Sport or Not A Sport? That is the Question

As a “guy” there are few things more enjoyable than having an afternoon free to plant yourself in the Lazy-boy and click on ESPN for an afternoon of sports viewing. The average guy is about as picky about what sports he will watch as he is about what women he will date. For a guy though there are few things more disappointing than clicking on ESPN and finding something on that’s not a sport. We all know what I’m talking about. I would like to propose rules for what qualifies as a sport. Anything that does not qualify under my rules should be broadcast on a different network. Maybe the Game Channel or The Loser Network.

Rule #1: It’s not a sport if the participant has no idea they are competing. Examples: horse racing, hunting, fishing and dog shows. These stupid animals are just jumping through hoops to get some sort of treat at the end. Who gets the prize money and trophies? Hunting is only a sport if the animals are shooting back.

Rule #2: It’s not a sport unless there’s a final score everyone agrees upon. Current “sports” that should be ruled out: Gymnastics, diving, and any kind of figure skating. Special mention goes to rhythmic gymnastics which is just gymnastics for people who are afraid of heights. That should be in the Special Olympics maybe.

Rule #3: It’s not a sport if you can do it while you sit down drinking beer and smoking. That rules out poker, Scrabble and spelling bees. Technically it also eliminates NASCAR.

I’m sure those of you from Australia and other countries could probably come up with several examples of things in your country that are played as sports, but really aren’t. Of course in the U.S. we generally don’t consider it a sport unless it’s played in our country.