Today I'd like to address the recent controversy surrounding my comments last week in my blog. No, there were no riots in the Middle East, or chickens without their heads sent to my home..... But I still stand by my comments that Figure Skating is not a Sport. It's an "activity" at best. Curling is more of a sport than Figure Skating - there's a clear winner and loser every time! And don't even get me started on that Ice Dancing stuff.....
So I'm surfing the web for news and I find Dan Wetzel from Yahoo! Sports that is in total agreement with me!!!
Here are some excerpts for those that are too "important" to click on that link above:
Figure skating requires strength, speed, stamina, dexterity, balance, timing, guts and just about everything other imaginable athletic skill. Certainly, more athletic skill than I could muster.
But figure skating is a competition, not a sport, and it has nothing to do with how difficult or entertaining it is. It is simply a matter of how the winner is determined. It is the same for gymnastics, diving, beauty pageants or anything that chooses a champion solely by human judging.
A sport needs to have a quantifiable way to determine a winner and a loser. There can be no debate about the scoring system. A ball must go into a goal or through a hoop; a runner must reach home or finish before the others. The winners run faster, jump higher, score more.
In some sports a clock is used to determine a winner, but the clock is not subjective. Besides, you can't have 53 guys racing down a ski hill at the same time. The clock is a judge, but it is an objective one.
Figure skating has none of this. Everything is about interpretation of success. It is about what the judge thinks, believes, feels. There is nothing absolutely quantifiable. Yes, the number of revolutions in a jump counts, but in the end if two people do the same jump, a human has to decide which one he or she likes better.
That is not a sport.
Thank you - The Prosecution rests.....
Song of the Day - Elvis was on at the RAC this morning.... nothing like running to Elvis and his A Little Less Conversation!
Video of the Day - You knew it was just a matter of time.... Aerosmith's version of Cheney's Got A Gun!
Webpage of the Day - Strong Bad Pop Up Book... I want one!!!
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7 comments:
Dude:
You are defending your position (and I totally agree with you for once) so instead of the Prosecutin rests it should be the Defense Rests. ..................Dad
Adam, you devoted alot of time to writing about figure skating today. Admit it, you secretly like the figure skating...the tight pants those guys wear and how graceful the men move on the ice, twirling about with their bulging packages...Adam, you know how I know you're gay? (to quote "The 40-year-old Virgin").
Your Bro
I don't like Coldplay
I see your point, but will have to over rule. Besides, NBA has the worst foul calling out there in terms of consistancy - but still more of a sport than ice dancing. Skating with the stars.... when it's on TV, it comes up in blue along with the other reality shows, not green like the sports. Can you imagine Survivor on Ice where the judges determine who stays on the island? or is that ice?
I think that's why I like Curling so much - there are no officials. They talk it out and figure out who got how many points, not rely on a referee to determine it for them.
I do believe curling has an official for doing the measurement when stones are close. I saw them pull it out on Saturday morning. Granted the tool doesn't lie and there is no interperting of it, but there was an official. :) So is NASCAR a sport since there is a quantifiable way to determine a winner? And also if it is a sport, then the drivers must be athletes based on your discription.
No - i've always said that an "athlete" is someone who can physically excel at more than one "sport". Because they're body is in such a condition to do so. A lineman is trained only to be a lineman. A punter, a punter. And a lot of baseball pitchers and designated hitters, just that. Most NASCAR drivers are trained to do just that - drive in circles. Some of them might be in better physical shape to do multiple sports but it's not necessarily guaranteed. Golf is another one that pushes the limits of the term "athlete".
And no Drew, Busch and Nextell are not "more than one sport"
btw - in no way am I claiming that an NFL lineman couldn't kick my a$$. So could a rhinosorous but I wouldn't call it an athlete.
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