Is snooker a real sport?

DEFTLEFTHAND

Aphex wrote: »

Yep, and rightly so. Think he's broke these days.

Yeah he's on the dole.

major bill

Played All-Ireland snooker at underage level, couldn't care if people don't see it as a sport.

Its takes great mentality and natural ability to become just half decent, playing 7 or 8 frames against someone your equal can be mentally draining!!

Quality game!!

Cienciano

Saying darts is a sport is like saying Jenga is a sport.

Turtwig

Cienciano wrote: »

Saying darts is a sport is like saying Jenga is a sport.

Giant Jenga certainly works the cardiovascular system. There's competition, skill, finesse and even a good stretch involved too.

Ergo, by the criteria established by naysers in this thread. Darts is a sport.

c_man

c_man wrote: »

Well this week being the Masters and all, I've been loving it. Chill out in the evenings, maybe a small smoke, and switch to Eurosport when the BBC finishes their coverage. But then I've got a workmate bitching about it, like saying it shouldn't be on the sports section of the news, it isn't a real sport etc. So what say you AH?

Depends on your definition of "sport". I think it is a shame we have this one word "sport" for such a diverse collection of sports. Whether you are Lawn Bowling or engages in MMA fighting this is all "sport".

Perhaps you should worry less about whether this - or that - is a "sport" - and simply allow yourself to be awe struck by people who are masters in their field.

The word "sport" means nothing to me. But when I see someone hit a tiny golf ball into a hole from a distance I am tired to even WALK in the morning - or I see a snooker player demonstrate Newtonian logic at every angle of a table when I have trouble even seeing them as spheres when I get down on the cue - or people who have a tiny pointy blade who can throw it across a room bigger than my house and land it in the "bullseye" or "ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY" on command. I have long given up on the word "sport". But I will never give up on observation of people who excel in all walks of life.

"Sport" for me is just our way of displaying what our species is capable of

On a different note though - snooker is the one sport that taught me how to be a sportsman.

I remember a year - the year I can tell you not - when Jimmy White had reached the final - a number of times - shall we say.

And I remember him getting down on the white (oo err) - and he was MANY frames ahead at the time -

- and Jimmy got up - without a cry from Stephen Hendry. And without a Cry from the referee.

And he just said "I touched the white with my cue - sorry".

And he went on to LOSE the final. So this anecdote is not going to teach you anything about honesty.

But my love of Jimmy White was sealed that night. To admit to a foul - that no one else saw - in a world where people like Rinaldo find a way to trip over a PAINTED white line. That moment sealed the way I want to live my life. Snooker a sport? I do not know. But it taught me something about "sport(hu)manship"- Jimmy White taught me something - that I take with me like a lost baby takes a blankie. And I hold on to it tight.

DEFTLEFTHAND

You see pro golfers also calling a foul on themselves. There's a code of honour in these sports, something that's long lost in other games.

kneemos

Read the first two pages and skipped to the last for a continuation of yes it is,no its not.

kneemos

Masturbation requires exertion and concentration...game or sport?

Dunno how it would work as a league though.

aaronjumper

Anything that has tournaments, trophies, winners and losers is a sport, I would have thought, leaving dictionary definitions aside. Never thought people based it on how much energy you burn.

Kermit.de.frog

Darts are labelled a "sport" yet every "pro" who plays seems to be a fat drunk with a pint in their hand.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Darts are labelled a "sport" yet every "pro" who plays seems to be a fat drunk with a pint in their hand.

Darts is serious business these days and some of the younger crew have a new ethos, look at guys like Kim Hybrechts or James Wade in the PDC, men who are in shape. Over at the BDO you have guys like Wesley Harms and Jeffery De Graaf. These men hit the gym every morning as Vassos Alexander revealed recently when commentating for BBC on Lakeside.

Big money to be made out there.

ceadaoin.

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Darts are labelled a "sport" yet every "pro" who plays seems to be a fat drunk with a pint in their hand.

You obviously haven't watched professional darts in a good few years

Dirty Dingus McGee

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

You see pro golfers also calling a foul on themselves. There's a code of honour in these sports, something that's long lost in other games.

Its easier to be more sporting in a non contact sport where the referee has no influence other than to count the score.I definitely wouldn't be willing to call a foul on myself, in soccer, gaa, rugby etc when the referee probably doesn't award loads of fouls per game that might have cost your team already.

Dunford

My wife never understands me when I tell her that some the finest athletes in the world compete at the Lakeside every year.

Snooker and darts are both sports.

Todays final is going to be a cracker. Im glad Ronnie is out. I seem to have gone off him after the school fees comment.

Whosthis

Its more of a giant board game than a sport really.

sipstrassi

Del2005 wrote: »

Can it be a sport where the equipment has a bigger impact than the person ,same for horse events?

Horses are not 'equipment'. I could drive an F1 car once shown but I could never ride any of the top horses from any equestrian sport. Horses will develop a relationship with a rider and not perform for an equally good rider. Unlike a car or any other 'equipment'.

Whosthis

Dunford wrote: »

My wife never understands me when I tell her that some the finest athletes in the world compete at the Lakeside every year.

Snooker and darts are both sports.

Todays final is going to be a cracker. Im glad Ronnie is out. I seem to have gone off him after the school fees comment.

Calling it a sport is pushing it, calling them athletes is a step too far.

job seeker

Areyouwell wrote: »

At the very least, I'd say you'd need medication.

Lol

force eleven

Americans call it Snucker.

Beasty

Here you are - A definitive list of Sports

Snooker and Darts are definitely there, alongside Yoga, Paintball, Bowling and indeed Frisbee:)

razorblunt

They're not athletes, they're Mathletes. Excellent use of angles.

Same with Dart players, totting up checkouts in their sleep.

pmy.murphy

Whosthis wrote: »

Calling it a sport is pushing it, calling them athletes is a step too far.

Well I do think its a sport dont so much agree with the athletes statement when you see guys like Andy Fordham or Peter Manley on the oche playing darts

K_user

Just a thought:

A snooker match is between two players, a single game can last for many hours and only one person can win that particular match.

A football game has many participants, within a particular match some of the players may have no say in the outcome of the game because they had no interaction with the ball. Essentially they run around in circles for 90 minutes. Even in a hard fought football match some of the players only have seconds with the ball, depending on others to score the required winning points. And a team is free to swap out individuals during play.

So could it be argued that Snooker is far more of a sport than football because 100% of the result rests on the shoulders of one individual?

(* I’ll just go get my coat now, please go easy with those flames )

Whosthis

K_user wrote: »

Just a thought:

A snooker match is between two players, a single game can last for many hours and only one person can win that particular match.

A football game has many participants, within a particular match some of the players may have no say in the outcome of the game because they had no interaction with the ball. Essentially they run around in circles for 90 minutes. Even in a hard fought football match some of the players only have seconds with the ball, depending on others to score the required winning points. And a team is free to swap out individuals during play.

So could it be argued that Snooker is far more of a sport than football because 100% of the result rests on the shoulders of one individual?

(* I’ll just go get my coat now, please go easy with those flames )

Can doing a crossword be described as a sport, its just you against the clues and 100% of the result rests on the shoulders of one individual.

K_user

razorblunt wrote: »

They're not athletes, they're Mathletes. Excellent use of angles.

Football is all about angles too. Being fit enough to run up and down a pitch for 90 minutes doesn't make for a great player. Being able to kick the ball at the correct angle, at the correct speed, under pressure, is what makes for a great player.

Running is the most basic of athletic endeavours. Start, one foot in front of the other, finish. But again at a professional level its all about the angles, timing, the mathematics of competition. Being able to run fast is a requirement, but that is just the start.

K_user

Whosthis wrote: »

Can doing a crossword be described as a sport, its just you against the clues and 100% of the result rests on the shoulders of one individual.

Putting on your underwear comes down to you v's that odd looking piece of cloth in your hand. You'll either be 100% successful, or make a hash of it.

major bill

I once heard an argument of which of the following '147 or 9 Darter' was harder to achieve

Now there's an interesting one for after hours 😊

blade1

Any sport that you could drink a pint or smoke a fag during,i wouldnt consider a real sport.
Talent yeah,sport no!

Although when i was a kid back in the 70's, there was a man in the local GAA team who always had a fag hanging out of his mouth while playing.
Also,the Goalie used to play in his Y fronts which i assume were meant to be white but were more of a yellowish cream colour!

Whosthis

K_user wrote: »

Putting on your underwear comes down to you v's that odd looking piece of cloth in your hand. You'll either be 100% successful, or make a hash of it.

I think we should bring this concept to the Olympic committee.

K_user

blade1 wrote: »

Any sport that you could drink a pint or smoke a fag during,i wouldnt consider a real sport.
Talent yeah,sport no!

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/466825/I-played-drunk-against-Man-Utd-admits-former-Birmingham-defender-Curtis-Woodhouse

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/aug/25/footballers-playing-under-the-influence

Alcohol contaminates all walks of life.

Zebra3

No. And neither is darts.

Or driving a car.

blade1

K_user wrote: »

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/466825/I-played-drunk-against-Man-Utd-admits-former-Birmingham-defender-Curtis-Woodhouse

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/aug/25/footballers-playing-under-the-influence

Alcohol contaminates all walks of life.

I said drink a pint during.
Theres a difference.

Greenmachine

If poker is a sport, which it is apparently, surely snooker is.

blade1

Greenmachine wrote: »

If poker is a sport, which it is apparently, surely snooker is.

And if Poker is, 45 is!
And if 45 is, SNAP is!

Egginacup

donegaLroad wrote: »

A guy told me one time, that if you dont have to change your shoes, then its not a sport.


Personally I love snooker and I used to play it a lot.

Well you don't change your shoes for swimming, you just take them off:p

Snooker is mesmerising. You don't necessarily have to be in good physical condition to play but it helps. Physical condition helps mental condition and also nerves, both of which can be really tested in a snooker match leaving you a shaking wreck at the end of it all. And let's not forget the skill aspect of it.

Is horseracing a sport? Of course it is only it doesn't have any fans. Nobody watches horse racing because of the love of the sport. They watch to see if the horse they bet on wins.

ToddyDoody

Having umpired a number of darts games (basically standing there and telling them to hurry up), i'd have to say darts is but neither are really. Any sport played effectively by someone over 30 stone is not really a sport.

K_user

ToddyDoody wrote: »

Having umpired a number of darts games (basically standing there and telling them to hurry up), i'd have to say darts is but neither are really. Any sport played effectively by someone over 30 stone is not really a sport.

Tell that to a Sumo wrestler

ToddyDoody

K_user wrote: »

Tell that to a Sumo wrestler

Touché, Ms. / Mr. K

Greenmachine

blade1 wrote: »

And if Poker is, 45 is!
And if 45 is, SNAP is!

No idea what 45 is, but no snap is not a sport, it lack a critical requirement of skill.

Reoil

If you progressively get **** with age, it's a sport.

BetterThanThou

Don't personally see snooker or darts as a sport, nor poker or any card game. Golf is one I'm not sure about, it's not overly physically demanding, but at least it's outside over a large playing field, rather than a dartboard or a snooker table. That said, darts, poker and snooker both require a lot of skill, more than some sports, but I simply consider them games, rather than a sport.

YFlyer

BetterThanThou wrote: »

Don't personally see snooker or darts as a sport, nor poker or any card game. Golf is one I'm not sure about, it's not overly physically demanding, but at least it's outside over a large playing field, rather than a dartboard or a snooker table. That said, darts, poker and snooker both require a lot of skill, more than some sports, but I simply consider them games, rather than a sport.

ping pong is only a game then?

Omackeral

major bill wrote: »

I once heard an argument of which of the following '147 or 9 Darter' was harder to achieve

Now there's an interesting one for after hours 😊

Interesting. To put another spin on it, which is more likely, a Darts player achieving a 147 or a Snooker player getting a 9 dart finish?

major bill

Omackeral wrote: »

Interesting. To put another spin on it, which is more likely, a Darts player achieving a 147 or a Snooker player getting a 9 dart finish?

Neither IMO you would have to be exceptional at both games to achieve them.

I don't think Darts should be in the same sentence as Snooker when arguing over whether they are sports or not, no disrespect to Darts players but Snooker is much more technical game with better participants. Darts isn't even on the same scale as it.

matthew8

Definitely a sport to me and so are darts and golf because there is a physical element to it. You can have all the angles worked out and have all the mental fortitude but even at the top level you can see some players are simply better at hitting the ball.

BlaasForRafa

K_user wrote: »

Tell that to a Sumo wrestler

They aren't ALL wobbly fatties Chiyonofuji was fairly lean and mean for a sumo wrestler back in the day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6nqNJUqHn8

BeerWolf

looking_around wrote: »

no, and neither is golf, chess, darts or "e-sports"

imo sport should be anything that is physical/brings up the heart rate/makes you sweat etc

You ought to watch them e-sports that involve a lot of micro management, like in an RTS such StarCraft 2... where you control a lot of units at individual levels in rapid succession while managing bases all the while out thinking, surveying and manoeuvring your opponents.

Video of demonstration (doesn't help the stereotypage, but still :P ):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bexWuHmV32A

That being said, I hate RTS's... give me an RPG any day :pac: