As I was browsing around for articles on tonights Bengals/Ravens game I ran across this article and this quote.
www.msnbc.msn.com/.../
"I mean, this isn't a soft sport. We don't play chess. This isn't swimming. This isn't one of those kind of sports. It's football. It takes a man to play this game, and to play this game you have to have passion.''
I had to laugh.
Although I may agree that NASCAR (or my personal favorite, F1) may not be a "sport" in the tradition of swimming, track & field, or even "ball" sports, from what I have been able to learn, being a driver takes tremendous physical conditioning. F1 in particular puts about the same stresses on the body that you get in an F-16, only in shorter and far more frequent doses. Not to mention the quick reaction and mental concentration skills they must possess. There is also a great deal of teamwork involved (take a close look at a pit stop sometime), which is at least on the same level as, say, football.
I was really just joshing with Geek cuz he was baiting everyone with his post. I do believe their job is hard. I myself wouldn't want to drive that fast in the traffic where I live. I'm sure driving at that speed does require super-human reflexes and some conditioning. My very limited point, besides teasing Geek, was that they are sitting down and driving. And I believe that "mental concentration" is required for many things in life including my own driving in dense traffic, my own "job," reading, helping my kids with their math homework, etc. Dorianblade's dictionary definition of sport required physical exertion and "execise." They make get some of that, to be sure, but it still seems more like a job than a sport to me. Of course, pro football players are doing a job too....
Although I may agree that NASCAR (or my personal favorite, F1) may not be a "sport" in the tradition of swimming, track & field, or even "ball" sports, from what I have been able to learn, being a driver takes tremendous physical conditioning. F1 in particular puts about the same stresses on the body that you get in an F-16, only in shorter and far more frequent doses. Not to mention the quick reaction and mental concentration skills they must possess. There is also a great deal of teamwork involved (take a close look at a pit stop sometime), which is at least on the same level as, say, football.
I was really just joshing with Geek cuz he was baiting everyone with his post. I do believe their job is hard. I myself wouldn't want to drive that fast in the traffic where I live. I'm sure driving at that speed does require super-human reflexes and some conditioning. My very limited point, besides teasing Geek, was that they are sitting down and driving. And I believe that "mental concentration" is required for many things in life including my own driving in dense traffic, my own "job," reading, helping my kids with their math homework, etc. Dorianblade's dictionary definition of sport required physical exertion and "execise." They make get some of that, to be sure, but it still seems more like a job than a sport to me. Of course, pro football players are doing a job too....
