But is it a sport?

The news tonight (ABC) had a spot on the argument being made that cheerleading IS a sport and should be treated by schools/school systems as such.

My question:

Is there a "sport" that you can think of that makes you ask "why in the heec is this even considered to be a sport?"

OR, OR...

Is there something folks do that could be a competitive sport.....but isn't?

If my daughter wants to do cheerleading.. she can find another house.

Drifting?

If cheerleading Is a sport, how do you keep score?

maybe its like competitve dance or iceskating? Score by panel of judges?

SillyImportRacer wrote: If cheerleading Is a sport, how do you keep score?

If drifting is a sport, how do you keep score?

sport (spôrt, sprt)
Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.

I suppose cheerleading has rules. No cheering for the other team... conform or be cast out... chicks w/ gag reflexes need not apply... huh, its a sport.

SillyImportRacer wrote: If cheerleading Is a sport, how do you keep score?

Count the ones that are still alive and subtract from the total.

Penne and teller's bullE36 M3 did an interesting episode on this. Take that for what it is worth.

There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games. - Ernest Hemingway

IF bowling is a sport, cheerleading is a sport.

I used to hang out with the cheerleaders when I was in college. Not pom-pom cheerleaders, the sort that can punch the ceiling tiles out in a gym and do flips on the way down. It's a sport, even if it is judged. There's something about a girl who's 4' 10" with a killer set of abs

Fishing, on the other hand, is not a sport. Unless it's that nutbar way to catch catfish where you get them to eat your arm.

alex wrote: There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games. - Ernest Hemingway

Didn't this pop up a few days ago on this forum, and I forget who it was that pointed out that Ernest Hemingway never said that.

Cheerleading: A lot of fuss over a game that only requires one ball to play.

If it wasn't a sport it wouldn't be on ESPN Right?

Wally wrote: If it wasn't a sport it wouldn't be on ESPN Right?

Just like poker. Or the dog show. Now Cornheisen(or however you spell it)-that's a sport.

Keith wrote: Fishing, on the other hand, is not a sport. Unless it's that nutbar way to catch catfish where you get them to eat your arm.

Thats called noodling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOxt6r7HSNg Thems some crazy mo-fos. I have family that does it in Indiana. I DONT go fishing with them when I am up there.

Any thing you can compete on a professional level with a beer gut is NOT a sport. Bowling and Wrasslin come to mind.

I always wondered about curling. It's considered an Olympic sport.

I guess that would make shuffleboard one, too..

Dons nomex undies

Anything that is scored by a panel of judges is not a freaking sport.

Sports: Racing, Hocky, Football

Not Sports: figure skating, cheerleading, Drifting

No, it's a competition, just like figure skating, diving, and any other "sport" that requires a judge. A winner in a sport should be determined by a measurable result, whether it is goals, distance, time, etc., and not by points assigned by a group of other people. Yes, cheerleaders are (or should be) in very good shape and are generally quite athletic, but the same could be said about a bicycle courier or a soldier and I don't see their jobs being classified as a sport.

Of course, the whole argument comes down to semantics and opinion, so we're probably not going to be able to convince someone on the opposite side of the fence, regardless of what the athletes on the debate team will tell you.

Bob

My wife was a high school chearleader.
I tease her all the time by starting activities with the phrase: "ready! - okay!"

My definition of Sport is a competitive activity in which one competitor may defend against the other to prevent them from succeeding.

So unless cheerleaders are knocking eachother over it's not a sport in my book.

jrw1621 wrote: My wife was a high school chearleader. I tease her all the time by starting activities with the phrase: "ready! - okay!"

Thats funny.

My is 5'2 115lbs, played volleyball, hits harder than most men, can shoot as well as I can and is currently seven months prego.

I dont tease her. Well at least not for a few more months anyway.

I have to admit, I wouldn't consider ANY card game (including poker) to be a sport. I would also have to include chess in the same NON-sport category.

Curling? I've never understood how that has stayed an Olympic sport....but if it is, as another person here pointed out, why isn't shuffleboard an Olympic sport?. I mean, isn't there indoor and outdoor volleyball?

Schmidlap wrote: Yes, cheerleaders are (or should be) in very good shape and are generally quite athletic, but the same could be said about a bicycle courier or a soldier and I don't see their jobs being classified as a sport.

You mean, criterons and biathalon? Cycling is definitely a sport, even if you can use components of it to make a living. Most track and field events are actually related to soldiering if you go back to the roots.

If target shooting is a sport, so is curling. Heck, in curling you have an opposing team!

I have a different view of cheerleading than most people, of course. I've seen what it takes, and how tough the competition is. The cheerleaders at my school weren't the bubbly most popular girl on campus types, but serious athletes who probably had a better record at the national and international level than any other team in the school.

Then again, I've always identified anything in which you have to keep score as a game, not a sport.