ON THE DEFENSIVE SIDE

[BJ Laster]

I'm curious...



If someone told you "fishing is not a sport", How would you respond?



I think fishing is a sport, just not an athletic sport.



I think the mental-endurance side of fishing is the hardest among all sports. Denny Brauer hit it on the head at the Classic two years ago.



The window of compettion is (on average) an 8 hour day for a tournament. 3 to 4 days in length. Practice days are even longer. I know when I fish the BFL tournaments I'm exaused. And those are just three nights gone from home and two days on the water. I try to focus 100%. The mental toughness in this sport is very very tough.



Whats your opinion?

 

[Greg J.]

Sure it's athletic . Look at all the casting, retrieving, bending, stooping, and twisting a fisherman does during a day on the water.

 

[Bryan McDonough]

Defintion of sport: If you have your own category on the front of the espn page, then it might be a sport.

 

[David Munaretto]

It meets my definition of a sport...









I can do it while holding a beer....









David

 

[Tony Payne]

It fit's my definition as well...



I can tell everyone else how to do it better.

 

[TritonGlenn]

I'd have them get in my boat with me, no seat in back to lounge in, and have them go cast for cast with me on the Potomac during this time of year. If they can fish from 5:30am to 3:00pm without stopping for any more than a couple seconds to take a drink, then they can tell me that professional bass fishing isn't a sport. I've had two try it.... and now they both agree that fishing is a sport.... and a tough one at that - if you are serious about what you do.



Heck, I can play baseball half-hearted and not break a sweat. Does that mean that isn't a sport?



Sport is what you put into it.



All the best,

Glenn

 

[David Butler]

total number of people fishing vs total numberpeople actual playing football,basketball, baseball. watch a game is not a sport

Dave

 

[Larry Harp]

George Carlin said, "There are only three sports, football, baseball, and basketball. All the rest are activities. Anything that you can smoke a cigarette and drink a beer while you do it is not a sport." I sort of agree with that, I don't consider golf a sport for example but I sure wouldn't want to be the one to tell Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklas that. Hockey is a sport if you live in a state where block heaters are standard equiptment on new cars but it's not a sport in Los Angles. Bowling is definatly not a sport, it's an excuse to smoke cigarettes and drink beer. The way I fish is certianly not a sport, but this coming weekend there will be some serious sport fishing going on.



Websters New World Dictionary defines Sport as "1. Any activity or experience that gives enjoyment or recreation; pastime; diversion. 2.Such an activity requiring more or less vigorous bodily exertion and carried on, sometimes as a profession, according to some traditional form or set of ruoles, whether outdoors, as football, golf, etc., or indoors, as basketball, bowling, etc. 3. Fun or play." So I guess by that definition then competitive tournement fishing is a sport....so long as you don't smoke cigarettes and drink beer.



Harpo

 

[TOMMY RICH]

I'm a fisherman and it's not a sport....sorry. I think most know it too

Hobby or Obsession maybe:blink:

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Come spend 4 days on the water with me during a tourney BJ.....you'll see very quickly how much of a sport it is. When you make 1,000 casts a day or better, keep horsing big, hard pulling fish up out of 50+ feet or water, stowing and deploying the trolling motor all day, hanging onto 175 ponies at 70 mph for an hour at a time.



Bull riding (getting kicked around and hanging on in 3 footers)

+ Nascar (driving a high performance machine to it's max)

+ Weight lifting (TM, fish, and weigh bags)

+ Chess (total mental concrentration and strategy for multi-day tourneys)

+ Golf (balance of precision and power in casts)



= Tourney Bass fishing!





Maybe not for the weekend angler, but when you step it up to that level....it's a sport alright. That's why sport's medicine comes into play for elbow, shoulder, and back surgery for pro anglers.

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Sure it is Rob

BTW...I've spent 7 days on the water and you don't have to tell me "how tough it is"...I know but, it's not a sport...if it is I'M AN ATHLETE!:lol:

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Anyone can "play" baseball or softball on the weekends Tee. That's doesnt' make them athlete. And just becaue they can, and golf CAN be played by amateurs, that doesn't make them any less of a sport. Anyone CAN play football on any given day too. It's the guy that does it for a living or at the very least competitively, where it makes up a LARGE part of their life, that is an athlete in that sport.



7 "recreational" days on the water do not even come close to comparing to 4 tourney days where your finances depend on it and you're so focused that you can hardly sleep at night.



That is the difference. We're talking apples and oranges here.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

I'd tell them to "Shut up and fish"!!



TOXIC

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Not the way I fish dude:lol: Sunrise to Sunset and BTW...had my share of tournies

 

[Rich D]

I don't consider it a sport, just an activity. Just being athletic or needing endurance doesn't count. If that were the only qualifications, roofing would be a sport. Of course I don't consider Nascar or golf sports either.



Rich D

 

[BJ Laster]

I like Rob's answer the best so far!



Keep your opinions coming in....I figured this would be a good topic to discuss

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Neeley,

You take drinking to a sport level. And if it IS a sport then you ARE an athlete!



And when did you get a job? Where you working at? And quit stirring the pot eyebrow shaver.

 

[Jim in VA]

Depends on your definition of "sport." Webster's takes the broadest definition. I take a more narrow one - not that I'm saying others are wrong, just that in my view, "sport" involves some short duration, intense physical activity. Baseball, basketball, hockey, running, bicycling, skiing, tennis, etc. are all "sports" to me. Fishing, driving (Nascar), golf, walking, boating, all fit my definition of "activities."



I personally like Harpo's "test" - if you can drink beer or smoke a cigarette while engaged in the activity - it ain't a sport. Imagine drinking a beer or smoking will actively engaged in the activities I gave as examples of "sports." Not so easy. Then try it with the non-sport activities - much easier.



Again, this is my own narrower view of the definition of "sport." But then again, why does it really matter? We're out enjoying our "activities" be they "sports" or not.



Tight lines!

 

[Greg Meyer]

"Sport" is not defined at the professional/elite level. Baseball is a sport... but it is recognized as a sport at the Little League and High School level. And, in my past I smoked a lot of cigarettes and drank a few beers while I played Golf. With a set of golf clubs Tiger woods is an athlete, I'm not. Lance Armstrong is an athlete on a bicycle, I'm not. But, if I golf or cycle I am engaged in a "sport" activity, I'm just not doing it at an "athletic level". Fishing is a recreational activity that involves some physical activity so it is closer to recrational golfing than it is to chess or painting or coin collecting.



Professional Touring Pros need to "play" at a much more focused and intense level than the weekend angler. So, they have more in common with the professional athlete in terms of activity and focus than the weekend angler. But, both are engaged in fishing... I think its a sport... but I'm no athlete... I'm just real tired after a three day tournament and three days of pre-fishing... tired and broke!

 

[Ken Neeley]

Rob,

I'm a lightweight compared to other MVM members!!!

Hell, even Teri drank me under the table. :wub:

 

[Rob LaMoy]

I like the way Greg put it. That's what I was trying to say, but didn't get it across properly. Neeley you ARE a light weight. Now....where ya workin?

 

[Greg Meyer]

Neeley got his dream job... He is the Quality Control Inspector and Product Tester at the Bunny Ranch...

 

[Ken Neeley]

I'm back in the car biz for awhile....doing F&I for a Dodge dealership.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Don't tease Meyer! Ifn dat was so, I'd be sending a resume to be his apprentice!



Neeley, what is F&I?

 

[Greg Meyer]

Ken,



I am glad that you are back among the "employed"... I know what it was like to have time to fish but couldn't... Now, you can, but no time... Life is a "beach"....

 

[Edward Lea.]

Didn't any of you play Beer ball? Most town teams, maybe you need to be from a small town to know what a town team is, play beer ball at some point during the Softball season. Softball is a sport isn't it?

 

[Larry Harp]

F&I is the toughtest job in a car dealership...You're the first in every morning and the last to leave at night, you never get to leave a 6X6 office, and you're to blame for every flake with bad credit who can't get approved.



Best of luck, Ken.





Harpo

 

[Greg Meyer]

Hey Ken... what brand are you selling... I might need a new truck and I can get service after the sale here and buy from a friend there... Besides, I haven't forgotten your/our desire to do a littkle fun shooting before serious hunting season arrives...

 

[Ken Neeley]

Greg,

I'm at a Dodge dealership, but the group owns Chrysler/Jeep and Ford also.