To some.. Sport is a competition.. To others it's a life styles.. To many it's a religion.. but to most (including myself) it's a great reason to get together with your friends!
After Thursday's class last week, I thought long and hard about the different "sports" that we were to list in order of "Which we most consider a sport" to "The least we consider a sport." Even though "Cup Stacking" may not be on the same level of intensity as the most popular sports- Football, Soccer, Tennis, etc, I would consider "Cup Stacking" a "sport"! Yes. It may sound crazy, but let's break it down. A sport needs to have 1. set rules (cup stacking- Check!) 2. a level of competition (Cup stacking- Check!). Okay, the competition level may not be as high as football, but don't tell the "Cup Stacking" athletes that! I think that today, many people only consider sports, "sports" if they know about them, and if they have a large following. I wanted to hear what an outsiders opinion was about "sport", so I asked one of the the farthest outsiders I could find.. My best friend Steve.. Who is from Australia..
I didn't give Steve a set list of sports to rank, but I did ask him to give me his top 5 and bottom five "sports". Here is his list:
top five are:
1. Soccer (naturally)
2. Cricket
3. Ice Hockey
4. Golf
5. Ironman or Tennis
1. Soccer (naturally)
2. Cricket
3. Ice Hockey
4. Golf
5. Ironman or Tennis
bottom five are:
1. Darts
2. Poker
3. Curling
4. Skeleton Luge
5. Nascar or Baseball
1. Darts
2. Poker
3. Curling
4. Skeleton Luge
5. Nascar or Baseball
I have to admit that Steve hit my last point on the head by saying that his bottom 5 sports includes Baseball (America's past time). Since Australia doesn't have a baseball team, the first time he ever saw a game was when he was visiting last summer. After watching, he went on and on about how it was a horrible "game"! On the other hand, hardly anyone from the US would rank Cricket in their top 5 sports!
So maybe "Cup Stacking" is not the most intense of "Sports" but you can't deny that those athletes put their heart and soul into the competition..
What would I consider the greatest sport?? Anything David Beckham is playing of course..
I have to give you credit for your consistency--i.e., you have managed to remain true to "Becks."
ReplyDeleteI find it really surprising that your friend Steve finds baseball so boring, because I found it to be really similar to cricket--the bat, running between wickets (like running the bases), catching the ball, hitting homeruns. Besides which, baseball is over in about a third of the time that it takes to play cricket, so how can that be more boring? It certainly demonstrates how our understanding of sport is culturally constructed.
Actually, because Baseball and Cricket are so similar is exactly why he dislikes baseball so much!!! It's taking one of his favorite sports and changing up the rules just a little bit.. and then cutting down the length.. then calling it a new game!
ReplyDeleteSteve is actually in Toronto Canada right now, and his dad came to visit for a few days.. Steve took him to a baseball game, and his dad actually fell asleep!!!
I agree that anything that has a set of rules, and a level of compeition should be considered a sport, but I am not sure that I would classify cup stacking as one. To me, a sport has to also contain any type of strenuous physical activity that challenges the body and mind. While cup stacking certainly is challenging mentaly, I would say it lacks the physical aspect other sports, such as soccer or basketball, require.
ReplyDeleteI agree that some people may say a sport is not a sport because they dont follow it. I feel as though you should do your research on an activity before you say its not a sport. I dont follow cup stacking much, but I have viewed it and I feel as though a sport needs vigorous physical activity. The people that partcipate cup stacking are very quick with their hands, but I dont even think they break a sweat when they are done.
ReplyDeleteI like how you compared an American's viewpoint against an Austrailian's on the top sports. In my journal, I mentioned a sport's popularity and the way it's ranked vary in different societies, like how soccer is famous internationally and has recently begun to grow in popularity in the United States.
ReplyDelete