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Really?

Hahaha. No.

I would like to add that cheerleading is not a sport as ruled by some random court.

 Lynata wrote:

SoloFalcon wrote:And I am surprised that racecar driving hasn't come up in this thread, either...

I actually thought about it, considering that you "just" sit on a wheel and steer regardless of whether you're sitting in front of a screen or out on a real track, with the only difference thus being the risk involved.
But you probably need a bit of strength in the arms to properly steer a racing car, so certain people would just point out the "physical requirement" as the defining trait. Or do racing cars all have servo-assisted steering? I have no clue about that.

The vast majority of racing cars out there have no power steering of any sort for the simple fact that those systems add more weight. IIRC the only series of racing that does have any sort of assists for its drivers' is Formula 1, and there it's electronic.

No, absolutely not.

Just because something is a contest, doesn't make it a sport.

Is Scrabble or Monopoly a fething sport!? Now, don't think i'm slagging anyone off here, I am a long time gamer, I play maybe 10-15 hours a week, and I have since I was a kid.

I am filled with admiration for the dedication shown by the obese, pasty, foul smelling basement dwellers who routinely thrash me on SC2 have for their craft. It takes real commitment, to move their units the way they do.. I can get nowhere near the micro management that they display... and they have the ability to commit their forces with surgical precision after giving a battlefield the merest glance in appraisal, these talents leave me in awe.

Their ass-rash, sausage roll-sized mouse clicking fingers and absolute refusal to eat anything that requires both hands is a testament to their commitment.

But it ain't a fething sport!

As I read through the thread I couldn't help but remember this routine from George Carlin.

Also, no. Not a fething sport.

Seriously, no. Just sounds like an attempt to legitimise contests to me. Chess masters don't try and call chess a sport, why shouldn't gaming be a separate thing too?

 htj wrote:
Seriously, no. Just sounds like an attempt to legitimise contests to me. Chess masters don't try and call chess a sport, why shouldn't gaming be a separate thing too?

So the Olympic Committee and Chess masters are all conspiring to make Chess a sport by putting it in the olypmics?

Those douches

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

 Lynata wrote:

SoloFalcon wrote:And I am surprised that racecar driving hasn't come up in this thread, either...

I actually thought about it, considering that you "just" sit on a wheel and steer regardless of whether you're sitting in front of a screen or out on a real track, with the only difference thus being the risk involved.
But you probably need a bit of strength in the arms to properly steer a racing car, so certain people would just point out the "physical requirement" as the defining trait. Or do racing cars all have servo-assisted steering? I have no clue about that.

The vast majority of racing cars out there have no power steering of any sort for the simple fact that those systems add more weight. IIRC the only series of racing that does have any sort of assists for its drivers' is Formula 1, and there it's electronic.

Absolutely true...drivers in racing sports are very well-conditioned, which is a necessity for the physical forces they experience during a race (F1 cars can pull up to 5 lateral Gs in a corner, which is nothing to scoff at). They must have excellent endurance and loads of upper-body strength to allow them to operate under the very harsh conditions inside of their car.

On the topic: No. Just, no. I'm a gamer, and in no way, shape, or form are video games a sport. Yes, many take a great deal of skill, but they require nearly zero physical prowess, something that I feel is a main defining factor of a sport. Video games are just that; games. The e-sport garbage to legitimize sitting on your duff playing video games as a "sport" is laughable at best. I frequently play video games (before I got married and had kids, I spent close to 30-40 hours a week playing video games), but I am frankly not impressed by these "athletes" that play Call of Duty, Starcraft, Quake, etc. Do I wish I could get paid for playing video games? Sure, but I find the concept just completely silly and wholly unimpressive. I just don't see the excitement of a successful Zerg rush winning a game of Starcraft in a "heated" competition compared to something like a quarterback running in a 37 yard touchdown after a blitz or a triple play in baseball. Just my opinion.

 LordofHats wrote:

 htj wrote:
Seriously, no. Just sounds like an attempt to legitimise contests to me. Chess masters don't try and call chess a sport, why shouldn't gaming be a separate thing too?

So the Olympic Committee and Chess masters are all conspiring to make Chess a sport by putting it in the olypmics?

Those douches

What!? That does it, I'm outta here!

*abandons thread*

I class video games as sport as long as they are on the wii,playstation move or xbox 360 kinect and they are sports games (golf,bowling....ect)