[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Most boring sport

[Iggy McSnurd]

> Cindy:
>
> OK, I'll play . . .
>
> Iggy wrote:
>
> > Heck, you think all the sports you folks have listed are dull, you
> >forgot the most boring of ALL!  Professional Chess.
>
> Does anyone call chess a sport?  I kind figured that a sport must, at
> minimum, be physical rather than mental.  And shouldn't you have to
> break a sweat from something other than the possibility that you might
> lose?  And shouldn't there be at least some risk of injury?  IMHO,
> this rules out . . .

Iggy:

*grin* Well then, Mrs McGonagall's chessboard in SS/PS turned chess into an
extreme sport... *laugh*

(Besides, have you ever gotten one of them pawns stuck up your nose?  Well I
have, and it hurts... I mean... well... ummm... actually...)

Actually, I've also been told stories of professional chess players who have
suffered such extreme stress that they have massive hypertension, and one or
two have even had strokes or heart attacks at major competitions because
they couldn't handle the stress.

> Cindy:
>
> Bowling -- not a sport.  (Bowling was a demonstration sport in an
> Olympic games, was it not?)

Iggy:

I agree here.  All you need, really, is good aim, and decent arm strength.

> Cindy:
>
> Shooting a gun -- not a sport, unless you must also ski or run around.
>
> Shooting a bow and arrow -- borderline, but a sport.  Probably takes
> real arm strength.

Iggy:

A comedian (Robin Williams, I think) once likened the Biathalon to a Nordic
drive-by.  I tend to agree with him.

As for archery.. I agree that it's a borderline sport.  It DOES take arm
strength, aim, and a steady hand.  It's also a sport where you can get
injured.  (Take it from a man who accidentally shot HIMSELF in the arm while
firing a bow.  True story... I do NOT lie here.  I was practicing with a
recurve bow, and someone handed me an arrow that was shorter than it should
have been for my draw length.  When I brought my thumb back to my jawline,
aimed, and released, the arrow lodged against the arm of the bow and
snapped... driving it into the crook of my left arm.  Fortunately it snapped
paralell and flat, not as a spike... I was only using a 55lb bow, and I was
in the habit of rolling up my shirtsleeves... which protected the area where
the arrow struck somewhat.  I still got a nasty gash in my arm, but it could
have been a lot worse had I not been wearing that heavy cotton shirt with
the sleeve rolled up.)

Some bows, btw, have gone up in tension to 200lb pull and beyond for some of
the custom jobs for serious competitors.  Imagine having to try and draw one
of those.


> Cindy:
>
> Synchronized swimming -- boring and rather pointless, but a sport, I
> guess.

Iggy:

*grin* My sister's mother-in-law was in the Olympics a number of years back
as a mamber of the American Synchronized Swimming Team.  She's actually told
me that it's a lot harder than it looks, and requires definite athletic
ability.  You need strength, coordination, stamina, and a good sense of
orientation in an almost weightless environment.  Not to mention that some
synchronized swimmers can hold their breath underwater about as long as a
professional pearl diver.  (We're talking 3-5 minutes and more...)

> Cindy:
>
> Rhythm Gymnastics -- dangerously close to circus performance, but you
> do have to know how to do the splits, so a sport.

Iggy:

*laugh*

I assume that, here, you're talking about the ones that use the ribbon on a
stick, hula hoop, or clubs in their routine, right?

(I agree here then... Borderline sport...)

> Cindy:
>
> Ballroom dancing -- mmmm, not a sport.  "Uniforms" are just *way* too
> close to evening attire.

Iggy:

I agree here... wholeheartedly.

Although, with what they put their bodies through and even though it's
considered a performing art rather than a sport, I'd rank ballet as being
comperable to a sport when it comes to the level of physical ability you
need to be good.  (I knew someone who was a professional ballet dancer, and
not only were they required to keep in top physical shape, sometimes they
were required to practice dancing while on their toes to such a degree that
some dancers had to bandage their feet repeatedly because their toes would
actually begin to bleed through their toe shoes.


Iggy McSnurd