Column: Sports rely on scoreboards, not judges
Published Feb. 23, 2010
Like you, I've been watching the Winter Olympics and rooting for the red, white and blue. No, not France or Russia — I mean the United States.
It is always great to see so many phenomenal athletes at the top of their game every four years. I am extremely proud of the American athletes for performing well and staying committed to their athletic goals. With all that being said, I do feel that the Olympics drum up some major concerns semantically.
Many announcers are way to quick to call Olympics events sports. Many of them simply are not sports.
Figure skating is not a sport.
Figure skating takes a lot: great athletic ability, a frilly costume and a commitment that is comparable to any other athletic achievement. However, it is not and should not be called a sport by any means of the word. Sports are not judged on quality of the performance. Figure skating and even snowboard half-pipe (sorry Shaun White) are merely athletic events, not sports.
The word sport shouldn't be thrown around haphazardly. It should be retained for things that actually are sports. The criteria to make something a sport are very simple: Sports keep score with either a strict points system and/or against time.
This definition, which is what everyone should adhere to, encompasses everything anyone would, in their right mind, call a sport -- and for good reason.
It's imperative to draw a line between what is and what isn't a sport, because sports are things that are objective examples of competition. Sports, plainly and simply, show who is better at something. This is the essence of competition and the reason games, events and sports were invented.
Yes, I know this will make a lot of people angry to discredit calling figure skating, cheerleading, snowboard half-pipe, all of the X Games and most of the events seen on the hit Nickelodeon game show, "My Family's Got Guts," not sports, but it is a matter of fact, not opinion.
When judges are brought into the picture, the essence of sport is lost.
How can you say one figure skater is better than another if they do the same spins and don't fall? Even if they don't do the same dance moves, how can one objectively compare who's fiercer? My point is you can't call it a sport if the end result is still up for debate.
Shaun White, I'm sorry, you kick ass and your coach has too filthy a mouth for national television, but you don't play a sport. You snowboard, and you are the best at it, but that doesn't mean there aren't people out there who think you aren't the best at it.
Fishing and NASCAR are sports because you can see who's doing a better job objectively. This guy's fish is larger or he's going faster. Darts, billiards and even curling? Sports.
Far too many Olympic medals have been ruined or tainted by crazy judges or "controversies" surrounding stylistic choices. It's all nonsense and, for me, has no place in sports.
That Evgeni Plushenko fella can moan all he wants about technicality, and he very well might be right. There is no question Lindsey Vonn is the fastest downhill woman, no question Kobe Bryant has won NBA championships, no question Jonah Lomu has the most tries in Rugby World Cup history. There are questions about whether Lysacek should've won gold, and this is why figure skating is not a sport.
So announcers, listen up: Sports are sports, and athletic events are, well basically, less entertaining.