An editor from the PI must read my blog
I saw that there was a story written today in the Seattle PI called, “What defines a sport? Like a ping-pong match, the debate goes back and forth.” Thought it was funny that my most commented on post as of late was about computer gaming being carried on ESPN. Well the comments have turned into a debate as to what a sport is, or is not. Seeing that my readers couldn’t answer this question, David Andriesen decided to do some research and write a feature piece on the subject.*
It’s a fairly long article, but I guess any item written on this subject will be. He basically created a checklist, as Aaron Vis did in an earlier comment, about what should be included in a sport. His checklist includes; objective scoring, mostly human power, direct head-to-head, requires physical strength, and employs a ball. He doesn’t say that all sports need to meet all five criteria, but that it’s a good point to start the debate.
The only six sports to match all five criteria are baseball, basketball, football, hockey, soccer, and tennis. What do you think, are those the six most sport like competitions because they meet the most items on this list? Where is the cutoff? Would meeting three of these criteria be enough to constitute a sport? Four? One?
After the jump the checklist, but I’d recommend reading the entire article and weighing with your opinion some more.
*probably not true
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I think bass fishing should be included. Mostly human power (reeling in). Direct head to head…yes. Requires physical strength…yes. Competitive cheer…a big yes. Sounds like he read your blog.