OT: Sport or not a sport? (ie why the Olympics suck)

[Shaun Wallace]

LOL, very true and bloody annoying But takes a lot of skill when you see 2 players that good!
 
Archery events held at the Olympics
There are four archery events held at the Olympics: Men's Individual, Women's Individual, Men's Team and Women's Team. Archers used to shoot a double FITA round of 288 total arrows, with the championship decided by the highest total score. The format was changed to head-to-head elimination for the top 64 competitors beginning with the 1992 Olympics.
Individual Competition

• The format of the men's and women's individual competition is the same and consists of a ranking round followed by the FITA Olympics round.
• In the ranking round, archers shoot 72 arrows at a target 70 meters (229 feet, 8 inches) away in 12 ends of six arrows each. A perfect score is 720.
• The same set of shots is used to seed teams for the team competitions.
• The FITA Olympic round is divided into the elimination round and the finals round.
• The 64 competitors, seeded from the ranking round, advance to the elimination round, a single-elimination, head-to-head style of competition (seed No. 64 vs. seed No. 1, 63 vs. 2, etc).
• Six ends of three arrows -- for a total of 18 -- are shot at a target 70 meters away with a 40-second time limit per arrow.
• Winners of each match move on to the next round.
  The finals round is held when the field has been narrowed to eight archers.
• It begins with the quarterfinals and continues with the semifinals and final.
• In the semifinal and final rounds, archers shoot four ends of three arrows each -- for a total of 12 -- with a 40-second time limit per arrow.
• The losers of the semifinals shoot in the bronze medal match and the two winners shoot in the gold medal final. 3

300 feet is the average length of a football field (soccer for the US) so shooting 229 feet, 8inches (with NO optics) for a perfect score at center of target (4.8 inches) would be, as has been said both mentally and physically challenging!
 
[*]The scoring system is based on a 10-ring target.
[*]Each section of the target is worth from one to 10 points, with 10 being the best.
[*]Arrows on the dividing lines are given the higher score and deflections score where they land.
[*]Arrows that bounce off the target or pass through are also counted.
[*]The target face is set 70 meters (229 feet, 8 inches) from the shooting line and the
center gold of the target is set 130 centimeters (4 feet, 3 inches) above the ground.
[*]The target is usually made of paper and has a diameter of 122 centimeters (4 feet).
[*]The target is divided into five colored rings and each ring is divided in half.
[*]The width of each color zone is 12.2 (4.8 inches) centimeters and the width of each scoring zone -- half of a color zone -- is 6.1 (2.4 inches) centimeters.

 
Sulla
 

[sysrkm]

I think the first red flag waving was this guy not having a TV for almost 30 years.
Second, if you're going to be critical, I think you should at least have a background from which to criticize. So what 'sports' have you played, or THINK you've played.

Since I'm being critical, I'll list the ones that I've played and for how long

Football - sandlot, then junior high 1 year, high school 2 years
Baseball - little league for 5 years into junior high
Rugby - 1 season, post high school
Indoor soccer - 3 seasons, last was 5 years ago
Ice Hockey - 35 years, still play in tournaments now

Where I took offense the most to your post was you implication that Ice Hockey is not a sport. I know better.

So, what have you played that you can pass judgement on what is and is not a sport?

sysrkm aka Rob

[JudgeDredd]

Easy up Rob...read his post and you'll see the humour that was therein.

Besides...why would the red flag be waving at the fact he''s not watched TV for over 25 years? I think in this day and age, where TV is full of the proverbial, that's not only refreshing that someone can do this, but shows character. Gosh...I wonder what he could do with all that spare time...mmm...educate himself perhaps? Whilst the rest of us rot in front of what is really an electronic advertisement board?
 
I bow to his 25 years without TV.

[sysrkm]

Hi Judge,

I'll grant you have a point: I can be a bit defensive where my favorite sport (Ice Hockey) is involved.
In regards to the TV watching, the only 'live' TV is news, otherwise I watch very few programs, save for some motorsports (there's that NASTY word again...) and a lot of the Military Channels.
The rest of my time is either spent at work, or as you said, educating myself, in this case, for a new job.

I'll re-read the post and see if I can find the humor you did, Judge. I could use some laughs today.

Regards,

syskm aka Rob

[JudgeDredd]

Well I read the humour in it, but I can cut people some slack if "their" sport is mentioned.

He didn't mention "couch potato", so I had no reason to rant back [:'(]

[bradfordkay]

To me, the question of sport or not a sport is answered by how the winner of the activity is declared.

If the winner is chosen objectively (i.e., the first across the finish line, the one who scores the most goals, who jumps the highest or farthest, etc) then it a sport.

If the winner is chosen subjectively (judged on merit in the eyes of the officials) it is an athletic activity but not a sport in my opinion.

Thus auto racing is a sport, but gymnastics and ice skating are athletic activities...

Edit: that's figure skating. Speed skating is obviously a sport by my definition.

[andym]

I think we need to invent new games.The present ones are a bit boring.Maybe a soccer ball could have a timed explosive in it?Or put a few sharks in the swimming pool?a 500 yard dash across a minefield?Use the Javelin to play "spear the Squirrell"?Use the shot putt to see hoe many landmines you can set off?put an offcenter weight i the basketball?And have real sharp swords for fencing,be a hell of a lot more interesting!

[hueglin]

Perhaps it would be better to provide a definition of what a sport is before deciding what fits into the category. Otherwise it just sounds like a list of personal biases.

[Sarge]

Baseball out 2012

What gets coverage and acceptance in the Olympic games has NOTHING to do with athletics, your only kidding yourself thinking otherwise.

officials who felt they were too American for the world sports stage.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/8504326/site/21683474/

[Hertston]

The dictionary only requires 'physical exertion' of some sort. As far as I can see that includes all of those listed.

The Olympic sports I have an 'issue' with are those that, while undeniably sports, simply don't represent the pinnacle of that sport - which the Olympics always should be. The best examples are soccer and tennis... which player would trade a World Cup medal or Wimbledon win for an Olympic win?

And the one that really gets my goat up.. they are trying to get golf into 2016. Not amateur golf, mark you, which would actually make a lot of sense (golf, with boxing, being about the only sports left with a clear amateur and professional division) but professionals. Same as above.. would anyone trade an Open or Masters win for Olympic gold? Would they hell.. well, maybe Tiger, but only because he won everything else on multiple occasions anyway.

[ANZAC_Tack]

i dead set love that skying and shooting stuff, straight from finland in 1939! and i could see the germans doing it well in 1944!. its a great combination of things i love,but i cant do often as i have to drive 8 hours, in winter only at great expense,and there is nowhere to actually shoot there i know of...so im f*^(ed.
 
archery is also dam fun, but god its difficult,hard physically, and exhausting mentally,like shooting,its not like running, but i find 1 hour of target shooting in a compitition and im exhausted. thats when i was doing karate and in the army reserve...
 
i hate channel 7, i have recorded every minute, seen NO ARCHERRY,NO SHOOTING,they suck! just highlights for a few seconds of winners.

[Widell]

ORIGINAL: Hertston
The best examples are soccer and tennis... which player would trade a World Cup medal or Wimbledon win for an Olympic win?

I thought Rafael Nadal was playing in the Tennis tournament and that Ronaldinho was in the Brasil soccer team?

[Neilster]

ORIGINAL: ANZAC_Tack

i dead set love that skying and shooting stuff, straight from finland in 1939! and i could see the germans doing it well in 1944!. its a great combination of things i love,but i cant do often as i have to drive 8 hours, in winter only at great expense,and there is nowhere to actually shoot there i know of...so im f*^(ed.

archery is also dam fun, but god its difficult,hard physically, and exhausting mentally,like shooting,its not like running, but i find 1 hour of target shooting in a compitition and im exhausted. thats when i was doing karate and in the army reserve...

i hate channel 7, i have recorded every minute, seen NO ARCHERRY,NO SHOOTING,they suck! just highlights for a few seconds of winners.

SBS has had some archery. Schmaltzy Seven's coverage is the traditional, ad-ridden, nauseatingly jingoistic pile of crud it always is. It's like a sporting version of a chick-flick, with endless gymnastics, swimming and equestrian. The men's basketball, which I'm actually interested in, is interrupted by ads at every break in play, making it incredibly frustrating to watch.

Mind you, speaking of jingoistic, I've caught some of the U.S. NBC morning show and the only other country that's even mentioned is China, mostly for a cooking segment [:D]

Bring back the tug-of-war and the standing broad jump I say. Nothing would get bums on seats like a man standing on the edge of a sandpit swinging his arms for ages before eventually leaping and then being handed a tot of rum by a butler. I can't understand what happened to the Military Patrol because it was incredibly popular at Paris 1940 and Warsaw 1944.

Cheers, Neilster

[ilovestrategy]

ORIGINAL: BoredStiff







Taekwondo: Is it necessary to include all the martial arts as separate events? Will there be a Kung-Fu event in the future? On the other hand, as previously stated, the wrestling-type of events are definitely sports. I don't know about this.

I am an instructor in Tae Kwon Do and I will testify that it is a sport with points and rules just like boxing.

Shooting is a sport too. And you have to be in good shape physically to hold the concentration necessary to compete against the worlds best. I watched the pistol competiton and all those guys were in good shape.

Archery requires strength. I tried it once and boy it was hard to pull that string back! [X(]

[ilovestrategy]

ORIGINAL: ANZAC_Tack



i hate channel 7, i have recorded every minute, seen NO ARCHERRY,NO SHOOTING,they suck! just highlights for a few seconds of winners.

I'm lucky my cable service has a Korean channel so i could watch the cool stuff like shooting and Judo and archery. I hear ya brother!

[Philistine2]

How could no one in here not mention George Carlins' famous rant on sports?

To my way of thinking there are really only three sports: baseball, basketball, and football. Everything else is either a game or an activity.

Hockey comes to mind. People think hockey is a sport. It's not. Hockey is three activities taking place at the same time: ice skating, fooling around with a puck, and beating the shit out of somebody. If these guys had more brains then teeth, they'd do these things one at a time. First go ice-skating, then fool around with a puck, then you go to the bar and beat the shit out of somebody. The day would last longer, and these guys would have a lot more fun. Another reason why hockey isn't a sport is that it's not played with a ball. Anything not played with a ball can't be a sport. These are my rules, I make 'em up.

Soccer. Soccer is not a sport because you can't use your arms. Anything where you can't use your arms can't be a sport. Tap dancing isn't a sport. I rest my case.

Running. People think running is a sport. Running isn't a sport because anybody can do it. I can run, you can run. For Christ sakes, my mother can run! You don't see her on the cover of Sports Illustrated, do you?

Swimming. Swimming isn't a sport. Swimming is a way to keep from drowning. That's just common sense. Sailing isn't a sport. Sailing is a way to get somewhere. Riding the bus isn't a sport, why the fuck should sailing be a sport?

Boxing is not a sport either. Boxing is a way to beat the shit out of somebody. In that respect, boxing is actually a more sophisticated way of hockey. In spite of what the police tell you, beating the shit out of somebody is not a sport. When police brutality becomes an Olympic event, fine, then boxing can be a sport.

Bowling. Bowling isn't a sport because you have to rent shoes. Don't forget, these are my rules. I make 'em up.

Billiards. Some people think billiards is a sport, but it can't be, because there's no chance of serious injury. Unless, of course, you welch on a bet in a tough neighborhood. Then, if you wind up with a pool cue stickin' out of your ass, you know you might be the victim of a sports-related injury. But that ain't billiards, that's pool, and that starts with a P, and that rhymes with D, and that brings me to darts.

Darts could have been a sport, because at least there's a chance to put someone's eye out. But, alas, darts will never be a sport, because the whole object of the game is to reach zero, which goes against all sports logic.

Lacrosse is not a sport; lacrosse is a faggoty college activity. I don't care how rough it is, anytime you're running around a field, waving a stick with a little net on the end of it, you're engaged in a faggoty college activity. Period.

Field hockey and fencing. Same thing. Faggoty college shit. Also these activities aren't sports, because you can't gamble on them. Anything you can't gamble on can't be a sport. When was the last time you made a fuckin' fencing bet?

Gymnastics is not a sport because Romanians are good at it. It took me a long time to come up with that rule, but goddammit, I did it.

Polo isn't a sport. Polo is golf on horseback. Without holes. It's a great concept, but not a sport. And as far as water polo is concerned, I hesitate to even mention it, because it's extremely cruel to horses.

Which brings me to hunting. You think hunting is a sport? Ask the deer. The only good thing about hunting is the many fatal accidents on the weekends. And, of course, the permanently disfigured hunters who survive such accidents.

Then you have tennis. Tennis is very trendy and very fruity, but it's not a sport. It's just a way to meet other trendy fruits. Technically, tennis is an advanced form a Ping-Pong. In fact, tennis is Ping-Pong played while standing on the table. Great concept, not a sport.

In fact, all racket games are nothing more the derivatives of Ping-Pong. Even volleyball is, technically, racketless, team Ping-Pong played with an inflated ball and raised net while standing on the table.

And finally welcome to golf. For my full take on golf, I refer you elsewhere in the book, but let it just be said golf is a game that might possibly be fun, if it could be played alone. But it's the vacuous, striving, superficial, male-bonding joiners one has to associate with that makes it such a repulsive pastime. And it is decidedly not a sport. Period.

--Philistine

[Widell]

Somehow it faintly reminds of the first post in this thread... [;)]

[JudgeDredd]

Not really...boredstiff didn't use the descriptive "faggoty"

[anarchyintheuk]

What qualifies as a sport? To me it's either 1) you get from a to b faster than the other guy or 2) you move/place an object somewhere. The minute you use words like artistic or judging you have moved out of the realm of sports. For example, I love watching boxing, but I no longer consider it a sport after various Vegas travesties (the Olympic scoring system sux as well).

[Rodwell]

The great thing about the Olympics is the sports you never get to see otherwise. For 4 years between the Olympics it's just football, football, football on TV (either US version or "soccer", take your pick).

I truely enjoy watching sports I never otherwise get to see. Alot of great athletes who are wonderful to watch in action.