The Winter Olympics are underway. Gold and silver and bronze medals are being handed out to curlers, snowboarders and ice skaters. In two years, equestrian and synchronized swimmers will also receive the same medals. And I can't help but feel nauseous. Because the medals are being awarded for skills, not sports. I'm not saying they're worthless, or anything of the sort. They're just not sports. Allow me to explain.
If the results are decided by judges, it is not a sport. If winners and losers are determined by scores issued from a panel of judges, it is a popularity contest, an election, not a sport. The outcomes should be determined by the people competing, not the people watching. Simple as that. Sorry snowboarding, ice skating, gymnastics, synchronized swimming, equestrian, diving etc. [Even split decisions in boxing fall into this category]. The truth is that judging is not always unbiased, and that tenths of points are added and deducted inconsistently, often arbitrarily. And those tenths of a points determine first and second place, third and eighth place. Two people can see the exact same routine and give two different scores. Neither is technically wrong or right. In the end, perception can affect the outcome as much as the routine itself. It's like a human dog show, where it's all about impressing the judge. Difficult? Yes. A sport? No. Next.
A response I've heard to this is "If [ice skating, snowboarding, etc] isn't a sport, then why don't you try and do it and see how tough it is?"
My response: "I'm not saying [ice skating, snowboarding, etc] isn't incredibly difficult or difficult to master, it's just not a sport. Breaking bricks with your face is challenging, just as balancing a stack of books on your feet is, but it doesn't make it a sport. Chess is difficult. So is bowling. So is riding a horse. I can't do those things very well, or at all. But they're not sports..."
Which leads me to my second point. A sport must require some type of physical endurance. If you can succeed at a sport and be overweight, it's not a sport. It's a skill. Sorry archery, hunting, curling, fishing, chess, golf. They're challenging, require lots of practice to be good at, but alas, not sports. Baseball teeters on the edge on this one, but because there is a distinct advantage to those in shape, it remains on the table.
Finally, it must be you doing the physical endurance. Sorry race-car drivers and jockeys. Again, I'm not saying I could do any of these, or perform at 1/10000th the level the professionals do. But when the possibility exists of having more skill than an opponent, and still losing because their horse is stronger or their car is faster, it's not a sport. It's a contest of who has a better car/horse. Obviously, skill plays a major factor in NASCAR and horse racing - that's why some dominate and others don't - but the fact that machine/horse can influence the outcome instead of the individual cheapens the end result, and removes it from the realm of a sport.
A common response I hear: "NASCAR drivers are athletes. Fatigue and sweat loss plays a huge role in a race. As does strategy, driving skill, knowing the course, when to pit, change tires, fill up on fuel, etc."
My response: "I agree, NASCAR drivers are amazingly skillful. Strategy is involved. But chess requires skill and strategy as well. And sitting in a suit and sweating isn't physical endurance. Otherwise wearing a plastic bag and sitting in a sauna would be a sport. The car does more work than the driver. It's fun to watch, incredibly difficult to master, but at the end of the day, just not a sport."
So what is a sport? A sport is determined by the individual participants, not by judges [let's distinguish between judges and officials. Judges determine the outcome. Officials enforce the rules. I understand that officials can determine the outcome, but not as obviously as a judge does.] And a sport requires some type of physical endurance, which you yourself perform. Tennis, basketball, football, baseball, track and field, swimming, cycling, biathlon, triathlons, rugby, soccer, and many more fall into this category. Where the rules are clear and enforced, and the outcome is decided by the participants, not a panel of people applying numbers to routines, or sitting behind a wheel pressing an accelerator or brake pedal.
I understand it is brief, and roughly written. But today, it's not about the writing. It's about defending athletics.
That is all.
A shift in the plot
4 months ago
6 comments:
"Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports ... all others are games."
- Earnest Hemingway
Hemingway was wrong. Autoracing is definitely not a sport, and nor is killing a bull unless it is done with your bare hands. Mountain climbing probably counts, and it is a curious one because it is not usually competitive (except with oneself). I long for the day when we properly relegate most of the winter olympics to the half-time show at the superbowl.
And what is an umpire in baseball, or a referee in football, or an official in basketball, or in soccer? Judgment exists at all levels of sport and affects the outcome of every game. The "Fifth Down" in Colorado, the debacle in the 1985 World Series, the BCS Championship with Ohio State and Miami, Diego Maradona & Thierry Henry, or even Tim Donaghy in basketball. It's there and it makes a difference.
So grow up, Peter Pan.
There is a difference between judgment at certain times (you mention a few examples across 30 years) and judgment of every aspect. Judgment is part of life, it is part of cycling, but it is all of ice-dancing. Perhaps we should accept though, that time is the ultimate judge of us all, and when we come to the final whistle blows end of our performance, we hope the verdict reads if not 9.5, then at least "well done".
Typo earlier.
There is a difference between judgment at certain times (you mention a few examples across 30 years) and judgment of every aspect. Judgment is part of life, it is part of cycling, but it is all of ice-dancing. Perhaps we should accept though, that time is the ultimate judge of us all, and when the final whistle blows and we come to the end of our performance, we hope the verdict reads if not 9.5, then at least "well done".
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