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What does it take to be called a sport?

Posted Monday, August 17, 2009, at 8:47 PM
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Here is a question that I have been pondering for the longest time. What does something have to do or involved to be considered a sport?

Does it need to have a certain amount of athleticism or does it have to involve a ball? Does it need to have contact to be considered a sport? Or does simply have to appear on the ESPN ticker or does it need to be recognized by the Olympic committee to be considered a sport. I mean come on, curling is an Olympic sport and I don't think involves any of those traits I just mentioned.

For me to consider something a sport, it has to have a competitive nature and endure some kind of physical stress. That's just my opinion, but what is yours Putnam County? What do you think something has to posses to be considered a sport?

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What does it take to be a sportswriter? Obviously, you do no know because your idiotic ramblings are that of a 4 year old.

-- Posted by jaredscousin on Mon, Aug 17, 2009, at 10:39 PM

jaredscousin:

What did Dan ever do to you? You can disagree with his opinions, but to just attack him, that's not very cool.

-- Posted by cloverfan on Tue, Aug 18, 2009, at 8:17 AM

I read this on a website once, "An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and undertaken competitively." It sounds good although physical and exertion could be hard to judge.

I feel that a sport requires athletic skill, strength training, a clear set of rules while competing against an opponent.

The Olympic sports aren't the only sports and still changes every now and then.

An interesting site: http://www.sportnonsport.com/sport.htm

-- Posted by indtonyc on Wed, Aug 19, 2009, at 1:22 PM

In my humble opinion, an endeavor must be inherently life threatening to be a considered a sport.

Here's my acid test:

If it's a game or a match, then it is not a sport.

AND / OR

Any activity in which children normally partake is not a sport.

For instance, baseball, basketball, and football are games. Chess is a match. None of these are a Sport. In addition children play these.

So what do I consider a sport?

Auto Racing -- I know children race go carts, but adults drive race cars. Big difference here.