What are some ways why people dont consider some sports to be" real" sports? I need help on a thesis

Question

Thanks, i really appreciate the responses.

Answer 1

Sport must include two things. First is physical skill, second is physical competition. This is a very basic formula but interestingly it outlaws certain athletic endeavors as sport. Bodybuilding for instance requires athletic effort and physical competition but no discernible level of physical skill upon which contestants are scored. This definition is what the International Olympic Committee uses, so don't kill the messenger.

Answer 2

I think there are two criteria for something to be a sport. It should be physically active (poker is not a sport) and it should be a competition, with the winner defeating the loser based on some objective criteria (versus a popularity contest or someone's determination of 'artistic impression').

This does not mean that sports do not have rules and defined penalties for breaking the rules. However, there are defined methods of scoring (making it around the bases, crossing the goal line, hitting the ball into the hole, recording the fastest time, etc). To me, this means that most of the traditional sports (baseball, football, running, golf, tennis, bicycle racing, swimming, etc) are sports. There are also new sports (lumberjack competitions, strongman competitions) that meet this creiteria and rightfully take their place in the list of sports.

Then there are a group of other activities which meet the first criteria (physically demanding) but are more artistic expressions than true competitions. These are activities such as gymnastics, rythmic gymnastics, platform diving, figure skating, ballroom dancing, and, even sillier, cheerleading. The 'winner' of these events is the one who scores the highest in the mind of the judge based on how much the judge 'likes' the 'artistic impression' of the routine. If contestant 'A' does the most challenging routine and has mistakes, and contestant 'B' does a less challenging routine perfectly, it is up to the judge which one is 'better' based on their own personal bias. This is different than a referee or umpire, who is there simply to decide if the rules are being followed rather than directly deciding the winner.

Cheerleading is even sillier because part of the 'judging' is based on the involvement of the crowd. So if the crowd seems to react better to one squad, that squad will score higher (giving it a simple element of a popularity contest). Also on the 'silly' scale is freestyle skydiving, where the team has a position of 'cameraman'.

If you ever watch the olympics with a group, you can almost always get a reaction by saying 'that's not a sport' while watching figure skating, diving or gymnastics. Almost invariably, someone will say 'I'd like to see you do that'. But that's not the point. There are many physically demanding things I can't do well. I am not necessarily great at withstanding g-forces, but being an astronaut is not a sport. Neither is animal training, juggling, or most of the things that you will see at your local circus.

Answer 3

if u don't have to work hard, and get sweaty, or real injured, it just isn't the same. when u can cheer someone on, like in football or basketball, it's a sport. golf,u just swing somethin at a ball, there's no interaction with other players, etc