if Pool is a sport, then define "sport'

There are very few pool or golf players who could play a real sport that requires any test of strength, speed or quickness. They are not athletes, look at Darren Clarke, Miz, Buddy etc... If guys like this can win, it's not a sport sorry.

I'd bet there's not 5 guys on the golf tour who could run a 4.5 sec 40 or bench 400 lbs(which I know would be counterproductive in golf) but there's hundreds in football. I'd bet there's less than 20 golfers who can dunk a basketball but almost all NBA or even college players can.

On the flipside which can't be proven, I'd bet many professional athletes could have been pro golfers or pool players if they'd dedicated as much time to it as the pros. If you really think you're an athlete because you play pool, go to your local college and try out the wrestling team. Go to the track and run against the women's track team and see how you like it.
 
ccshrimper said:
There are very few pool or golf players who could play a real sport that requires any test of strength, speed or quickness. They are not athletes, look at Darren Clarke, Miz, Buddy etc... If guys like this can win, it's not a sport sorry.

I'd bet there's not 5 guys on the golf tour who could run a 4.5 sec 40 or bench 400 lbs(which I know would be counterproductive in golf) but there's hundreds in football. I'd bet there's less than 20 golfers who can dunk a basketball but almost all NBA or even college players can.

On the flipside which can't be proven, I'd bet many professional athletes could have been pro golfers or pool players if they'd dedicated as much time to it as the pros. If you really think you're an athlete because you play pool, go to your local college and try out the wrestling team. Go to the track and run against the women's track team and see how you like it.
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I do not know many soccer players or hockey players that could bench 400lbs either, so are they not athletes? Is soccer and hockey a sport?
 
I have been a golf professional in my time, so I link Pool & Golf in similar ways. You have the Drive in Golf & the Break in Pool, lots of muscle groups used in those activities. You have the Putt in Golf & the Stroke in Pool, requires nerves of steel & the touch of a master musician, not to mention the knowledge required to fade the terrain. Trees are almost like balls, but you can hit a ball through a tree, because it is 80% air.

I was an All Star Catcher, a good Quarterback but too small. Football & Baseball are games, but in the precision activity department, they don't compare.

I care not what you call Pocket Billiards, I just know it's tough to master, in any facet (breaking, regular play, the differences between 9-Ball, 8-Ball, 10-Ball, One Pocket, Banks, 3 Cushion & Snooker. No One dominates pocket Billiards like the late great Tiger Woods dominated golf.

I would like to see Pocket Billiards, 3 Cushion Billiards & Snooker added to the Olympics. If Shooting, Archery & Curling are great Olympic "GAMES", surely the Game of Pool should be included.
 
ccshrimper said:
There are very few pool or golf players who could play a real sport that requires any test of strength, speed or quickness. They are not athletes, look at Darren Clarke, Miz, Buddy etc... If guys like this can win, it's not a sport sorry.

I'd bet there's not 5 guys on the golf tour who could run a 4.5 sec 40 or bench 400 lbs(which I know would be counterproductive in golf) but there's hundreds in football. I'd bet there's less than 20 golfers who can dunk a basketball but almost all NBA or even college players can.

On the flipside which can't be proven, I'd bet many professional athletes could have been pro golfers or pool players if they'd dedicated as much time to it as the pros. If you really think you're an athlete because you play pool, go to your local college and try out the wrestling team. Go to the track and run against the women's track team and see how you like it.
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One true story, and one point...

Cecil Tugwell, a great player a while back, I guess was a VERY good diver. I came across a story about him. I guess he didn't dive all that much, but when he would dive people would just watch in awe, like real diving people. I think many great pool players could have been very good athletes.

It's to bad we will never find out the truth about this, I would like to know if i'm right or wrong, but i'd bet anything if you could somehow gather up all the Michael Phelps and Carl Lewises that none of them could shoot as straight as Efren no matter how much they trained. It's fine to disagree, but that's what I think.

I think the thoughts on strength and physicality of athletes are just subjective. If bowling and badmitton just happend to be the worlds most popular sports, and most others took a back seat, well then wouldn't we have a different concept of what a "true athlete" is? Of course we would.
 
ccshrimper said:
They can run a 4.5 sec 40 yd dash though. Maybe you should read my whole post.
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Lol, you are measuring a sport based on strength. There are other forms of strength besides how much someone can lift. The biggest tennis players are not necessarily the ones that hit the ball the hardest. There are other factors to consider like good fundamentals, stamina and hand-eye coordination. All of which can be applied to pool players. That's my point. Hope this is simplified enough for you.
 
ccshrimper said:
There are very few pool or golf players who could play a real sport that requires any test of strength, speed or quickness. They are not athletes, look at Darren Clarke, Miz, Buddy etc... If guys like this can win, it's not a sport sorry.

I'd bet there's not 5 guys on the golf tour who could run a 4.5 sec 40 or bench 400 lbs(which I know would be counterproductive in golf) but there's hundreds in football. I'd bet there's less than 20 golfers who can dunk a basketball but almost all NBA or even college players can.

On the flipside which can't be proven, I'd bet many professional athletes could have been pro golfers or pool players if they'd dedicated as much time to it as the pros. If you really think you're an athlete because you play pool, go to your local college and try out the wrestling team. Go to the track and run against the women's track team and see how you like it.
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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.

Do quarterbacks bench 400 lbs? If not, I guess they're not athletes by your strength = athlete definition?

How many football players can dunk a basketball? Not that many even as tall as they are.

Your definition is almost as misthought as the perspiration = athlete definition.

Ever try to teach a football player to play pool? Good luck.
 
8&snap said:
Everthing is a game(life is a game) the sports are the people that play the games,example" The Olympic Games"
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yes,you got it.
pool is a game played by a sport.
golf is a game played by a sport.
football is a game played played by a sport.
sportsman will get involved in many events.

bill
 
When I play basketball, it's a game. When the pros paly it, it's a sport. When most people play Scrabble it's a game, when the top level players play it, it's a sport. Same thing for chess. Your brain requires tons of nutrients, blood, oxygen, and to focus and think for a few hours at a time, takes as much training as being able to run for 10 miles, or hit someone in the head with your fist.
 
maxeberle said:
Someone is jealous. Don't hate, congratulate!

Pool is a game and a sport, just like the other game/sports. It just does not require much in terms of cardio and speed of the whole body (it does require a speedy stroke sometimes), but fine motor coordination, physical skill, mental toughness... it does. And it is all based around an accurate throwing motion that requires the precise placement and balance of the body. Some people who can't do it call it only a game...
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Well said. The Wikipedia defines a sport as follows:
A sport is an organized, competitive, entertaining, and skillful activity requiring commitment, strategy, and fair play, in which a winner can be defined by objective means. Generally speaking, a sport is a game based in physical athleticism. Activities such as board games and card games are sometimes classified as "mind sports," but strictly speaking "sport" by itself refers to some physical activity. Non-competitive activities may also qualify, for example though jogging or playing catch are usually classified as forms of recreation, they may also be informally called "sports" due to their similarity to competitive games.​

Other dictionaries have similar definitions of what a sport is. Pool is most certainly a sport...and a game too.
 
Beer factor

smashmouth said:
It seems that too many people who participate in competitive, physical, recreational activities become peeved at the idea of their
game being excluded as a sport.

The most important aspect to my definition of a sport is quite simple,



any game requiring the simultaneous attempt of your opponent(s) to prevent your progress...obviously there would be other requirements as that definition alone would qualify Video Games and other such competitions...but that's the gist...




Football, Basketball, Hockey, Soccer, Boxing, Wrestling etc...would constitute classic examples.

These types of games introduce a level of dynamics and psychology that are simply not present elsewhere.

I believe it is very difficult to understand these concepts unless you have played such games at a relatively high level and/or have
studied sporting competitions of many types over many years.

It is also my belief that these games are the most difficult of all requiring overall skill levels which dwarf those skills required to compete in other games, and generally speaking, the participants of which are derived from the deepest talent pools available.

Billiards obviously would not qualify under my definition,

nor would other games which are most often considered sports
such as Track and Field events, Swiw races, Gymnastics, and many more which in my view fall under the category of "competitions" requiring a certain level of athleticism

I welcome all input (except from bowlers)
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If you can drink beer while playing your activity, it's not a sport. Of course there are exceptions. John Daly comes to mind!
 
TASK said:
In my opinion pool is a sport because it requires physical skill. Games, such as chess and poker, require only intellect.
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Ding ding ding....

It took this far into this thread for someone to note the specific difference between a game and a sport. Intellect does NOT need to be present in a sport. It MAY be present, (and often is), but doesn't have to be. On the other hand, physical skill MUST be required. Whether this skill requires fine motor control, and a delicate, accurate touch, or power, endurance, and/or speed...is irrelevant to me.

Ever see the episode of Family Guy where Brian's moron girlfriend calls him up and asks "Brian, how do I know if I'm Jewish?". Brian asks, "Well...are you Jewish?" She replies "No." Brian: "well there you are".

With my definition of a sport, it works out to be this easy to classify. So some examples:

pool, golf, croquet, shuffleboard, football, world's strongest man, pistol shooting: all sports.

chess, poker, scrabble: not sports (games)

One counter example to kill my argument is video games. They certainly require a high level of coordination and physical skill (pressing the right button at the right time, coordinating the hands, etc.) My definition would consider this a sport...but I somehow just can't buy that.

My $0.02

KMRUNOUT
 
KMRUNOUT said:
It took this far into this thread for someone to note the specific difference between a game and a sport. Intellect does NOT need to be present in a sport. It MAY be present, (and often is), but doesn't have to be.
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Define 'intellect'.
 
ccshrimper said:
There are very few pool or golf players who could play a real sport that requires any test of strength, speed or quickness. They are not athletes, look at Darren Clarke, Miz, Buddy etc... If guys like this can win, it's not a sport sorry.
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By this logic, someone physically fit and an "athlete" ought to do even better at pool. You're really comparing apples to oranges. I wouldn't expect the average very fit and skilled pro football player to do especially well playing some other sport at the pro level. Why would we?

ccshrimper said:
On the flipside which can't be proven, I'd bet many professional athletes could have been pro golfers or pool players if they'd dedicated as much time to it as the pros. If you really think you're an athlete because you play pool, go to your local college and try out the wrestling team. Go to the track and run against the women's track team and see how you like it.
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Your getting confused between defining the word "athlete" and defining the word "sport". They are very different things. Also, I'd say there is more than the average helping of speculation in this quote.

KMRUNOUT
 
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