if Pool is a sport, then define "sport'

If it makes you guys feel better about yourselves believing you're playing a sport good for you but don't accidentally look in the mirror tomorrow and see that beer gut hanging over your pants. I can play pool all day everyday and gain weight. You should have to break a sweat at least, and not from pressure, to be a sport IMO.

As far as it being mentally demanding, shuffleboard could be mentally demanding if I played it for 14 hours everyday and had goals set. It takes good coordination as well.

You also shouldn't be able to be competitive over the age of 50 in a professional sport. Tom Watson almost winning a British Open over the age of 60 or Efren winning the biggest payday in pool(IPT) over age of 50 wouldn't happen in Tennis, Track and Field or any other sport that requires true athleticism.
 
ccshrimper said:
If it makes you guys feel better about yourselves believing you're playing a sport good for you but don't accidentally look in the mirror tomorrow and see that beer gut hanging over your pants. I can play pool all day everyday and gain weight. You should have to break a sweat at least, and not from pressure, to be a sport IMO.

As far as it being mentally demanding, shuffleboard could be mentally demanding if I played it for 14 hours everyday and had goals set. It takes good coordination as well.

You also shouldn't be able to be competitive over the age of 50 in a professional sport. Tom Watson almost winning a British Open over the age of 60 or Efren winning the biggest payday in pool(IPT) over age of 50 wouldn't happen in Tennis, Track and Field or any other sport that requires true athleticism.
Click to expand...

My definitions of words are not dependent on my "feelings". The words mean the same thing regardless of what I want or how it makes me feel. Perhaps you believe it works differently for you.

I see that you believe that there should be a *high* level of physical exertion required to consider a game a sport. That's fine. You have a right to your opinion.

KMRUNOUT
 
ccshrimper said:
If it makes you guys feel better about yourselves believing you're playing a sport good for you but don't accidentally look in the mirror tomorrow and see that beer gut hanging over your pants. I can play pool all day everyday and gain weight. You should have to break a sweat at least, and not from pressure, to be a sport IMO.

As far as it being mentally demanding, shuffleboard could be mentally demanding if I played it for 14 hours everyday and had goals set. It takes good coordination as well.

You also shouldn't be able to be competitive over the age of 50 in a professional sport. Tom Watson almost winning a British Open over the age of 60 or Efren winning the biggest payday in pool(IPT) over age of 50 wouldn't happen in Tennis, Track and Field or any other sport that requires true athleticism.
Click to expand...

But that should tell you the type of strength these guys have. If you go to Dirby and get Efren in the action room, he gets stronger each day. Even at his age he still has one of the strongest strokes in the world. I can't understand it either. It's pretty fascinating to look at Efren, and think he can deliver X amount of strokes and walk around scratching his head and goofing around. So while I can only do so much before falling over, there are guys that have this particular "power" that comes from playing pool.
 
KMRUNOUT said:
My definitions of words are not dependent on my "feelings". The words mean the same thing regardless of what I want or how it makes me feel. Perhaps you believe it works differently for you.

I see that you believe that there should be a *high* level of physical exertion required to consider a game a sport. That's fine. You have a right to your opinion.

KMRUNOUT
Click to expand...

Huh? I guess you're going by a dictionary's definition of a sport and that's fine. But, is anyone playing a sport an athlete then? If curdling, pool, darts, bowling, shuffleboard etc... are sports I'd say athletes are not required. I'll concede that by definition pool could be a sport but pool players are the farthest thing from being an athlete IMO.
 
ccshrimper said:
Huh? I guess you're going by a dictionary's definition of a sport and that's fine. But, is anyone playing a sport an athlete then? If curdling, pool, darts, bowling, shuffleboard etc... are sports I'd say athletes are not required. I'll concede that by definition pool could be a sport but pool players are the farthest thing from being an athlete IMO.
Click to expand...

You were implying that the reason some on here "want" to call pool a sport is to make themselves feel better. I have no concern whether pool is a sport or not. Whichever it is is fine with me. However, if you ask me what the word "sport" means, and if pool falls into that category, I will (and have) given my view on the subject. My definition of a sport does not come from the dictionary, but I doubt the dictionary definition is far off. My point was that how I "feel" about it has nothing to do with it.

Your point about the distinction between athletes and sports is a good one. As another poster said, various sports require a range of athleticism. For example, shooting (not biathalon) is pretty low on the athleticism scale. Do those guys even move at all? Still I think it should be classified as a sport. Pool involves more athleticism, but not as much as golf. Golf surely involves nowhere near the athleticism of baseball or hockey. The point is, I agree with you completely that pool players are not very athletic (by definition). The athletic requirements of pool are relatively very low.

So I think you have helped to distinguish between the questions of what is or isn't a sport, and which sports require a high level of athleticism.

I think at this point we might begin saying the same thing?

Anyway, glad for the discussion,

KMRUNOUT

PS: the dictionary is where we go to find out what words mean, not what we wish they mean.
 
ccshrimper said:
If it makes you guys feel better about yourselves believing you're playing a sport good for you but don't accidentally look in the mirror tomorrow and see that beer gut hanging over your pants. I can play pool all day everyday and gain weight. You should have to break a sweat at least, and not from pressure, to be a sport IMO.

As far as it being mentally demanding, shuffleboard could be mentally demanding if I played it for 14 hours everyday and had goals set. It takes good coordination as well.

You also shouldn't be able to be competitive over the age of 50 in a professional sport. Tom Watson almost winning a British Open over the age of 60 or Efren winning the biggest payday in pool(IPT) over age of 50 wouldn't happen in Tennis, Track and Field or any other sport that requires true athleticism.
Click to expand...

My beer gut has never been close to the gut of a Sumo wrestler.

http://www.fhm.com.ph/incoming/fhm-feature/article/7776

http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/836365-bernard-hopkins-is-the-oldest-boxing-champion-ever

Scientifically, age is just a number. Scientists are closing in on what makes people's bodies break down and they are learning how to stop or slow it down significantly. In general people understand that diet and exercise play a large part in how fit a person is. Sloth tends to wear people out more than exercise.

Playing pool is exercise. It requires walking, bending, stretching and muscle use. It requires keen eyesight and quick mental judgement. It requires steady nerves. It takes muscular activity to be still on purpose.

And it is impossible to play pool all day every day and gain weight unless you are taking in more calories than you are expending. You can gain weight in any sport by doing the same thing. Also you do not have to sweat to lose weight. It is possible to do physical actions without "breaking a sweat".

However, again to quote Mr. Eberle, to those who can't play (at a high enough level) pool will always be a game. Those who can know it is a sport as well as a game.
 
hmmm

ccshrimper said:
If it makes you guys feel better about yourselves believing you're playing a sport good for you but don't accidentally look in the mirror tomorrow and see that beer gut hanging over your pants. I can play pool all day everyday and gain weight. You should have to break a sweat at least, and not from pressure, to be a sport IMO.

As far as it being mentally demanding, shuffleboard could be mentally demanding if I played it for 14 hours everyday and had goals set. It takes good coordination as well.

You also shouldn't be able to be competitive over the age of 50 in a professional sport. Tom Watson almost winning a British Open over the age of 60 or Efren winning the biggest payday in pool(IPT) over age of 50 wouldn't happen in Tennis, Track and Field or any other sport that requires true athleticism.
Click to expand...

It doesn't make anyone feel better.... we know it is not a very athletic sport, and I've heard nobody call themselves athletes here. You are taking this way to personal.. I'm assuming you are a washed up jock (like the rest of us) from high school and/or college and take it as in insult that pool is a sport.

Heck, I played baseball and football in HS. I was all of 130 pounds, but it didn't make me anyless of a player than the guys that weighed 200.... yeah, it hurt more when I got hit, but as a free safety, I just had to fly around the field and hit folks when they weren't looking. I never hit a homerun in HS or College, but could steal bases at will. Does that make me less of a baseball player than someone that was stronger and could hit homeruns??

If you wanna argue, call the IOC and tell the "experts" they are wrong. Because we are not wrong, you are just being stubborn on a pretty obvious and clearly documented subject that billiards is in fact a sport.

I'm kinda pissed I didn't take up curling as a kid as a way to "sneak" into the Olympics....geez, "I coulda been sombody, I coulda been a contender"
 
Last edited:
ChicagoRJ said:
It doesn't make anyone feel better.... we know it is not a very athletic sport, and I've heard nobody call themselves athletes here. You are taking this way to personal.. I'm assuming you are a washed up jock (like the rest of us) from high school and/or college and take it as in insult that pool is a sport.

Heck, I played baseball and football in HS. I was all of 130 pounds, but it didn't make me anyless of a player than the guys that weighed 200.... yeah, it hurt more when I got hit, but as a free safety, I just had to fly around the field and hit folks when they weren't looking.

If you wanna argue, call the IOC and tell the "experts" they are wrong. Because we are not wrong, you are just being stubborn on a pretty obvious and clearly documented subject the billiards is in fact a sport.

I'm kinda pissed I didn't take up curling as a kid as a way to "sneak" into the Olympics....geez, "I coulda been sombody, I coulda been a contender"
Click to expand...

Al Bundy is my hero.
 
Duh?

Put it this way, if there was REAL money in pool, not the pennys that players get today, then the real athletes would come out and play this SPORT. It takes muscle memory, and a mental focus under presure just like EVERYOTHER SPORT.
 
hmmm

UGETTHE6 said:
Put it this way, if there was REAL money in pool, not the pennys that players get today, then the real athletes would come out and play this SPORT. It takes muscle memory, and a mental focus under presure just like EVERYOTHER SPORT.
Click to expand...

Kudos Sir !!

And for the record, Earl is not only a scratch golfer, but a heck of a tennis player, and runs 5 miles every day, not bad for a non-athlete !!
 
cleary said:
Same reason not everyone can play piano at a high level. Playing piano is also not a sport.
Click to expand...

It be a concert if expert instrumentalists congregate. They usually work together to muse an audience. Although possible, contests between two instrumentalists is very rare, so it wouldn't attract people looking to be entertained by a sportive event.
 
Roadie said:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=piano+competitions

http://www.hhipc.org/
Click to expand...

I looked it over and arrived at the conclusion that the competitions have different traits. Of the set, one is more like a showcase of talent, with set criteria, to be judge by those that are well adapt to analyze who meets the criteria(s).

My point wasn't that there isn't many piano competitions worldwide. I'm going crazy.....POOL ISN"T A SPORT! What the hell is wrong with you people?

It's a sport because....
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by risky biz
I didn't notice anyone saying that pro football players aren't athletic so I'm not sure why you're wandering off in that direction.

As to your other "point"- battering someone half your weight isn't a test of strength. It's a test of weight. If I remember correctly, lighter Olympic lifters lift almost twice as much as heavier Olympic lifters as a ratio of body weight to lift weight. It can be looked up.

KMRUNOUT said:
Perhaps you haven't read the whole thread, but I figured you would have at least read your own post, #71 in the thread:
Click to expand...

Quote:
Originally Posted by risky biz
A 300 lb. lineman can bench press 400 lbs. Sorry, but that isn't strong. Smaller Olympic weightlifters lift twice as much in terms of strength to weight as large Olympic weightlifters. The bigger athletes are lesser athletes. In fact, the bigger ones are actually weak.

Getting back to the 300 lb. lineman he slams himself into another 300 lb. lineman. That's sport or athleticism? Not really.

KMRUNOUT said:
I was specifically addressing this idea. I didn't "wander" anywhere. Just following you :smile
Click to expand...

It's a big jump from a specific act of a specfic position player to **ALL** football players. It's a big enough jump to be athletic. Nor did I say that even a lineman couldn't be athletic in other ways. This is how threads go down the drain- wandering.

KMRUNOUT said:
Regarding your assertion about light strong guys vs. heavy strong guys: One of them is stronger. Strength is the *measure* of the ability to generate force. The guy who can lift 500 lbs is stonger than the guy who can lift 400 lbs. Their own weight is entirely irrelevant, unless you happen to be talking about *strength per pound of body weight*. That is a different thing. Referring to *any* Olympic weightlifter as "weak" sounds absolutely absurd to me.

KMRUNOUT
Click to expand...

The lighter weightlifters are stronger. The Olympic committee agrees with me. You agree with yourself. Fine.
 
risky biz said:
The lighter weightlifters are stronger. The Olympic committee agrees with me. You agree with yourself. Fine.
Click to expand...

As long as the lighter weightlifter matched the absolute weight lifted by the heavier guy. Otherwise no, they are not.


Your post is worded in a misleading way. I think both of you actually agree you are just splitting hairs.
 
cleary said:
Same reason not everyone can play piano at a high level. Playing piano is also not a sport.
Click to expand...

Piano is one of the highest forms of sport- it is an art. In the same manner, pool approaches artfulness. Sport is unnecessary to human survival but is necessary to living well and enjoyably.

In this respect it might be useful to look at where the word "sport" itself came from:

ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English sporte, short for disporte, from Old French desport, pleasure, from desporter, to divert ; see dispor
-American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
 
Spider1 said:
As long as the lighter weightlifter matched the absolute weight lifted by the heavier guy. Otherwise no, they are not.


Your post is worded in a misleading way. I think both of you actually agree you are just splitting hairs.
Click to expand...

If we both disagree with you then you would be the one who is most wrong.
 
If three six-packs of beer get you more drunk than one shot of 80 - 86 proof liquor does that make beer the stronger drink?

Not on planet Earth.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top