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| Posted By | Discussion Topic: Is NASCAR even a sport? | ||||
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| OAAWITE | posted on 02-10-2002 @ 12:49 PM |    | |||
| Hanger-On Registered: Jan. 70  | Due to the fact that I think it is not, I posted this in OT rather than sports. And if this eventually ends up in Sports, then a certain mod definately feels this is a "sport". Now, this thread is not to debate the merits of the events themselves. This is not for people to bash the utter insomnia-overcoming task of watching cars drive in a circle until something cool like fatal car crash occurs. Nor is it to mock the drooling, toothless, separatists that are enamored with NASCAR. My belief is that a sport is defined as being a sport becuase of the phsycial health, power, grace, stamina, or precision of the human body. Whether or not someone succeeds in sports hinges on their own personal conditioning and not that of an external source. The success of a person in NASCAR has more to do with mental toughness and decision-making as to when to pass, and other things that really have nothing to do with whether the driver is in shape at all. It is my contention that many a "sport" that is shown on ESPN is not actually a sport. This includes other games that are less about physical activity and more about the mind such as pool, chess, poker, bowling, and putt-putt. Do you think it's a sport? Why or why not? What defines a sport in your opinion?  This message was edited by OAAWITE on 2-10-02 @ 1:06 PM | ||||
| GonzoStyle | posted on 02-10-2002 @ 1:00 PM | | |||
| Hanger-On Registered: Jan. 70 | Bowling, Nascar, Billiards, even golf truthfully are not sports, they are recreational activities. Yes the defense has always been they are sports because they require physical skill. Well so does construction work, does make crane lifting a sport.. even thought it probably is. This argument falls under the resevoir dogs "tip" argument. Why tip someone and not another person, it's pretty much a judgement call. But major athletes like football, basketball, hockey and baseball athletes all play pool, golf, and bowling to relax so to me, it's a recrational activity. Dodgeball is more of a sport than golf in my opinion. You don't have to be very strong or have great skills or even be in good shape to be a bowler or even a race car driver.  I'm Deep Inside Your Children. They Will Betray You In MY Name. | ||||
| Turk408 | posted on 02-10-2002 @ 1:02 PM | | |||
| Psychopath Registered: Feb. 01 | I would think it is a sport, and a team one at that. You have the pit crews who have to work fast to keep the car in the race, that takes precision. New technology advances in the cars like the new advances in other sports, example, new bats, pads and such. I know it sounds like I am reaching. I would think that the drivers lose a lot of fluids and stuff driving around in circles in hot cars...so it may take some sort of physical conditioning. Believe it or not I amnot even a fan of Nascar but I can think of quite a few rednecks out there who probably would share my views, with a little more force and a lot less intelligence. It ain't easy being greasy in a world full of cleanliness and you know, all that other madness. | ||||
| ChowderPuke p.s. I know what the deal is...I've been here a while...just never registered until recently. | posted on 02-10-2002 @ 1:13 PM | | |||
| Hanger-On Registered: Feb. 02 | I personally don't think it is a "sport", but I have heard many times (from tv, nascar fans, etc..) that it does require a great deal of physical stamina and training, and the more in shape someone is, then the faster the car could go because there is less weight in the car.(That's why there's not really any fat bastards {like myself} driving race cars. To me, it's just driving a car...albeit at a high rate of speed for a long time frame (which I could see would take something out of you), but still....IT'S JUST DRIVING!!! Honk If You Like O&A! The Norton We Didn't Know!  I might be new to the board, but I'm not new to the show...give me all the shit you want! | ||||
| Cluster F | posted on 02-10-2002 @ 4:07 PM | | |||
| O&A Board Regular Registered: Oct. 00 | quote: Yes. Go Knicks, Giants, Rangers, and Rutgers Men's Basketball Long Live Psycho Bitch | ||||
| Angelo from da Bronx | posted on 02-10-2002 @ 4:38 PM | | |||
| Psychopath Registered: Dec. 00 | NASCAR drivers are good drivers, not athletes. As far as the pit crew, they're good mechanics, not athletes...that being said, I'll have to say, no NASCAR is not a sports IMO. -------------------------- E-Mail me HERE AIM ME AT : OA AfdB | ||||
King Shit *board owner* | posted on 02-10-2002 @ 4:41 PM | | |||
| O&A Board Veteran Registered: Feb. 01 | I think any time there is such a strong reliance on machinery, it becomes less a sport than just a general competition. I believe in the Faith... that can save me. I believe in the hope and I pray... That someday it may raise me... above these badlands Over The Limit | ||||
| diceisgod I ALWAYS LOSE. | posted on 02-10-2002 @ 5:10 PM | | |||
| O&A Board Regular Registered: Dec. 01 | quote:Well, since we're gonna be all nicey-nice and serious about this, I'll say that yes it is a sport. I could care less about it though. quote:NASCAR meets these criteria more or less. So does masterbating, but hey I didn't define the word.  Nobody fucks with Dice, Dice does the fuckin! This message was edited by diceisgod on 2-10-02 @ 5:22 PM | ||||
| Francine Banger | posted on 02-10-2002 @ 6:29 PM | | |||
| O&A Board Regular Registered: Dec. 00 | quote: I agree. quote: You didnt spell the word either, Masturbating that is, not sport.  This message was edited by Francine Banger on 2-10-02 @ 6:33 PM | ||||
| OAAWITE | posted on 02-10-2002 @ 6:29 PM | | |||
| Hanger-On Registered: Jan. 70 | quote: You could? I couldn't. | ||||
| Sir Okonkwo | posted on 02-10-2002 @ 7:21 PM | | |||
| Psychopath Registered: Jun. 01 | I don't care for NASCAR, nor have I ever. But it is a sport. In your post, you said:quote:By that definition, pro wrestling is a sport. I think to be a successful driver, you'd need to be in top physical shape. Remember, these aren't Dodge Neons they're driving. They're big cars built for one reason: to go really fucking fast. Being able to maintain control of a car at high sppeds for hours at a time, compensating for understeer and/or oversteer, constant shifting, braking, and accelerating, can be very physically taxing. I remember reading in SI a while back that it's not uncommon for a NASCAR driver to lose 20 pounds over the course of one single race. So yeah, even though I don't really care, I'd say NASCAR is a sport and the drivers are athletes.  FTL is not to blame for this abomination of a sig pic. | ||||
| iampoop | posted on 02-10-2002 @ 8:20 PM | | |||
| Hanger-On Registered: Jan. 02 | NO! just like horse racing is not a sport from the jockey's prospective, the horse is doing all the work as is the car. if some body who is watching the activity could get off the couch and do it at about the same level as the pros it's not a sport( fishing, bowling,darts) i could go out and drive fast in a circle. | ||||
| OAAWITE | posted on 02-10-2002 @ 9:01 PM | | |||
| Hanger-On Registered: Jan. 70 | quote: Yeah well aside from Pro Boxing, sports don't have pre-defined outcomes. Therefore, wrestling is also not a sport. But it is lightyears ahead of Nascar in regards to being a sport. The cars are set to go real fast. The person needs to be able to have a strong foot, and a firm grip on the wheel. Just becuase fat guys can't fit in the cars, doesn't mean that they have to be athletes. If chicks can be just as good as guys, it's not a sport. | ||||
| Cluster F | posted on 02-10-2002 @ 9:26 PM | | |||
| O&A Board Regular Registered: Oct. 00 | quote: So is tennis not a sport?? I think you need to be a pretty damn good athlete to play 3 or 5 sets of tennis, and women are pretty damn good at it. Racing does depend obviously on mechanics, but it requires massive mental power too. That is concentration. My list of what is considered a "sport" in my eyes (if i forget any let me know): Football Baseball Hockey Basketball Boxing Racing (NASCAR, CART, etc) Tennis Track and Field Tour De France Cycling Amateur Wrestling What is considered a "game" or "recreational activity" in my eyes Golf Soccer Bowling Swimming Gymnastics Skiing/Snowboarding Any other cycling WWF Wrestling All the X Games Go Knicks, Giants, Rangers, and Rutgers Men's Basketball Long Live Psycho Bitch This message was edited by Cluster F on 2-10-02 @ 9:39 PM | ||||
...And now the battle between us and them has begun. JYD-4-LIFE. | posted on 02-10-2002 @ 10:32 PM | | |||
| O&A Board Veteran Registered: May. 00 | Last May, Tony Stewart drove in the Indy 500, going in speeds of up to 200 mph for a total of about 4 hours, got in a helicopter and flew to the airport, got in a plane and flew to Georgia and then raced in the Pepsi 400 for 3+ hours. All in the same day, and he finished in the top 10 in both races. Now I don't know about you, but I think that not only takes mental strength but it takes a hell of a physical toll on the body as well. He had to work with a physical coach for months in order to gain the stamina that was needed to accomplish his fete. Now I don't know about you, but that sounds like a well conditioned athelete to me. I'd like to see you show the half the atheletic prowess thats needed in order to steer and maneuver a car thats going at about 180 mph, but hey I'm sure you would just say that's its easy and just like driving on the turnpike. quote: As for these comments, they just go to show your ignorance about nascar and the people who watch it. I love nascar and I'm neither toothless, nor a drooling seperatist as you say. And I also don't find it amusing or "cool" when someone dies in a fatal car crash, but hey maybe I just value human life more than you. Who knows.  Quando sono solo sogno all’orizzonte e mancan le parole, Si lo so che non c’è luce in una stanza quando manca il sole, se non ci sei tu con me, con me. | ||||
| Tequila Fez claims this land in the name of Portugal! Why worry about the train if it never makes it around the tracks?? IrishAlkey wuz here!!! | posted on 02-10-2002 @ 11:22 PM | | |||
| O&A Board Veteran Registered: Jan. 01 | Nascar is one of the best sports around. You can say whatever you want. There are millions of other who feel the same way. You say that its not a sport because quote: Thats not true at all. You have to be in very good shape to take the amount of force put on your body when you are going 190 MPH. You also have to have GREAT driving skills to know when you can move out of the draft and pass another car, or when to go high or low to avoid a crash. I would love to see another pro athlete race a car and do what NASCAR drivers do when they want a "recrational activity"  AOL/AIM - oanda1027fm | ||||
| OAAWITE | posted on 02-10-2002 @ 11:25 PM | | |||
| Hanger-On Registered: Jan. 70 | To answer cluster F. No Tennis is a sport. Women can be good at tennis, just like they can be good at golf, hockey, and various track and field events as well as any other sport. But they aren't as good as the men, which due to the genetically superior male body when it comes to sports. If women can be just as good as men, it implies that the activity is more mental that physical. Becuase something takes "massive mental power" doesn't make it a sport. Is chaos theory a sport? Math, physics? That's a very weak argument. To say that NASCAR is a sport, but that soccer, Gymnastics and swimming are not is just downright foolish. There is no form of lucid logic that can explain how NASCAR is a sport and those three arent. So Tony Stewart sat in a car for four hours, then sat in a helicopoter and a plane for few more hours, then he sat in a car again for few more hours. Yes impressive because I get very groggy when I sit for a really long time even if I'm driving. Also impressive that he won the events. You put a boxer in that same situation, he'll get his ass kicked? Why becuase boxing is more taxing on the body that NASCAR. In fact. You put pretty much any "athlete" in that situation, and their performance will be so effected that there would be no chance of them winning two events in one day. Yet another argument AGAINST NASCAR being a sport. Driving does take a lot of mental toughness and immense knowledge of the car, the track, velocity etc. For them to get so close to other cars going 2000MPH without causing accidents is amazing, and is something that a tiny percentage of people in the world can do. They deserve a ton of credit for what they do. But that doesn't make them athletes. Again, my purpose here was not to talk about why people are interested in it. My jabs at the sport were jokes. Sure it doesn't interest me, but so what? I'm not going to invade NASCAR threads and mock the sport. That's retarded. I just honestly am curious why people say it's a sport. I like watching poker on TV. It takes a shitload of mental toughness, risk assessment, knowledge of your competitor, and many of the same things that racing does, but no one would ever consider that to be a sport. But they're sitting in a chair. Sure they're going fast and in control of a very powerful and tough to manage machine, but so are airline pilots. | ||||
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