Don't you just hate when....

Switch Kicker · Post by **Switch Kicker** » 14 Nov 2005 10:37

some ass comes up to you and tells you that "hackin' sack" is not a sport? OMG that pisses me off so fucking much. It gives you that feeling that makes you wanna punch a baby...

And then get this. I'm at H2forum.com (Halo 2 forum.), and they're sittin there talking about Rippon, The Ogre twins, Walka, Nakamura, some other really fucking good Halo guys that are famous in the gaming world for their success in halo tournies. Well, i'm reading reading reading, and all of asudden, a guy comes out and startes calling it a sport... Ok, I don't care what fucking definition of sport your throw at me, but playing a fucking video game, (Halo 2) at several tournaments a year, for about 20 grand per tourni, is not a fucking sport... So I simply say, yea, these guys are good, but i would'nt consider it a sport. The dude says, why not? and then it just went down hill from there, escalated and escalated. Pretty soon I've got 50 some people arguing against me and claimng that playinga video game is a sport. My avatar on that site is the same as this one and then they started saying, Halo 2 is sport, and Footbag is not... Only one other guy was helping me on this argument, and he only knew a few tricks, such as a butterfly, (Couldnt' do, but heard of them.).

Alright, here's what isn't a sport IMO.

Golf, car racing, chess, math, baseball, badmitton (SP?)... Ummm.. yea.
None of these sports require above average physical condition.. (except maybe car racing, but a 72 year old can do it, so it can't be too hard.) The only one tiring out in a baseball game is the pitcher...

Footbag can go untill you collapse if you please, constantly jumping in the air, moving your entire body.

Football, none stop running, full contact sport.

Rugby, the most painful sport I can think of, down and in the dirt the whole time.

Soccer, most dangerous sport to play, most injuries in this down and in the dirt sport.

Hockey, i hate it, but I gotta give credit where credit is due, you may think it's nice and cool down on the ice, but it's fucking HOT after a little bit playing...

Basket Ball is the fucking suck, but that is a very high endurance sport.

Is anyone completley with me here? Do you just get pissed when people claim that it' snot a sport? I do.

But yea, I eventually turned the tide by giving them links to videos, and shtuff and i got more votes at the end when I ran a poll. it was like, 60 some percent saying, yes, footbag is a sport, and no, halo playing is not...

junkyardjew · Post by **junkyardjew** » 14 Nov 2005 10:59

A sport is anything you do competitively (whether you're competing against yourself or others doesn't matter). Time trials rubiks cube is a sport.

Golf requires some incredible muscles. If you don't think golf is a sport, you've never woken up unable to lift your arms above your head the morning after a game. If you don't think badminton is a sport, you've never watched a real game. Its faster than tennis because the court is smaller.

Also, if you think car racing "can't be too hard" I'd like to strap you into a small metal oven in an inch thick kevlar jumpsuit and bake you at 96 degrees celcius, and everytime you close your eyes for more than a second, you're dead or on fire - and every time you twitch your hands six milimeters right instead of left, you just hit a cement wall at 250km/hour. Keep that up for three hours and tell me it isn't a sport.

Tsiangkun · Post by **Tsiangkun** » 14 Nov 2005 11:04

Darts is my favorite sport.

It takes so much muscle controll and concentration that just isn't found in any other sport.

Switch Kicker · Post by **Switch Kicker** » 14 Nov 2005 11:13

Golf doesn't require that much muscle. I used to play every sat with my dad, and now it's like, once a month because we don't live together anymore. And it's no where near that physically demanding.

badminton doubles doesn't take much either. I kinda assumed that 1v1 badminton would be around the same as tennis. Bad choice of word, my bad, but I meant doubles.

I know all the physical requirments for racing (not literally.), and through all of that, it still doesn't give off teh impression that it's a sport. And guess what. Being a soldier isn't asport, but it's more physically demanding than any sport or "sport" you can come up with.

And besides, I said that it's in my opinion so please don't jump on my ass about it.

mc · Post by mc » 14 Nov 2005 11:35

Fred, first off, tone it down a bit, second, Jared isn't jumping on your ass. he's disagreeing with you, and if you're going to write something as strongly written as your first post there, you can expect to get some contrasting opinions.

slapdash21 · Post by **slapdash21** » 14 Nov 2005 11:35

the side of me that is reason-based says:
lets do as plato would do and instead of coming up with examples and arguing about those, lets work our way towards a theoretical definition of 'sport' THEN someone else can refine it by proposing examples where the working definition does or doesnt work.

the side of me that is making fun of other people says:
switch...you put forward an opinion...did you not expect people to discuss it? did you expect EVERYONE to immediately just say: 'yes, that is perfectly correct?' wouldnt that be boring? try to understand that if you put forth an opinion that is clearly stupid, people will make fun of it and point out its flaws. just try harder to be less stupid next time. im sure you can do it!

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edit. matt beat me to my point. but i realized i should also start submitting some ideas for an ideal definition of sport. I think sport must involve competition. even if YOU dont compete, it must be capable of competition. i think sport must involve (remember...i may not even agree with this myself, im just trying to further the discussion) the legs. this doesnt agree with some things that people have said already, but i think sport should involve full-body motion.

shredzilla · Post by **shredzilla** » 14 Nov 2005 11:41

Golf is definitely a sport. As well as a leisure activity. The wheel goes round and round......haha

footjoe · Post by **footjoe** » 14 Nov 2005 11:45

a sport is whatever you think to be a sport , those gamers most likly deditcate there lives to the game just like we deditcate our lives to footbag and by saying gaming isnt a sport is saying the people dont have dedication to it. With any activity it takes time and effort even though some might not be as phsyicly demanding as others but you still get the reward of progressing.

Its like music , people have many definitons of what music is and none is wrong its just the way you look at it.

Tsiangkun · Post by **Tsiangkun** » 14 Nov 2005 12:08

Video Game as a Sport checklist.

1) Can it be played head to head -- YES
2) Can it be played competitively -- YES
3) Is the outcome based on chance, or aquired Skills --- Skills
4) Can vegas profit through gambling -- YES

I'd have to say it looks like a sport.

shredzilla · Post by **shredzilla** » 14 Nov 2005 12:39

Yeah, and honestly we shouldn't be complaining about what people consider a sport, although I personally think Xbox Live doesn't count; Our energy should be more focused on promoting OUR sport. It does suck that those kids told Splint that 'hackeysack' wasn't a sport.

He probably could've educated them on why footbaggers consider it a sport. Because there are rules, people play it competitively, and it's a sport that evolved out of the game of hackeysack. I don't know whether or not he did do this, but getting upset at them probably wasn't the best way to promote the sport.

I get people all the time that think I'm playing hackeysack. I educate them in a friendly way, and tell them they can look up what it's all about on footbag.org. They say "Wow, you're really good." I say this is nothing compared to the guys that play it professionally. Then I tell them if they go on footbag.org, they check out my friend Pete Irish who is a 5 time world champion in the sport!

Guest_2 · Post by **Guest_2** » 14 Nov 2005 12:55

I guess Halo is a sport

A really, really nerdy sport

Tsiangkun · Post by **Tsiangkun** » 14 Nov 2005 14:44

A game is a competitive event in which the dominant determinant of the outcome is chance.

A sport is a competitive event in which the dominant determinant of the outcome is skill.

Spawn · Post by **Spawn** » 14 Nov 2005 14:56

I argee with what you're saying, i hate it when people say footbag is not a sport. but dont take it out on Halo 2...

fidottio · Post by **fidottio** » 14 Nov 2005 16:42

TheVindicator wrote:I guess Halo is a sport

A really, really nerdy sport

At least video gamers don't wear short shorts.

Anyways, whoever says gaming isn't a sport obviously knows nothing about the Korean lifestyle. Starcraft anyone? Maybe it will help if you first clearly define the difference between a sport and sport.

Edit: English sucks

Pascal · Post by **Pascal** » 15 Nov 2005 09:46

I feel like I get involved in the debate about sports all the time (on a side note, I also seem to get involved in debates about what constitutes a machine). I often take different sides because in the end, the debate is pretty pointless. We should all just go out and have fun.

However, it seems to me as though sport requires physical exertion:

From the The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
"An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively."

From The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth edition:
"athletic games or tests of skill undertaken primarily for the diversion of those who take part or those who observe them. The range is great; usually, however, the term is restricted to any play, pastime, exercise, game, or contest performed under given rules, indoors or outdoors, on an individual or a team basis, with or without competition, but requiring skill and some form of physical exertion."

Most of the things people argue about clearly involve skill, so what constitutes physical exertion?

WordNet defines physical exertion as "the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit"

This is a broad definition and not very helpful.

So basically, the way I see it, people need to argue about whether video games, golf, darts, footbag etc require physical exertion. Maybe this is relative to the person playing them. I exert myself physically when playing golf and footbag, but not video games and darts, even though those activities involve mental exertion on my part.

Outsider · Post by **Outsider** » 15 Nov 2005 09:52

What about Dance Dance Revolution? That takes some physical skills AND exertion. Its still a video game, isn't it?

Pascal · Post by **Pascal** » 15 Nov 2005 10:00

For sure! I've actually never tried Dance Dance Revolution... I expect I'd be pretty bad at it.

Slowsis · Post by **Slowsis** » 15 Nov 2005 12:35

I skool Dance Dance Revolution!!!!

junkyardjew · Post by **junkyardjew** » 15 Nov 2005 15:03

The thing about exertion is that anything requiring sufficient concentration is exhausting. I used to have foosball table in my house, and I've become profficient enough that foosball is a serious battle. Generally a game can last more than ten minutes, and I'm sweating and full of endorphins by the end. I don't play first person shooter video games but I bet the experience is something similar. Just moving your wrists in a precise and controlled fashion can be really taxing on your body.

I like this definition

A game is a competitive event in which the dominant determinant of the outcome is chance.

A sport is a competitive event in which the dominant determinant of the outcome is skill

This puts craps in the game category and poker in the sport category, which is exactly how I think it should be.

james_dean · Post by **james_dean** » 15 Nov 2005 17:17

I think the cultural use of a word is the more correct definition to use, rather than a dictionary. Sport has grown to encompass such things as professional gaming and poker.