Athleticism

Recently I my mind has been stirred up to thinking about the definition of a sport.  If you check the worlds most useful and accessible encyclopedia it says that "Sport is all forms of competitive physical activity which, through casual or organized participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants."  The dictionary defines it as, "an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature"

That blond kid is so gonna kick that ball...

Both of these definitions (and most thoughts of 'sports') call to mind physical activity, sweaty men, and exercise (oh yeah, and a mass of kids mindlessly following a ball around a field).  Yet there are many sports that do not fit this 'athletic' definition, the General Association of International Sport Federations (GAISF) recognizes five different 'mind-sports' such as chess, go, bridge, and even checkers.  Of course even those 'athletic' sports do not all require the same amount of strength, stamina, dexterity, or even fitness.  A 'futballer' is clearly in better shape than a 'caster' (fisherman), and sumo wrestler could hardly hope to perform like a gymnast (and viceversa).

They're similar... but yet different.

Over the course of history what society considers 'sport' has taken various forms.  From the purely track and field events of the first olympics to this years first ever European Winter X-Games, the events that we crowd around a TV to watch are changing as the technology around them.  Lately I have been glued to my computer screen as I watch live streams of some of my favorite video games being played in tournaments around the world.  E-gaming seems to be the newest wave in development of sports.  If you think back 30 years, people then didn't really consider skateboarding to be a 'professional sport' but it sure is now.


I think many people are reluctant to call gamers 'athletes,' because they're not really athletic, and that's fair, but not being an athlete doesn't mean what you do isn't a sport.  Consider things like shooting,  racing (NASCAR) or, equestrian events, those are sports, but it's hard to call those who do them athletes.  Some of you may argue saying that jockeys are athletes, and certainly some people believe that race car drivers are athletes.  I assure you, it may take great skill, but not athletic conditioning.

Although, it can't take that much skill to hit a target with fancy
targeting scanners attached to your head and gun.

People seem to equate being athletic with things outdoors, even things like jet ski racing seem more athletic due to it's outdoor nature, but really what more athletic conditioning does a jet ski racer need over a NASCAR driver?  If a man were to run several miles every day on his indoor treadmill, we might think him to be less athletic than the man who walks for just one mile outside.  Think about it.

A gamer is just as much an athlete as many of these aforementioned sport playing professionals.  He may sit down during his event, (so do many jockeys), yet the skill, dexterity, concentration, and comprehension, are (I think) much higher than most athletic events.  I believe that e-sports will continue to grow and become more and more socially acceptable.  I believe that I will live to see the day where StarCraft is broadcast on television, and not just through the internet.

This guy is just awesome, and he sure looks athletic, but
does his sport require athleticism to compete?

That's right, he's sitting down.

March Madness

I have a very distinct first memory of March Madness.  I was either nine or ten years old, and in either fourth of fifth grade.  You might think that that isn't very specific for such an important memory, and so I will say that I'm pretty sure I was in fifth grade, 10 years old, and the year was 1998.  My elementary school principal was a graduate and a huge fan of the University of Utah (The U).  The U basketball team had a strong streak in the late 90's and was in the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in a row and our principal had been giving us updates and encouraging us to root for them.  They made it to the championship game where they played against the University of Kentucky.  I was a much bigger fan of UK than I was of the U, so I wore my Kentucky apparel to school the day after the championship game rubbing it into my principal that UK had beaten the U.

You might wonder why I am such a fan of the University of Kentucky, well I am happy to tell you.

This is where I was born,

This is how to get from there (where I was born) to Rupp Arena, where the University of Kentucky basketball team plays.

Congrats to the Wildcats for their 8th national championship!!

For those interested in random basketball trivia please keep reading, otherwise you may now close this window and resume your internet-ing.  I have a hard time remembering if my specific memory was in '98 or '97 because in both of those years Utah lost to Kentucky in the final and Elite 8 (respectively).  Furthermore, Utah lost to Kentucky in '96 in the Sweet 16, and in the second round in '93.  The first time that Utah ever made it into a post season tournament, (NIT 1941) they lost to Kentucky in the first round, and most recently Utah lost to Kentucky in 2005 in the Sweet 16.  Utah also lost to Texas Western in 1966 who went on to beat Kentucky in the final. (One of only three times Kentucky has made it to the final and not won... totally random, I know.)