attempt.
Let's get the sports that have no reason to be debate out of the way first. Sports like football, rugby, lacrosse and hockey are sports. It may seem a bit barbaric, but those four have point systems and one team can determine whether the other team gets points or not.
Basketball, baseball, volleyball, softball, tennis, soccer and cricket are less brutal than the previous four sports, but that is not a reason for them to be called less of a sport.
There is a next level of sports. These are the sports that can be debated as sports. I think most of these are sports, but I would be willing to hear people's arguments on them. Golf is a debatable. The course is the opponent directly dealing with the golfer.
Anyone can go out and play golf on the same course as professional golfers and shoot a better score - not everyone can suit up with the Celtics and win a title. But I bet the Knicks would take some playground players. That's neither here nor there.
Swimming and track are hard for me. I love watching both - but only every four years - even though your opponent has no bearing on your time. He/She cannot get in your lane to stop you from finishing at a certain time without being disqualified. This may make some athletes on this campus irate, but diving and field events are not sports.
With that said, cheerleading, NASCAR, horse racing and chessboxing are not sports either. The cars and the horses do the work in NASCAR and on the track. That's not saying the people who drive and jockey the cars and horses are not talented. Those things just aren't sports.
What'd you say? Oh, just because they're on ESPN makes them sports. Poker is on ESPN. Just because something is entertaining does not make it a sport.
Mixed Martial Arts, Karate, boxing and wrestling are sports, but I consider them arts within sports. I'm not talking about Hulk Hogan's wrestling. I'm talking Oklahoma State, Iowa wrestling.
You can take a boxer and put him on a field or court and he could do what other athletes do, but not with the same production. It's hard to take an athlete and put them into a ring or the octagon and have them know the different disciplines of fighting.
Any of us can fight in the street, at school or after a long night at Goober's, but it takes skill to box. The dilemma, or whatever you'd like to call it, over what is a sport may never be fixed, but I have a feeling I have just made more athletes on this campus a little more angry with me.
The End.