As ESPN and other sports network extend their coverage to events that can barely be considered "sport," it is time for a concrete definition as to what exactly a "sport" is.
The question of what a sport is, is a little too broad though, so what I will try to define is "physical sport," which is what this website is dedicated to, and what people are talking about when they say that they're sports fans.
What I will do here is define "sport" and a number of related terms, whittling down certain activities, and finally arriving at what exactly a sport is, and what activities count as sport.
Slightly broader than "sport" is the term "competition," and therefore, it should get a broad definition. Competition is anything where a human being or a group of human beings, perform an activity against another human or group of humans, with the end result of one person of group "winning" over the other person or group.
"Winning" can be defined as the person or group that performs said activity better than the other person or group, and the very nature of sport does not allow it to end until such a distinction can be made.
So right away we will drop dogfighting (sorry Michael Vick), and monkey-crap flinging contests (sorry Elvis) from the mix.
Now, you may be asking yourself right now, "What is the difference between sport and competition?"
Good question. The difference is, while a competition is concerned with separating the people/groups into winners and losers, a sport does this separation on the basis of mental or physical acumen.
Competition often occurs on a larger scale than sport. For example, the Olympics are a competition, the 100m Freestyle is a sport.
Since sport is a subset of competition, the following rule applies: all sports are competitions, but not all competitions are sport.
Now, when it comes to sports, humans have two tools at their disposal which they can put up against other humans in order to determine who is best. Those tools are mental and physical.
Mental competitions rely on thinking, logic and problem solving in order to win a competition. Poker, chess, Jeopardy, these are all mental sports, but sports nonetheless.
Physical sports are things where physical conditioning and strength come into play, and quite often the best physical competitors are the people that are in the best shape and the best condition, whether it is sprinting speed, jump shooting, or throwing a baseball the fastest or with the best spin.
There are certain exercises that one does to become better in each of these skills. Practice, repetition, the desire to prove that you're better than the next guy, this all comes with becoming the best at your sport.
Now that we've defined what a sport is, it's time to see what is and what isn't a sport, and if it is, what kind of sport.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee: Mental sport, since no degree of physical fitness is required, however, recall and language skills are a must.
World Series of Poker: Mental sport, no physical fitness is required, but the mental capacity to understand things such as odds and bluffing is needed.
Basketball: Physical sport, you don't have to be very bright to play, (see: Anthony, Carmelo or Baker, Vin) but you need to have good mechanics, and some measure of speed and hand-eye coordination.
Most of these are pretty cut and dry, but here's a pickle: auto racing.
At the risk of alienating many readers, I am going to go ahead and say it: by definition, auto racing is not a sport.
Please don't take offense, while I don't watch it very much, I do respect the drivers and teams that participate. There's nothing wrong with it not being a sport.
Here is why auto racing is not a sport. While some degree of it is physical, and a larger part is mental, there is too much dependence on something that is not human: the actual car.
The fact that a car has to be modified to win, and often times the best car will win regardless of who is the best driver.
Here's an analogy: If you gave Tiger Woods a $100 set of clubs from Wal Mart, he would still be the best golfer in the world. If you gave Kobe Bryant a pair of K-Mart sneakers, he would still be able to slash and drain jumpers better than anyone.
If you gave Jeff Gordon a 1988 Ford Aspire, not only would be be in very real danger, but he wouldn't come close to winning anything.
And sure, you can always say, "but a human made the car", but that is flimsy at best. A human makes almost everything. A human made the computer I am typing this on, but I am in no way involved in a sport.
So now we've established what the difference is between a competition and a sport, and between a mental and physical sport.
Does it really make any difference what is what? Nope, it only matters what you enjoy doing/watching, not what the thing is, but I hope this shed some light on the matter.
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3 months ago
Great article! What's your take on ping pong and putt putt?
from 3 months ago
I believe both are sports. Golf is a sport, and putt putt is just a part of golf.
Ping pong requires physical stamina and hand-eye coordination, maybe not in someone's basement, but on the professional level, it can be quite demanding.
from 3 months ago
yea if you've ever seen a top level ping pong competition its pretty ridiculous the kind of shape they are in. Golf is a sport but you dont need athleticism the play it. car racing wow i love spending all day making left turns who cares if it is or it isnt no one should waste time discussing naything about it.
3 months ago
So let's compare auto racing to another current news maker: Olympic Swimming.
Records are falling like flies at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials.
And the word is it's in the suits. These new-fangled high-tech skin suits are making the swimmers faster.
So is the technology making them better than the competition?
What about their training? Is training of an athlete that competes in a given "sport" better today than it was, say, 20 years ago? How about 50?
Is it the athlete, or the sports medicine, nutrition, and technology involved in training them that makes them superior to those of old?
Would Babe Ruth look like he did then, if he were playing today? Would he have hit a third more homers?
So what does this have to do with racing?
People.
People build the machines by hand, thus they are subject to imperfection. They are maintained by people, who are trained as athletes and have nutritionists supporting them. The decisions on race strategy are made by people, who use technology to analyze the performance of the machine which is driven by... a person. This person has to be in good physical (Jimmy Spencer excepted) condition and of excellent mental acumen, with top-notch hand-eye coordination and reaction skills, to succeed in the competitive environment.
What's the technology that aids NFL, NBA, or MLB athletes succeed in their sports?
from 3 months ago
Of course technology has changed, but there is a difference when Kobe Bryant uses the best workouts to his advantage to become a better player, than having someone build a car for a driver.
If Kobe Bryant didn't have a fitness trainer, a nutritionist and all that, he would still be the best player on the planet, simply because he practices hard and has the drive to win.
Babe Ruth didn't have all that technology, and his record stood for decades. it came from him.
I wasn't trying to take anything away from racing, just pointing out that it is an entirely different animal than physical sports such as basketball, baseball or football.
As far as the swimming thing goes, I agree with you. It's completely ridiculous that these suits are leading to broken world records at an alarming rate.
Of course games change with the times, but auto racing has always been based off of the input of machines.
3 months ago
"Here's an analogy: If you gave Tiger Woods a $100 set of clubs from Wal Mart, he would still be the best golfer in the world. If you gave Kobe Bryant a pair of K-Mart sneakers, he would still be able to slash and drain jumpers better than anyone.
If you gave Jeff Gordon a 1988 Ford Aspire, not only would be be in very real danger, but he wouldn't come close to winning anything."
If you gave Tom Brady a leather helmet he would be comatose. Give A-Rod a fungo bat and he would be flirting with the Mendoza Line.
Poker is not a sport as it takes no physical skill whatsoever.
Auto Racing is a much more mental activity that poker will ever be. Those who are un-initiated to the sport have no idea the complexity involved. A Formula One driver needs to have the mind of an engineer and the reactions of a Fighter Pilot. Shocks, Springs, brakes, Tires all have dozens of parameters with hundreds of possible combnations.
from 3 months ago
I didn't say poker was a physical sport, I said it was a mental sport, somewhere on the line of jeopardy. I didn't say racing wasn't a mental sport, I know it takes great skill, skills that I will never possess.
But my point was, the car is just as much as a factor, if not more so, than the driver.
There is no other factor in LeBron James' play than his hands, arms, and legs. Sure he's got fancy sneakers, but it comes from within him.
You give Tom Brady a leather helmet, he's still a great passer and pocket presence. A-Rod would do just fine with a fungo bat.
There are just too many other sports where the result comes from the individual, not the equipment surrounding him.
from about 1 month ago
Wow , Tony , I cant believe what im reading ,
Poker takes no skill at all ??????? Thats just silly , you watch Phil Helmuth PREDICT what hand is coming out on the flop , then tell me its not a sport with skill involved .
Yes i know its around 75% Luck , and 10% what cards arrive at the table but there IS an element of skill involved , no question about it .
When a player sits and reads another player to a T , that is sublime skill .
They may not need the physique of an athlete , the reactions of an F1 driver , but they do need stamina to be able to play a 7 day WSOP event at the same high level all week .
For me poker is still a sport in a sense , afterall you have to have some level of sportsmanship , say when you lose for instance !
3 months ago
I agree with the fact that the talent of the athlete comes from within, but I think some of the analogies are a bit unfair. Anyone driving a 98 Ford Aspire would get killed on a racetrack, literally and figuratively. By the same token, if you give Tiger Woods a set of wooden clubs, he ain't winnin' shit. If you've ever tried to play with wooden clubs, you know what I'm talking about. I'm not a racing fan, but I'd have to say that racing is a physical sport. It takes a great deal of mental toughness as well as physical stamina. In my blog about what a sport is, I explain that you don't have to be an athlete to play a sport. You may not think a race car driver is an athlete, but that doesn't mean racing isn't a sport. Take a look and let me know what you think:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/35691-the-definition-of-sports
3 months ago
Good article man! Keep it up!
3 months ago
"I didn't say poker was a physical sport, I said it was a mental sport, somewhere on the line of jeopardy. "
So taking a 3rd grade math test is a sport? Filling out tax form is a sport?
A sport combines physical and mental prowess in a competition. Competition in itself does not automatically make it a sport.
from 3 months ago
A third grade test isn't a sport because the primary purpose for a test isn't to compete with anyone, its to increase your general knowledge.
A tax form isn't a sport, because again, you're not competeing.
Jeopardy is a mental sport, because you are trying to win something, and do better than other people.
Did you even read the article?
I went to great length to do precisely what you said, show the difference between competition and sport.
I specifically said, "Since sport is a subset of competition, the following rule applies: all sports are competitions, but not all competitions are sport."
Since you seem to agree with me in your comment, I can't help but wonder why you are arguing.
3 months ago
A third grade test isn't a sport because the primary purpose for a test isn't to compete with anyone, its to increase your general knowledge.
Yes it is a competition. Grades and standardized tests are graded on curves. Students compete for honors and bragging rights.
School is a part of life. Life is a competition.
Did you read what wrote?
All even go farther. I will put it to your that Football, Baseball , Basketball and Hockey are not sports but are games. Yes they require physical skills but they are children's games played by adults.
from 3 months ago
Oh, so basketball, football and baseball aren't sports, and the only real sport is auto racing? Yeah, that makes sense.
Life is a competition? Against who? The icy hand of death? Thats still not much of a competition, since we ain't gonna win it.
Students compete for honors and bragging rights, but that's not the primary purpose, while sports teams (and even race car drivers) it is their purpose.
What do children's games have to do with anything? You never raced bikes when you were a kid?
3 months ago
I never said auto racing was the only sport, Golf, Bull fighting, Big Game hunting, Fly-fishing are among some of the true sports.
Life is all about competition. Competition for grades, Competition for Jobs, Competition for Love and yes, competition for longevity as well.
3 months ago
Bull-fighting, Big Game Hunting, Fly Fishing? Really? Most of your 'true sports' involve clearly unequal playing fields, humans against animals, animals who are inferior to humans in every intellectual, and most physical ways.
Sure, bulls and big game are stronger, but they don't have high powered projectile weapons that can kill from hundreds of yards away.
Hunting is even less of a sport than racing is, sure you have to aim, but you are completely and utterly dependent on you're gun firing, cause if it doesn't, you're not killing anything.
Not that I'm against hunting or fishing, I just think its absurd to think those are sports above mainstream sports.
While competition is part of life, life isn't always a competition.
It's not like there are a finite about of A-plus's to give out, and you've got to get yours or someone else will.
I don't know what reality shows you've been watching, but how much is love actually about direct competition with another person? Not too often.
Again, competition means someone wins and someone loses as a result of the win. Staying healthy and living longer isn't really a competition, because you don't really play against anything.
about 1 month ago
I always love when this argument surfaces! Stick & Ball sports folks don't think racing is a sport, and racing fans try vehemently that it is a sport.
I think auto-racing a sport. I don't think "Jeopardy" is.
Great article, and a funny debate.
about 1 month ago
Oh, and don't forget ESPN started off with Australian Rules Football and Pro Wrestiling as part of it's regular lineup, so they have dabbled in sports that are not 'mainstream' before.
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