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Posted by: NYC fan on 2008-09-01, 19:18:14
Poker is NOT a sport. It is NOT a competition in which success depends on the competitor's athletic physical skills. Success depends on the competitor's correct decisions. Still, a person can theoretically win at poker without making a physical move related to the game; if the competitor has no arm function, he can ask somebody else to make the physical movements based on his decisions -- move the chips, move the cards, and so forth -- and still compete. How can you call something a sport if the competitor can have somebody else make all the physical moves, and still be the competitor? Chess is not a sport because the competitor can theoretically play by asking someone else to move the pieces. Same for checkers or any board game. Football, soccer, and rugby are sports because if you're competing, you must be the one out on the field, making the physical movements, and your team's success depends on the quality of your physical movements in executing the plays (speed, strength, coordination, etc.). Auto racing is a sport because the competitor must be driving the car, and success depends on his athletic physical skills in doing so (motor skills, endurance, coordination, precise movements). Golf is a sport because the competitor must be the one swinging the club, and success is based on his skill in doing so (speed, precision, coordination, balance). Even though it's on ESPN, poker is not a sport. Keep in mind, ESPN stood for ENTERTAINMENT and Sports Programming Network (though technically, officially, it now stands for nothing, and is simply "ESPN "). It's not just sports. It is a game which requires great skill and decision-making, but success does not depend on the competitor's athletic physical skills. One can theoretically win by simply making decisions, and communicating the decisions to somebody else who makes the physical moves. No athletic physical skills are necessary. Keep in mind, defining a sport doesn't necessarily depend on the difficulty; it's all about competition and the use of athletic physical skills. |
