Iowa
Monday, August 18, 2008
Sport or Not
OK, here it goes. Is trampoline a sport? How about floor gymnastics? What constitutes a sport? Big discussion today and I said I would open it on the blog. I think some of the things that we have in the olympics are stretching the word "sport". Got into an argument about cheerleading, but I can agree that high school cheerleading is more of a sport than....say, the Dallas Cowgirls. It's more gymnastics. Opinions? Bean cut a baseball diamond with the lawnmower in the yard to surprise Monkeyboy. When he saw it he became so excited and was jumping for joy. Then Bean had to tell him she ran over third base and chewed up the base. He immediately burst into wails of disappointment. It was somwhat alleviated when Bean began to paint the lines to the bases. Another Sunday dinner.....I love it!
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9 comments:
I don't know what constitutes a sport but I'm a sucker for the Olympics, winter or summer.
I even watched two Chinese ladies play badminton but the way they play it is definitely a sport. I love the gymnastics, swimming, diving. This year, of course, was special because of Michael Phelps and some of those meets were nail biters. Well, got to go, time for the Olympics.
I too loved the swimming, but what happended to those tiny suits the men used to wear? So, what is sports? I agree, trampoline is not a sport. I'm not sure about badmitton, Ginger, I'm just not sure. Love the pictures, mia, and how sweet of Bean to try. I had to laugh about third base. Cheerleading. Gee, I don't know. I guess they compete and all, but a sport? I don't think so.
OK, here is my thought. It is a sport when there is a objective way of telling which player did best, as in time. It is a competition when there is a subjective way of telling which player did the best, as in scoring. There is no validation of scoring in gymnastics, or cheerleading, for that matter. Both gymnastics and cheerleading take a tremendous amount of talent,(not the Dallas Cowboys)more talent than I will ever have in my life. BUT, it is subjective. In the olympics the judges do not have to tell why they scored the way they did, they just give a score. It doesn't come down to Shawn Johnson having a perfect landing vs. someone else falling upon landing, it comes down to what the judges thinks. So, in answer to your question, mia, in my opinion, it comes down to objective measure of an event which makes it a sport vs. a competition. And I love Ginger's comment. Mia, were you a cheerleader???
Mia a cheerleader... ha! NO, it was I leading the battle today on the sport issue. And I have to disagree, there is a formlua of scoring for both cheerleading and gymnastics. There is a start value before they start, and then an execution value when they finish. You will also hear the commentators speak of "standard deductions." What I found most interesting about our conversation this morning in Mia's office, is that somehow she feels that balance beam and uneven bars are a sport, but that the floor exercise and trampoline are not... Thank you for "giving it to the people" as we decided!
I just have fun watching them, although some are more fun than others. I felt badly about Shawn Johnson and great about Michael Phelps.
I agree with Ben, if it takes a judge to determine a winner, then i think there are too many "human" factors and personal issues that come into effect. In baseball a hit is a hit..it doesn't take a judge to figure out who scored the most runs. There is just too much politics involed in gymnastics for me. Oh..and whats with all the glitter and eye make-up? Seriously what "sport" do you really need to try and look "pretty" and still be called a sport?
I think young girls don't need makeup. They do it for school plays, for dance recitals. They are cute enough and they grow up too quickly anyway. My neice is a cheerleader and she talks about competitions. I freak when I see the makeup she wears. She says it is because it "they have to have color" when they "perform". Sport? I'm not sure I would call cheerleading a sport. And I'm not sure gymnastics is a sport. So, it looks like the men against the women here. Is that a sport? Or merely competition? Oh, wait, Mia, I'm not sure where you stand on this....but you can join the men if you like.
I'll weigh in. My daughter is in gymnastics and I think it is a sport. She works as hard as any football player, swimmer or runner. She is at practice every Saturday and two nights a week. She competes and wins. Can you tell I'm prejudiced? I think it's great when kids have a passion for anything, whether it be music, sports or art. No matter what, everyone wants to excel.
I have been thinking about this for two days now, and although I cheered for 10 years, I think I have to concede... that cheerleading and gymnastics may not be sports. While requiring participants to be athletic, to practice, and to have very specialized talents, they may not actually be sports. For example - Cirque de Solei - some of the most impressive uses of the human body I have ever seen and yet, the circus is not a sport. SO perhaps the true theme here is that you can be an athlete - even if you don't play a sport! :-)
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