Do you consider this a sport?

[capconian]

Do you guys consider fighting games a sport?


Yes? No? Why?

[Superking]

Hey if playing CS or SC or WC3 in South Korea is a sport that pays handsomely, then yes I consider fighting games as one too. Sadly they don't get any recognition, players don't get paid as much as FPS or RTS players and our genre is just a niche now. =/

[HellMUT]

We need a channel solely for fighting games, im jealous of the starcraft channel in s.korea

[TGC]

Practically is a sport in japan, although they don't get paid average amounts of money for playing. Like koreans got paid 20,000 a year from sponsors and ish for SC. INSANE!!

[Jedi W.]

...it's probably never gonna be a sport here, but it is in other countries...

...of course, ESPN2 has shown Magic: The Gathering tournies, w/ play by play...

--jedi\/\/.

[b1ng0]

what you guys have listed are all games

like chess

like backgammon

like bridge

by my definition, none of the things mentioned are sports

a sport is something that requires some actual physical activity, and/or body displacement, in addition to being played by a set of rules and is played competitively.

Video games etc fit the bill for 2 of the 3 criteria imho

[qwazy]

fighting games dont require physical activity?

what about bowling?

[capconian]

What pisses me of is that ESPN has lately show non-sport activities (chess, cutting log, pool, poker) :mad: and people say that ESPN is the sports channel, those SOBs. If they put that kind of shit on and get away with it, they should put fighting games.

[OneInchPunch]

i dunno man, i was watchin this log cuttin competition n it was intense. they had to climb a log using rope n spike shoes and had to cut the top of the log. they fuckin flew.

[capconian]

Originally posted by OneInchPunch
i dunno man, i was watchin this log cuttin competition n it was intense. they had to climb a log using rope n spike shoes and had to cut the top of the log. they fuckin flew.
i meant the one where they stand in front of the croud and cut a log with a chain saw.

[Outtawack311]

Don't kid yourself, this isnt a sport. Bowling isnt a sport, pool isnt a sport, poker isnt. Starcraft, warcraft and counterstrike definitely arent.

[qwazy]

why cant it be a sport?

what makes football and baseball sports, but not those?

i guess it depends on your definition of sport.

[UltraDavid]

I don't think there's any real set definition of "sport" out there. Take the definition Bingo offered. Where do bowling, auto racing, and golf fit in? Bowling, for one, requires almost no body displacement of physical activity. Auto racing requires little physical activity and, while the car the body is in moves a great distance, the body itself moves just as much as it does while playing fighting games, that is, not at all. And golf, if you play with carts, requires only that you stand up and swing and then sit back down. And yet all of those are considered sports in America. They aren't considered sports in some other places, though.

I think sport is whatever the society deems it to be. In Switzerland sport includes two guys reaching around each other and grabbing each other's ass and trying to throw the other guy down. In Canada and Scotland sport includes sliding a stone done a sheet of ice and sweeping the ice with brooms in front of the stone to guide it to a certain area. In France, bycicling is a sport. In Mexico, throwing a small ball around at extremely high speeds with hard curved gloves is considered a sport. In Spain, sport involves impaling a bull and having it charge after a guy with a red cape. In Korea, sitting at a computer with a keyboard and mouse and creating and moving miniature armies around is a sport. Here's, none of those things are considered "real sports". And yet bowling and auto racing are. It's just arbitrary. It's whatever the society, for whatever reason, has come to agree a sport should be. In America, video games just aren't considered sports.

[HellMUT]

Originally posted by Jedi W.
...it's probably never gonna be a sport here, but it is in other countries...

...of course, ESPN2 has shown Magic: The Gathering tournies, w/ play by play...

--jedi\/\/.

espn 2 doesnt show in my bedroom :mad: im too lazy to walk outside to the living room.

[Optiks]

I disagree with your assessment of auto racing. I'm not a fan but I understand what the physical demands are. Imagine being on a roller coaster for 3 hours and having to steer at the same time. The g force that those drivers go through requires extreme physical endurance.

[GalzPanic]

First you have to define what 'sport' is.

I think the best definition is: "Any competition in which winning is based on the strength, speed, precision, or grace of one's own body movements."

That being said, I think fighting games would qualify as a sport. You have to be able to execute using your hands and fingers. Some would say "SF is a game not a sport; it's a video game!" This is pretty much the same argument they use with autoracing, that the equipment matters more in SF and autoracing. While the equipment definitely matters, SF players and racecar drivers still use their bodies to win.

I would go so far as to say that even poker could be called a sport. While lots of the strategy is based on knowing the odds and bluffing, you can also read other people's "tells" to gain an advantage. So if you can eliminate your own "tells," you gain another advantage.

Also, we shouldn't be alarmed by what ESPN decides to show, whether we think it's sport or not. ESPN will show whatever competition is popular noW.

[Pat the Great]

^^

it's a sport cuz joe does it, and he's a BALLER.

[ChennehCis]

There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.

-Ernest Hemingway

I'll also agree with Optiks. Autoracing (especially F1 racing) have to be very physically fit as their bodies take unbelievable amounts of force.

It looks easy but it isn't.


Tough conditions
Drivers have to achieve top performance under the most extreme conditions. Buckled securely into the seat with a six-point harness, it is difficult to breathe when your heart rate reaches it peaks at around 190 beats per minute. Especially when in hot-weather races, maximum temperatures of 60 degrees Celsius are measured under the overalls. In other words, every Grand Prix is tough work and this is what differentiates it from all other types of extreme sport. "Even the fittest of long-distance runners," according to Erwin Göllner, ex-fitness trainer for Jacques Villeneuve, "would not be able to last the 60 laps at Monza."

The fitness required for a top performance is something the drivers will work on. In the gym they undergo running exercises on the treadmill, or training on specific equipment to which they can simulate the forces in the driver's seat. Outside, jogging and cycling are the preferred activities. Drivers realise that alongside factors such as tyres, engine and aerodynamics, it is their own fitness that is crucial for their performance out on the track.



http://www.allianz.com.au/allianz/MCFOFE+20040402+Fit+to+drive.html

[colguile]

Fighting games a sport?

Don't make me laugh.

It's a fucking game. Nothing more.

[GalzPanic]

Originally posted by Pat the Great
^^

it's a sport cuz joe does it, and he's a BALLER.

I love hoez.

What is practicing A-bison or A-Sakura. It's cardio-coordination training.

[tru3tn01]

To me, fighting games are something unique -- they don't really fit in with athletic sports (football, baseball,) or with traditional competitive games (poker, chess.) Here's why:

Fighting games require skill/knowledge in the following areas:

-- Strategy (mindgames)
-- Extensive knowledge of game systems (range, priority, counters, frame data, etc.)
-- Execution

Athletics depend primarily on physical ability alone. While strategy can come into play (coaching), the person or team who can run fastest, jump highest, throw most accurately, etc. is going to be the winner. This is similar, of course, to the execution element of fighting games, which don't really require strength or stamina but do require a high level of precision, timing, and practiced movements to excel at. So, there is without a doubt a substantial physical component to them.

Other competitive games (chess, poker) rely almost solely on pure strategy, there is no physical/execution component whatsoever.

Is there a substantial "systems knowlege" requirement to these games, though? Imo, not really. The rules and properties/attributes of poker hands, chess pieces, etc. are pretty simple and straightforward. (Note: I'm not saying street fighter is deeper or more difficult than these games, only that there is more basic data that one must commit to memory to play it at a high level.)

The more I think about it, fighting games just plain 0wn :) -- they're the only type of sport/game/whatever that requires a fusion of all three categories.

Any responses to/criticism of this post would be cool.

-- tru3tn01
"down for the cause"

[pyrolee]

Street fighter is a mental sport.

Basketball is a physical sport.

The popularity of the sport is dependent on your location.

Personally I think street fighter takes more skill than a physical sport, just because anyone is able to play and compete in it.

Physical sports, like basketball for instance, have a lot of requirements that are unfair to the majority, you have to be 7 ft tall, black, and mean, or you really can't hang with the pros, of course there are exceptions to every rule but this is just obvious.

Either way if something's competitive and takes skill it's a sport.

[HellMUT]

Originally posted by pyrolee

Physical sports, like basketball for instance, have a lot of requirements that are unfair to the majority, you have to be 7 ft tall, black, and mean, or you really can't hang with the pros, of course there are exceptions to every rule but this is just obvious.


:lol:

[UnCauzi]

Not anyone can play SF or fighters and be good at it.

Some people can just move their fingers a lot faster than others. No matter how deep my mind game is if I can't do that 20 hit combo that insta kills you/block that magneto cross up fast enough I'm going to be at a big disadvantage. Although it's not exactly SF, I tried to do a lot of the fast shit in MvC2 and I just can't.

So the whole anyone can play fighters so they are better bullox is just not true.

[pyrolee]

Originally posted by UnCauzi
Not anyone can play SF or fighters and be good at it.

Some people can just move their fingers a lot faster than others. No matter how deep my mind game is if I can't do that 20 hit combo that insta kills you/block that magneto cross up fast enough I'm going to be at a big disadvantage. Although it's not exactly SF, I tried to do a lot of the fast shit in MvC2 and I just can't.

So the whole anyone can play fighters so they are better bullox is just not true.

Well hand speed can be practiced and improved with exercise, jacking off, or whatever. That is a skill/quality that isn't predetermined by birth/genetics.

If someone, after practicing and practicing, still finds they aren't good or at least improving, then I think it's safe to say that the sport they're trying isn't for them, not everyone has the potential to be the best.

What I meant in my first post was that fighting games are better than regular sports, because they accept a wider variety of players that have the potential to become good and compete at the top level.

Why? Because everyone possesses a brain (usually) and an average level of hand/eye coordination. Since video game maker's design their games towards the average person's level of ability, it allows anyone to be able to play them. I think that's a fair judgment.

So fighting games are for the masses while most popular physical sports require a predetermined quality.

[Dragon Punch]

Its a sport in the same sence golf or bowling is a sport. Its two people fighting to win in a game that requires specific phisical skills, and thinking ability. Fighting games have a greater mental side than the two mentioned sports (to my understanding) so if bowling is a sport, fighting games are too.

[UnCauzi]

Originally posted by pyrolee


Well hand speed can be practiced and improved with exercise, jacking off, or whatever. That is a skill/quality that isn't predetermined by birth/genetics.

If someone, after practicing and practicing, still finds they aren't good or at least improving, then I think it's safe to say that the sport they're trying isn't for them, not everyone has the potential to be the best.

What I meant in my first post was that fighting games are better than regular sports, because they accept a wider variety of players that have the potential to become good and compete at the top level.

Why? Because everyone possesses a brain (usually) and an average level of hand/eye coordination. Since video game maker's design their games towards the average person's level of ability, it allows anyone to be able to play them. I think that's a fair judgment.

So fighting games are for the masses while most popular physical sports require a predetermined quality.

Hand eye coordination varies in people similarly to physical strength and foot speed. Hand Eye coordination can be improved as can physical strength and foot speed. However some people naturally have more hand eye coordination than others allowing them to see the moves coming better and react.

This is a predetermined factor.

[Thongboy Bebop]

Originally posted by pyrolee
you have to be 7 ft tall, black, and mean
It helps with SF too.

N

[pyrolee]

Originally posted by UnCauzi


Hand eye coordination varies in people similarly to physical strength and foot speed. Hand Eye coordination can be improved as can physical strength and foot speed. However some people naturally have more hand eye coordination than others allowing them to see the moves coming better and react.

This is a predetermined factor.
I agree with you that many people have predetermined factors at birth which are superior to others.

However your example of a predetermined factor is something that can be worked on and improved. Most physical qualities that are important to major sports are not something the average human can obtain/improve upon ex. height, hand size, etc.

Street fighter is oblivious to these types of requirements because all things which are important to the success of a player can be improved upon with work and dedication.

I am not saying that everyone who plays street fighter will be the best, I am saying that everyone has the potential to, due to the game being fought on an equal playing field.

[Serpent]

This thread sounds like a bunch of dorks trying to make themselves out as being superior/having a superior hobby when in reality they just couldn't cut it in anything else. Playing fighting games isn't a sport. Bringing up golf and bowling doesn't help since people have made the case that those aren't sports either. Even so, they still require more physical activity/conditioning than playing a fighting game ever required. I don't think the spindly geeks that can play fighting games can drive a golf ball 180 yards or lift and bowl a 16 pound bowling ball down the lane for a strike.

What the hell does it matter to you if fighting games are considered a sport or not anyway? Do you really need to convince yourself that it makes you a better person somehow? Will it suddenly make you more popular? Even if SRK came to agreement, are you really going to go up to someone at school/work and brag about this being better than other sports for whatever lame reasons were decided on in this thread? I'd love to see someone go up to a hot chick at school whos dating the captain of the football team, and tell the girl that she should date him because he plays a superior sport (that being fighting games).

[NerenatwaH]

if it's not in the olympics it's not a sport...


dictionary defines sport as a PHYSICAL activity governed by a set of rules or customs often engaged in competitively.

I think some of you are trying to say it's a sport because it's competitive. Any and every game is competitive.

Would Hop Scotch be considered a sport? Battleship? Guess Who?

They use the mind games that you're all talking about. It's a game. Nothing more.

[Arlieth Tralare]

Coordination is something that comes with practice. As long as I've played SF, I actually have trouble doing C.Short xx QCFx2+P sometimes. It's because I haven't practiced it.

Barring cerebral palsy or other neurological disorders, coordination and reflexes are something that can be improved with training, unlike height and bone structure (many blacks actually have a foot structure better adapted to running for example) or even peripheral vision.

I actually believe that 'real' sports do require a high level of skill, as well as those superior physical abilities. But having the right genes doesn't mean you have an advantage in SF.

The reason that some people have better hand-eye coordination than others isn't because of predetermined factors, but because they regularly exercise their hand-eye coordination. D44Bas practices his custom combos daily. Have you ever, ever seen anyone who has never played a video game be able to pull off an uppercut consistently?


I do think there is some perspective-shifting needed here, though. SF isn't a sport by the definition, it's a game... but baseball, hockey and other sports are games as well. One could make the case that SF is a superior game compared to baseball.

[NerenatwaH]

Im not sure if you're argument is for saying that it is a sport, but what I'm assuming (if you're saying it is a sport) is because it needs conditioning?

Anything that requires skill needs conditioning. Sewing, cutting hair, hell even making your bed.

When you first started making you're bed were you good at it? No. But as you got older and kept on doing it you're shit looks nice and you wanna bring girls to look at it and later fuck.


This is all only if you're argument was to say it is a sport.

[pyrolee]

Originally posted by Serpent
This thread sounds like a bunch of dorks trying to make themselves out as being superior/having a superior hobby when in reality they just couldn't cut it in anything else.
We're having a discussion about street fighter being a sport, only street fighter, not about anything else we do in our lives.

I like physical sports too, but this isn't the argument. People like many things, there's no need to come off as rude and make generalizations about people's lives based on one thread in a forum.

[box]

Originally posted by NerenatwaH
if it's not in the olympics it's not a sport...


So I guess Football is not a sport.

[NerenatwaH]

Originally posted by box


So I guess Football is not a sport.

nice...

got me there

[queen of combat]

It should be here in america. I mean if I see people playing chess on ESPN and poker,they should have fighting and dancing games as a sport too.

[Thongboy Bebop]

Being a giant actually hinders your SFing. If I don't sit down, i can't play for shit.

N

[Arlieth Tralare]

I'd love to see someone go up to a hot chick at school whos dating the captain of the football team, and tell the girl that she should date him because he plays a superior sport (that being fighting games).

Happens in Korea and Japan (well, shooters in Japan at least. Ask Buktooth) :lol:

No, seriously. Starcraft tourney players get mad props in Korea. Boxer got to promote a fucking Candy Bar.


Queen: WTF? How the hell did you come up with dancing games as... never mind.


I think the heart of the argument, looking back at page 1, is that SF's competitive aspect is on par with many other popular games (and sports are games for the purposes of my argument. Not all games are sports, but all sports are games). And if this has already been recognized in Japan and Korea, then video games do have a chance to become popularly recognized for their competitive aspect here in America as well.

However, sports in the Western world have a tradition of being a proxy for war. The Olympic Games started out as a truce between Athens and Sparta, and used to display superiority (basically, who WOULD HAVE won if they went to war again). We still see it as that. Physical dominance = pwnage.

In the East, where there is more of a 'team' mindset and people are conditioned by society to be cogs of a greater machine, it is the commander (or the coach) who receives the greatest praise (and responsibility) for their tactical/strategic superiority, as opposed to the players, whose main responsibility it is to follow orders and work together.

Therefore, Japan and Korea place a greater emphasis on the overall strategy, and appreciate it enough to consider Starcraft, fighting games, etc, as spectator-worthy games. That's my two cents, anyways.

[rusbar]

just felt like saying this

the physical exerrtion found in fighting games (tournaments) is a RESULT of the game (standing all day, waiting for your match, etc etc) not a requirement (running, jumping, etc etc)

[Devil X]

its not a sport, come on now. have you guys seen vid game players? theyre mostly out of shape. sports are physically and mentally demanding . videogames are just what they are, games. as for sports anyone can compete in, look at boxing. theres black, white, latino and asian champions today. same with wrestling. even if one person has more natural athletic ability than his opponent he can still easily be defeated by a guy who just wants it more. there are many sports blacks dont even compete in. how many black swimming champs are there? how many black hockey players are there? i'll tell you theres more famous white players in basketball than there are black players in hockey. being 7ft tall is detrimental if youre a swimmer. you gotta play a sport that best suits you, but there is a sport out there for anyone whos willing to put the effort in being the best at.

videogames :lol: shit is fun and all , but lets keep it real. i dont even consider golf a sport.

[Iceman]

Originally posted by Devil X
being 7ft tall is detrimental if youre a swimmer.

Only because a dope basketball team (usually with hot female fans) will gobble you up. Case in point: Tim Duncan. But this is so off topic :p

[Evil Rahsaan]

MVC2 IS A SPORT!!

[Serpent]

I don't believe hand eye coordination can be improved on the same in all people. Some people have better natural ability, and can improve much easier than others. Theres also a limit to how good you can get. There are plenty of people that can practice all day and I'll still be able to do the same thing better than them with no effort. There are also plenty of other people that can learn something that takes me hours to learn in a matter of minutes. Brain structure is different in people, and we're all better at learning and doing certain things than others. Regardless of if you're born with it, or if its a result of your life experiences/conditioning its not something you'll be able to change in a short span of time, if at all.

I hope he'll forgive me for mentioning his name like this...but has anyone ever wondered why Viscant isn't the best MvC2 player of all time? The guy obviously finds more stuff than anybody else, and he knows the game inside out. Its obvious he practices. So why isn't he the best? Its because he simply can't execute as well or as fast as other people. No matter how good your mental game is, it really means nothing if you can't physically execute. I'd actually think that defeats most of the whole 'fighting games are a very mentally demanding genre' argument. Fighting games are like 70% execution and 30% mental, and Im probably being generous to the mental side there. If you want a mental game, go play chess.

[NerenatwaH]

Originally posted by Serpent

I hope he'll forgive me for mentioning his name like this...but has anyone ever wondered why Viscant isn't the best MvC2 player of all time? The guy obviously finds more stuff than anybody else, and he knows the game inside out. Its obvious he practices. So why isn't he the best? Its because he simply can't execute as well or as fast as other people.

when i spoke to him he said he quit playing for like a year...

[colguile]

Originally posted by rusbar
just felt like saying this

the physical exerrtion found in fighting games (tournaments) is a RESULT of the game (standing all day, waiting for your match, etc etc) not a requirement (running, jumping, etc etc) This comes from a poster who is not a man, but a chicken-boo.

[Bacardi]

a few years back there were a couple quake 3 tournies on espn

[Ultima]

SerpDoogieHowser:

> Fighting games are like 70% execution and 30% mental, and Im probably being generous to the mental side there.

I think it depends on the game. Some fighting games are obviously more mental than others. Most SF2 match-ups have a huge mental component, for example.

Also, concerning Viscan't s lack of ability, I find it to be an overstatement. At least if you count gamers as a whole. Take ALL of the people out there who play videogames - hell, all the people who play fighting games - and I'm sure 95% of them (including me) can't execute anywhere near as well as what Viscant can.

[GalzPanic]

If winning depends on how well you use your body, it's a sport.

In chess, you don't gain an advantage by placing a piece precisely in the center of a square, or doing it really fast either. Where you put the pieces determines the winner, that's it.

In poker, if you have a good poker face, people will lay down their hands against your bluff. If they can spot your tell, you will lose. You have to have good body control. Sure, poker doesn't a feel like a sport, but technically...


So you go into an arcade and everyone is out of shape? Are 300 lb. linemen in good shape? Yes? Well can they hop on Lance Armstrong's bike and win the Tour de France?

Linemen are in good enough shape to push other linemen and that's it. A pitcher with a big fat gut is built for pitching and that's it. A street fighter player is built to use their hands and fingers and do uppercuts, and that's it.

Make no mistake, though...SF will never be on par with football or most any other sport. But if someone wants to call it a sport, they should be allowed to.

[NerenatwaH]

Originally posted by GalzPanic
A street fighter player is built to use their hands and fingers and do uppercuts, and that's it.



what in the fuck....

[Devil X]

you tune your body to whatever sport youre playing. obviously being an nfl lineman you have to be huge. but implying that nfl lineman arent in shape is ridiculous. there are a few exceptions obviously who are huge wide men built to plug gaps in the middle. but most of these guys especially the defensive ends are incredible athletes considering the size they are. they have to be fast enough to go around an offensive tackle, drop in zone coverage . strong enough to overpower a linemen or hold his position , plug a gap and make a tackle on a running back going full speed. also could you gain 300lbs and play 4 quarters of football? that stress on the body is incredible. now take me, sitting in an arcade manipulating a sprite. there is nothing athletic about it. its fun as hell though .

as for the fingers being in shape? :confused:

[GalzPanic]

The reason I brought up linemen and cycling was because another poster pointed out that he went into an arcade and he saw plenty of guys who were out of shape, therefore sf is not a sport. I pointed out that while they're weren't built to play traditional sports, they're conditioned to play sf.

Of course, it takes more effort and more training to be competitively good at football than sf. But the analogy is still true.

Grab someone from an arcade and have him try to cover Randy Moss. Touchdown.

Pull a DB off the field and tell him to do some Sent fastfly combo. OCV.

Sure. You're only training your hands and fingers. Is there some threshold where your activity becomes sport? Nope. People's biases come into play when they say X is a sport and Y is not.

"You're only controlling equipment, it's not a sport"

"It's just repetition. It's not a sport."

To be honest, you won't ever catch me saying SF is a sport, or SF players are athletes. I have all the biases too.

But considering this topic without the prejudice, the bottom line is: if you use your body to win........

[Devil X]

youre getting off subject. yes, theres alot of things nfl players probably cant do. if you put a tank operator in a football game, he'll get burned. if you put a football player in a tank, he probably wont know how to drive it. does that make driving a tank a sport? no. theres nothing athletic about playing sf. its a GAME PEOPLE! lol :lol: :lol: :lol: playing sf youre not putting your body on the line, youre not putting your body through grueling training. thats what makes the big difference. when you lose in a videogame you lose because youre defeated mentally. when you lose in sports you lose mentally and physically (if both people are near same level in their field)

[pyrolee]

When people go safari hunting and use a gun to shoot an elephant from a car, they say they do it for sport.

When you lose in sf its both physical and mental. Ex. Missing a crucial combo, that's your fault physically. Getting hit in a tricky situation because you thought your opponent was going to do something else is a mental loss.

Devil X:
Many people train very hard for street fighter, both physically and mentally. Ex. Practicing difficult combos and watching footage.

Professional sports, train for difficult shots/tactics, and watch other teams footage.

It's the same thing people! Just a transition from mostly physical to mostly mental.

[Apoc]

Originally posted by pyrolee
When people go safari hunting and use a gun to shoot an elephant from a car, they say they do it for sport.

When you lose in sf its both physical and mental. Ex. Missing a crucial combo, that's your fault physically. Getting hit in a tricky situation because you thought your opponent was going to do something else is a mental loss.

Point.

It's strange that the obvious needs to be spoken.

Everyone seems to have their own concept of what a sport is. Some ppl consider Pool to be a sport. I see more drinking and smoking around pool tables than any other sports(ok, maybe bowling). Pool players are athletic? lol Yet, it's considered a sport by ESPN.

Bodybuilding is a sport? Why? Because you're physically training your body to...POSE!!! lol

I won't say that SF players are athletes but, I'll say SF is a sport. Moreso than most. Football is a sport. But really, how many ppl participate in forming the strategy(plays)? Yeah, so you've got a few smart fools being backed up by athletic drones who do what they're told. Ok, fine, that's a "team" sport.

Fighting games are a sport, imo. You need to have contol of the game physically and mentally as well as other mental factors that are found in EVERY form of competition. Also, SF is one on one(sorry, team tourneys are for fun to let up and comers get some). SF all depends on you, not a coach or a teacher. It ALL comes down to your performance. It's not a routine like football plays or dance recitals(cheerleading is a sport, or so, it's been said). It's different everytime. It requires reflexes, manual and mental dexterity and also that certain oomph that allows some to attain higher levels. Heart and determination, along with dedication, are as much a factor in SF, if not more so, than many sports.

Sure, it's not MMA but, it's not golf, either. If old fat white dudes can call Golf a sport, then SF certainly is.

I'm almost 30 and in better shape than most my age that play pool! lol So, I'm more of an athlete than most Golfers, Pool players and bowlers. Go figure. I don't think something needs to make you an adonis to be called a sport.

Think about this; anytime someone refers to good sportmanship or sportsman-like conduct, when referring to SF competitions, wtf are they talking about? If SF isn't a sport, then, why am I bothering to be a good "sport" about it? Fuck all yall then!!! heheh

Apoc.

[VictoLy]

there are many definitions to the word "sport"... and SF applies to the definition of a sport.

[Devil X]

i guess people will have their opinions, but theres no way mine will ever be changed. my favorite sports are boxing, mma and wrestling (not wwe). that is combat using a live body. how can playing a videogame be in the same class as this?

[pyrolee]

Originally posted by Devil X
i guess people will have their opinions, but theres no way mine will ever be changed. my favorite sports are boxing, mma and wrestling (not wwe). that is combat using a live body. how can playing a videogame be in the same class as this?
Because mind > body.

[NerenatwaH]

Originally posted by Apoc


Point.

It's strange that the obvious needs to be spoken.

Everyone seems to have their own concept of what a sport is. Some ppl consider Pool to be a sport. I see more drinking and smoking around pool tables than any other sports(ok, maybe bowling). Pool players are athletic? lol Yet, it's considered a sport by ESPN.

Bodybuilding is a sport? Why? Because you're physically training your body to...POSE!!! lol

I won't say that SF players are athletes but, I'll say SF is a sport. Moreso than most. Football is a sport. But really, how many ppl participate in forming the strategy(plays)? Yeah, so you've got a few smart fools being backed up by athletic drones who do what they're told. Ok, fine, that's a "team" sport.

Fighting games are a sport, imo. You need to have contol of the game physically and mentally as well as other mental factors that are found in EVERY form of competition. Also, SF is one on one(sorry, team tourneys are for fun to let up and comers get some). SF all depends on you, not a coach or a teacher. It ALL comes down to your performance. It's not a routine like football plays or dance recitals(cheerleading is a sport, or so, it's been said). It's different everytime. It requires reflexes, manual and mental dexterity and also that certain oomph that allows some to attain higher levels. Heart and determination, along with dedication, are as much a factor in SF, if not more so, than many sports.

Sure, it's not MMA but, it's not golf, either. If old fat white dudes can call Golf a sport, then SF certainly is.

I'm almost 30 and in better shape than most my age that play pool! lol So, I'm more of an athlete than most Golfers, Pool players and bowlers. Go figure. I don't think something needs to make you an adonis to be called a sport.

Think about this; anytime someone refers to good sportmanship or sportsman-like conduct, when referring to SF competitions, wtf are they talking about? If SF isn't a sport, then, why am I bothering to be a good "sport" about it? Fuck all yall then!!! heheh

Apoc.

soo... playing Madden 2k4 on a console is as much a sport as playing football in real life?

[haunts]

Sports require athletes.


This is a game.


The mind is not over the body, and the body isnt over the mind.

[Josh-TheFunkDOC]

Originally posted by haunts
Sports require athletes.


This is a game.

Isn't chess technically considered a sport, though? Not too sure about this, just wondering.

-Josh

[haunts]

Originally posted by Josh-TheFunkDOC


Isn't chess technically considered a sport, though? Not too sure about this, just wondering.

-Josh

I am speaking in technical terms. I think a lot of people throw around the word sport just for anything that requires competition without really understading what a sport is. Most of them probably arent athletes, and if they are, aren't grasping the fact that pushing thier body to thier full potential along with thier mind is just something tottaly different than playing street fighter.

I do MMA, and yeah SF is fun and i love to compete, but its nothing like actually sparring with someone.

you can split straws and say that there is a lot of eye hand cordintation but people who are out of shape cannot compete in a sport like basketball.

Bowling is not a sport. Its a game. You have to have right form, but that dosent make it a sport, becuase you do not have to be an athlete to have good form.

Calling SF a game and not a sport isnt degrading it in anyway, so I dont see what the problem is. It's jsut two competley different things.

[NerenatwaH]

Originally posted by pyrolee
When people go safari hunting and use a gun to shoot an elephant from a car, they say they do it for sport.

When you lose in sf its both physical and mental. Ex. Missing a crucial combo, that's your fault physically. Getting hit in a tricky situation because you thought your opponent was going to do something else is a mental loss.

Devil X:
Many people train very hard for street fighter, both physically and mentally. Ex. Practicing difficult combos and watching footage.

Professional sports, train for difficult shots/tactics, and watch other teams footage.

It's the same thing people! Just a transition from mostly physical to mostly mental.

ima have to disagree on that one also. missing a combo isn't your fault physically. how are you supposed to train yourself physically to prepare for that? finger stretches? lift finger weights? finger treadmill?

as far as practice goes i've mentioned my point already. anything that requires skill (SF, cutting hair, jump shot, making a smoothie) needs practice.

[DeAdSpAcE]

Originally posted by NerenatwaH


ima have to disagree on that one also. missing a combo isn't your fault physically. how are you supposed to train yourself physically to prepare for that? finger stretches? lift finger weights? finger treadmill?

as far as practice goes i've mentioned my point already. anything that requires skill (SF, cutting hair, jump shot, making a smoothie) needs practice.

Well I see what he's saying. It's about finger dexterity and shit like double tapping and timing your button hits. And then there's getting used to specific controls. Who and where did you get the girl in your av btw? Mind if ya give me some hook ups?

EDIT: Also if espn has the time to put up Magic the Gathering matches then I guess sf should be a sport cuz it involves a lot more than some card game.

[haunts]

I mean, I am sure you could get away with calling anything a sport, its not a huge deal really.

It's just an ego thing. Top SF players want to think they have the same access to women as top basketball players. :lol:

Sorry guys, its a game.

Game = You do not get pussy.

Sport = Pussy is pretty easy to get.

[NerenatwaH]

Originally posted by DeAdSpAcE


Well I see what he's saying. It's about finger dexterity and shit like double tapping and timing your button hits. And then there's getting used to specific controls. Who and where did you get the girl in your av btw? Mind if ya give me some hook ups?

EDIT: Also if espn has the time to put up Magic the Gathering matches then I guess sf should be a sport cuz it involves a lot more than some card game.

Kaila Yu.

And Magic is as much a sport as spelling bee. Thats why they put it on ESPN.

[Apoc]

Originally posted by NerenatwaH


ima have to disagree on that one also. missing a combo isn't your fault physically. how are you supposed to train yourself physically to prepare for that? finger stretches? lift finger weights? finger treadmill?


1. It's your fault, physically, since you failed to coordinate your hands and your fingers in the proper way to fulfill the task. When an ice skater(yes, also a sport) misses a trick or falls is another example of physical failure.

2. You train yourself to not fail, in this way, by performing it repeatedly in training mode or in play. It's called muscle-memory. Your hands remember what they're doing when they've done it many times. You don't have to think about it anymore. Try to think of a guitarist, singing. You know that he's done the song so many times that he isn't consciously thinking about exactly where his hands are and what they're doing. It's routine. Same thing with SF, Gymnastics, etc.

When you type, are you actually thinking about each stroke to ensure accuracy? I'm quite sure that most just think and their hands go where they usually go for those letters. That's why there are homekeys.

I hope I explained that alright.

Apoc.

[haunts]

I mean how fucking retarded is it to look at Daigo as a HAND ATHLETE.

HEY GUYS I TOUBLE TAP TO BRING PERFECTION TO MY GAME.

That is a nerd talking, not an athlete. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I mean, maybe if you tell a girl you are good with your hands she will think you are cool... until you bring her home and she sees your 7 foot gouki poster on the wall instead of a SHINEY TROPHY.

I mean, if there is one thing I am sur eof, girls like shiney things.

[DeAdSpAcE]

Damn people ripping this shit off!

Thx btw.

[haunts]

LOL, YEAH!

SPELLING BEE!


hahaha..

Spelling Bee and SF are on the same level.

"WHATEVER, I TRAIN MY VOCAL CHORDS TO PRONOUNCIATE EACH VOWEL VERY CORRECTLY."

But yeah, SF isnt even on ESPN so its hardly even on par with bowling.. and bowling tottaly isnt a sport...

[NerenatwaH]

Originally posted by Apoc


1. It's your fault, physically, since you failed to coordinate your hands and your fingers in the proper way to fulfill the task. When an ice skater(yes, also a sport) misses a trick or falls is another example of physical failure.

2. You train yourself to not fail, in this way, by performing it repeatedly in training mode or in play. It's called muscle-memory. Your hands remember what they're doing when they've done it many times. You don't have to think about it anymore. Try to think of a guitarist, singing. You know that he's done the song so many times that he isn't consciously thinking about exactly where his hands are and what they're doing. It's routine. Same thing with SF, Gymnastics, etc.

When you type, are you actually thinking about each stroke to ensure accuracy? I'm quite sure that most just think and their hands go where they usually go for those letters. That's why there are homekeys.

I hope I explained that alright.

Apoc.

if you cut your finger cutting up some tomatoes its cause you didn't train your hand eye coordination. should Iron Chef be considered a sport? You gotta train yourself to accurately cut a tomatoe, quickly measure ingredients, etc.

now im just teasing you, but what's better? sf or sex:p

[Serpent]

Then playing a piano is a sport. Typing up a term paper is a sport. If you're at work, you compete with coworkers and its a sport. At school you compete with other students and thats a sport too. If the goal is to widen the meaning of sports so that its all encompassing, I think thats been achieved. Its also lost its meaning. And poker/Magic etc. are not sports...but I guess if they're considered sports pretty much everything is. Each of the above things requires some form of physical 'skill' as well, such as the piano keys, hitting the keys and forming the 'strategy' for your term paper, walking around and doing whatever it is that you do at work, or sitting and working.

[Ichijo]

Bodybuilding is a sport? Why? Because you're physically training your body to...POSE!!! lol

Um, no. The body is trained for strength and tone/definition. The poses are for the benefit of the judges who have to see how built and cut the contestants are in order to compare the results of their training. There's a hell of a lot more sport involved in trying to out train someone in body building than there is in practising joystick movements. The problem is your average couch jockey Street Fighter "sportsman" will never venture inside a gym to see where the real sport happens on a daily basis.

[NerenatwaH]

Originally posted by Ichijo


Um, no. The body is trained for strength and tone/definition. The poses are for the benefit of the judges who have to see how built and cut the contestants are in order to compare the results of their training. There's a hell of a lot more sport involved in trying to out train someone in body building than there is in practising joystick movements. The problem is your average couch jockey Street Fighter "sportsman" will never venture inside a gym to see where the real sport happens on a daily basis.

i go to the gym.

[Apoc]

Originally posted by Ichijo


Um, no. The body is trained for strength and tone/definition. The poses are for the benefit of the judges who have to see how built and cut the contestants are in order to compare the results of their training. There's a hell of a lot more sport involved in trying to out train someone in body building than there is in practising joystick movements. The problem is your average couch jockey Street Fighter "sportsman" will never venture inside a gym to see where the real sport happens on a daily basis.

lol. I'm in the gym A LOT. Then again, I don't really like video-games, in general.

Anyway, don't tell me bodybuilding is any more a sport than SF. To me, bodybuilding is making a sport out of sculpting your body to the way you want. Um...isn't that just doing what's necessary to attain results? It's following a routine with your work-outs, diet, sleep, etc. Who the f*ck are you competing with? In the end, bodybuilding is subjective. There's no concrete measurement for success. It's all about the judges and all about the money. Let's see who can stick to their routine and diet and have the best steriod regime! Gimme a friggin' break. Are you telling me that homie over there is BREAKING you mentally and you're falling apart from the precision of his routine?

Bodybuilding is nothing more than executing a precise plan and following it. You get injured, when you're stupid. Same with a bowler.

Where the "real sport" happens? Hey, I'm all for calling team sports and mainstream sports, sports. Bodybuilding is just called a sport just like pool and bowling, etc. Oh wait, except that you're only competing with yourself until you've trained enough to compete in the big leagues.

Yo, you can teach a moron to be a bodybuilder. No moron is going to win at SF unless against another moron.

I say call it all "sport." Otherwise, ppl have these dumb, personal definitions for a sport and that definition never holds true when putting all sports to the test.

I mean, seriously. If bodybuilding is a sport, than certainly, sf is. If bodybuilding isn't? Fine, neither is SF.

I know hella bodybuilders and they don't spent half the time in the gym as many folks do on the game.

Frankly, the difference is that you need to be more physical in BB while you have to clearly be more intelligent or, mental, for SF. But both require both mental and physical competence.

Apoc.

[DeAdSpAcE]

Bringing back the magic the gathering example. I think that clearly shows how sf can be a sport. Much like spelling bees even. They all have the same thing in common...being able to think under pressure in a competitive environment. All athletic sports involve that just as well as these activities. I think what determines a sport is being able to think and not crack under pressure as you pit yourself against different people of different takes on the same matter.

[Devil X]

Originally posted by NerenatwaH


soo... playing Madden 2k4 on a console is as much a sport as playing football in real life?

i think we have a winner here

:lol:

[Ichijo]

Bodybuilding is just called a sport just like pool and bowling, etc. Oh wait, except that you're only competing with yourself until you've trained enough to compete in the big leagues.

If you're not training to compete and making a lot more adjustment to your lifestyle than just going to the gym regularly, you're just pumping iron, not body building. In any event it sounds like you don't consider anything to be a sport unless it's competitive and has a set of points by which you can define a winner. So much for mountain climbing, or archery. Or does archery start to count when there's someone standing next to you? Where do you stand on games like Ikaruga where reflexes and judicious thought yield high scores? Same set of skills as Street Fighter, but would you consider besting yourself or someone else in a shoot em up a sport? I know I wouldn't. I think without someone physical component -- beyond twiddling fingers that is, we are human after all and can do precious little without using our hands -- the word "sport" becomes meaningless.

[b1ng0]

Originally posted by haunts
I mean how fucking retarded is it to look at Daigo as a HAND ATHLETE.

HEY GUYS I TOUBLE TAP TO BRING PERFECTION TO MY GAME.

I mean, maybe if you tell a girl you are good with your hands she will think you are cool... until you bring her home and she sees your 7 foot gouki poster on the wall instead of a SHINEY TROPHY.



:lol:

[Shiki Dan]

A sport is anything that demands physical exercise, an adequate level of physical skill, competition, and a set of rules/procedures/limitations that must be followed.

Playing SF distinctly lacks the first 2 of those, which is why I shudder to think this topic was even created, let alone get multiple pages. If you can't be called an athlete for doing it, it's not a sport.

[HoneyBBQGrundle]

I think it should be noted that the mental aspects of sf are being overestimated in this thread. It doesn't take much mental prowess or thought to stick out a st lk and then st fp, or to rush down and throw in random mixups. At any one time there are only a few options that are viable and it's just repetition from there. That's the whole reason top tiers exist and why characters are all played pretty much the exact same way at high levels.

You can call it a sport if u want and I won't argue, but don't expect people to look up to you or give you the same respect as if u played a "real" sport

[haunts]

Originally posted by HoneyBBQGrundle

You can call it a sport if u want and I won't argue, but don't expect people to look up to you or give you the same respect as if u played a "real" sport

[statikeffeck]

I do not consider fighting games a sport.

I feel a good dividing line between sports and games is that with sports, there is a much higher chance of physical injury than with games.
i.e. Basketball, baseball, hockey, football, car racing, running, gymnastics = sports
Fighting games, chess, backgammon, poker, magic the gathering = games

Activities that are very close to the middle are golf, but you could throw out your back. That is a physical injury.

[NerenatwaH]

Originally posted by statikeffeck
I do not consider fighting games a sport.

I feel a good dividing line between sports and games is that with sports, there is a much higher chance of physical injury than with games.
i.e. Basketball, baseball, hockey, football, car racing, running, gymnastics = sports
Fighting games, chess, backgammon, poker, magic the gathering = games

Activities that are very close to the middle are golf, but you could throw out your back. That is a physical injury.

but you can strain your eyes, or hurt your finger!!!!!!!

and in poker you can get lung disease from all the smoke!!!!

[opera]

if theres competition involved, its a sport : )

even eating is a sport if you are eating to win.

speaking of which.... anyone know where i can DL the glutton bowl that was on TV a while back @_@

[Ichijo]

I went over to www.dictionary.com and checked their definition of sport and it's pretty close to what I consider the word to mean. A lot of people here seem to think sport is defined by whether something is a competition or not and ignoring the out of the ordinary physical component that is traditionally involved. Chess involving competition doesn't mean it's not just a game. Games are geared towards selecting winners just like sports are.

Anyhow, here's those definitions I mentioned.

sport ( P ) Pronunciation Key (spôrt, sprt)
n.

1. a) Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.
b) A particular form of this activity.
2. An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.

I don't know if I'd consider moving my hands frantically as physical exertion regardless of how much skill it takes. Notice also that competition is optional. Track events don't suddenly become a sport on the day of a race and just running the rest of the time.

Guys trying to out-eat each other are just pigs, not athletes.

[basis]

this might be slightly off topic, but i never thought of olympic shotting (with the guns) as sport.

i see it as a game, similarly darts... my god, last year the fattest bastard on the planet won the worlds darts championship... if anything says this is not a sport, i dont know what does.

my definition of a sport, is something physical, when you need to use your whole body.

even something like a shot put, you know know how to spin around and shit properly, and use your legs. etc.