Re: Gumbel's Olympic Remark
snood wrote:...
"... Try not to point out that something's not really a sport if a pseudo-athlete waits in what's called a kiss-and-cry area, while some panel of subjective judges decides who won ......"
...
Am I the only person here who sees this as being, perhaps, also dismissive of
female athletes? Gymnastics and figure skating fit this mold, both of which are 2 of the only sports, still, where you see a lot of women. I guess Dominique Dawes's achievements mean squat, as do Surya Bonaly's.
I've got a definition of sport for Mr. Gumble.
It's a sport if it fits all of the following criteria
1) it's a physical activity
2) it's competitive
3) there is some sort of scoring kept, however that is done
4) it makes you sweat or can make you sweat (and due to exertion, not due to tension), and
5) it's nonsexual (I only throw this in to eliminate any yahoo who wants to claim that team bed-hopping is a sport)
#1 means running is a sport, but NASCAR probably isn't (sorry).
#2 means you need more than one competitor, it also means stuff that's by definition rigged (we know that other contests are sometimes rigged, but it's not their
raison d'etre), like pro wrestling, isn't a sport
#3 means boxing, golf, gymnastics, track, basketball, horse racing (the score is win, place or show) are all sports
#4 means chess isn't a sport, but jai alai is
#5 should be self-explanatory, no matter how short Anna Kournikova's tennis dresses are
I agree with those who see this as Gumbel pushing March Madness. But really, there are other ways to promote an upcoming sporting event without acting like an as$.