xX-Wizard-Xx
Well-known member
Hunting = Sport
Fishing = Sport
A (hopefully) more analytical approach re: Is pool a sport?
- Thread starter Clusterbuster
- Start date
Fishing = Sport
It's a Gorst, damn it!
I've always used the same reasoning in discussions like this. I had to draw a hard line somewhere, and it all came down to real-time opponent influence. Golf had always been considered a sport to me until I made this distinction. Pool is a wonderful game.
If pool is a sport does that mean The Miz was a professional athlete?
Hey, I resemble that remark!
This is one of those topics where people are simply hard fast in their own personal belief system. While divers are highly skilled and undoubtedly athletes in their own right, they are no different than figure skaters. They perform a predetermined routine and are judged on how well someone thinks they did.
They don't even compete against other divers. The compete against the bias within a judges head.
Now if the other divers were given paint ball guns and were allowed to let loose on the poor diver trying to score. Then you'd have something...lol
I think anyone who dedicates significant effort into developing their bodies and skills for sake of competition wants to have their chosen activity considered a sport. That doesn't make it one. At least to some.
Someone literally always splits this hair...lol. The reality is, your opponent is sitting in a chair watching you decide what you want to do and can not do anything to force you into a decision. Now if he/she could get out of that chair and tackle you, then you'd have a sport...
^^^this is the kind of definition can be spun into making anything a sport. Your grandmother is fighting friction and air pressure over the same piece of yarn she is using to weave into a Xmas sweater. <- sport?
apologies, but that the weakest definition possible. I learnt to drink my coffee efficiently with my left hand when I took a desk job because I wanted my right to use my computer's mouse. Is that a sport..? I mean, drinking coffee is an activity and I had to train my left arm to do it well. Hell it even has some motor skills involved...lol. Maybe I can get a spot on ESPN right after Cornhole.
Exactly what I was struggling to say.
Again, those who dedicate themselves in some form of whatever with the goal to out perform someone else want the distinction of calling the activity a "sport". While I can respect that desire for recognition. It doesn't mean it's deserving. "Competition" is not a synonym for sport.
I made what I feel is a dividing line between gameplaying and athletic sport. If there's no dividing line, then Bridge and Cribbage are sports. That doesn't work for me.
ACL
Well-known member
Respectfully, to very few.
So, in your mind, anything that an athlete is judged by someone else (figure skating, diving, gymnastics), that is competing against a clock (track, swimming) or is shooting a target (archery, rifle) is not considered a sport and not competing against anyone. Using that logic, most of the competitions in the Olympics (summer and winter) would be eliminated. That's a myopic point of view.
Have you ever had this debate with an athlete who competes in those sports? And since you don't consider them sports, what do you categorize them as?
And I’ve come so close to doing just that!
Everyone has opinions. Not saying my particular one is right. I'm just stating it. There's lots of extremely popular points of view on this planet I think are utter nonsense. I don't need to convince or convert anyone.
I never said they weren't competing. I said they are not partaking in a sport. Competing not does = sport. Sport is a form of competition.
...and for sake of clarity. Yes, I'm saying the vast amount of competitions held during the various Olympics are not sports.
Yep, I have discussed this with those who you believe take part in sports, and it's real entertaining....lol. Had this very discussion with an Triple Jump Olympic hopeful and coach.
Athletes... Would you call them "sporters" or something...? You can be an athlete and not take part in a sport.
Last edited:
If you are able to drink a beer and have a smoke while playing, it’s a game.
I've been working on a pool game for blind people.
It would be like playing chess positions, without having the pieces in front of you.
The pool surface is a coordinate grid. However to communicate the table layout is where I have room for improvement.
Has anyone else tried to develop a system of describing the pool table for blind people?
It would test a person's mastery of collisions.
If you haven't been studying for the Billiard Aptitude Test, then this proposed system will be fundamental to your progress. Learn the mental game first, before developing bad banger habits.
It would be like playing chess positions, without having the pieces in front of you.
The pool surface is a coordinate grid. However to communicate the table layout is where I have room for improvement.
Has anyone else tried to develop a system of describing the pool table for blind people?
It would test a person's mastery of collisions.
If you haven't been studying for the Billiard Aptitude Test, then this proposed system will be fundamental to your progress. Learn the mental game first, before developing bad banger habits.
Let me preface by saying that I have no dog in this fight, I don't care if pool is considered a sport or a game. That criteria would make bowling, golf, auto racing, arm wrestling, archery, fishing, hunting, and many more activities games.
ACL
Well-known member
Yeah, not even gonna try to change your mind. lol
I bet that conversation was quite heated. lol I would have loved to have heard it.
I meant what do you call the sports that you don't consider sports, not the athletes. lol
If you can find others to compete in opposite hand coffee drinking and are one of the best at it, then yes I'd call it a sport.
There are a lot of individual sports and team sports, but both are sports. There are athletic sports and non-athletic sports. Skiing is very hard, don't think anyone would not call it a sport, lots of training and physical ability needed, but the opponent is not throwing things at your while you are on the hill.
The key to sport in my mind is competing against someone else to be better than them and dedicating research, learning and training in the field. You don't even need to be in the same country to compete at a sport against someone, you can time an activity or get it rated no matter where the competition is. It's not how hard it is physically, it's not how popular it is, it's not how much you get paid to do it, it's simply dedication to do something better than others and training for that. Coding a program at work is not a sport, but you stick 5 guys in a room with computers and tell them they each have an hour to write the shortest program to do a thing, well you just created a sport.
Last edited:
I think if you view a sport as something one trains for and strives to be good at, it will be a much cleaner definition than just "opponents". Otherwise, you are saying something super physical and tough like skiing is not a "sport", nor is the 100m dash, swimming, or many other similar things, all of which take years and years of training and dedication, are stressful on the body and get millions of dollars put into research on techniques and technology.
A Sport is the overall thing you do that you train for.
A Game is a single thing you do in that sport. Or if we need to divide something frivolous and recreational to something dedicated then we can say amateurs play games while the pros play sports. The 4 guys trying to get laid at the bar 7 footer taking 5 minutes per shot are playing a game, the two guys at the 9 footer playing one pocket after 20 years of practice are playing a sport.
So Baseball is a sport, but a single occurrence of that is a "game of baseball". Now follows Pool is a sport, and a single race to 7 is a "game of pool".