Tank McNamara by Bill Hinds for June 09, 2024

Making contact, though, would be a challenge.

Put a free safety in the Greek chorus.

Perhaps we can answer the question of “what is an athlete” by looking at the question from two extremes on the sports/athlete spectrum: Chess and Professional Wrestling.

Is chess a sport? Arguably, it is. Chess is competitive and to play at a championship level requires skills which may be improved through study, practice, and experience. Are chess players, therefore, athletes? I would say “No”. As mentally exhausting as a chess tournament may be for its participants, there are very little of what is regarded as “athletic skills” directly involved.

Now we come to professional exhibition wrestling (in contrast to Greco-Roman wrestling, which is certainly a sport and the participants are athletes). Are pro-wrestlers athletes? Like the ballet dancer, a pro-wrestler is certainly athletic; a pro-wrestler couldn’t long endure the falls and other exertions inherent in pro-wrestling matches without being in top physical condition. But as usually exhibited, pro-wrestling matches are as choreographed as a ballet. Therefore, pro-wrestling cannot be considered a legitimate sport.

Consequently, neither the chess player nor the pro-wrestler may be considered as “athletes”. The chess player may participate in a sport, but is not required to demonstrate any physical strength, agility, or stamina; the pro-wrestler may demonstrate substantial physical abilities, but is not participating in a true sport.

I once heard that comment of Edward Villella and asked “What was the score of his last ballet?”

Hey, Bill — I miss “second Chances” as a stand-alone comic, but I appreciate your keeping the characters alive (so to speak).

You can see WWE wrestlers hit each other mid-air during ballet moves

And if you put a 6’ 5" 290 lb defensive end on stage in tights no one would comment on his athletic grace… They’d be too busy laughing.

You know, Nick, some athletes take ballet and dancing lessons to help improve their game and learn new techniques.

The sports included in the Olympic games are marketing decisions, not a definition of sport.

Don’t both wear a cup?

Like pro wrestling, it’s athletic performance, rather than competition.

I think potential violence is also a factor. If the audience knew there would be a benches-clearing brawl in a baseball game, they would be glued to their TVs until it happened. The same applies to crashes in NASCAR races.

Ballet? I agree with Nick.

I would define sport as a competition between individuals or groups. Dancers, particularly male ballet dancers, rely on agility, strength, superb conditioning, and choreographic ability to be successful, but ballet is not a competition, it is performance art!

I doubt that defensive end could keep up with the ballet dancer for very long.

1) Is race horse an athlete? Is a jockey an athlete? Discuss.

2) Is a race car an athlete? Is its driver an athlete? Discuss.

Suppose a defensive lineman hit a pitcher during his windup. Does that mean baseball players aren’t athletes?

There was a pro wrestler back in the early ’60s (before the excesses of WWE) named Ricky Starr. His schtick was that he was trained in ballet. One of the things they put in the script was for him to do a ballet type spin and then stop and smack his opponent up side the head. The guy was solidly built but graceful and fun to watch. I think he won about as much as he lost. He was classed as one of the “good guys.”

A codpiece for sure.

Can a 6’5”, 290 LB Defensive End do a Standing Middle Split?

That’s the reason I don’t care for golf. Too much offense. Not enough defense.

Russia has used ballet for hockey training for some time. You can google it.

You can make that same argument about almost any sport: baseball, basketball, tennis, running, swimming, etc. None of them would likely do well if tackled full-force by a very large man, yet nobody would argue that they are not athletes. But by the same token, most gridiron football players would have a lot of trouble pulling off a pirouette, hitting a knuckleball, doing the butterfly stroke, etc. You can’t cherry-pick specific abilities to be considered “athletes”. Personally, I would consider dancers, pro wrestlers, and acrobats to be athletes, but not jockeys or race-car drivers. I could go either way for golfers or bowlers.

Could a lineman catch a 110 lb dancer flying at him without falling on his backside? How many seasons?

The difference is that the ballet dancer can admit to being gay.

I feel the same about golf.

Reminds me of that old golf commercial for…I think it was beer, where they added, like linebackers blitzing the golfers. That might actually get me to see a ballet.

I’ve angered a number of people online previously with my position that any event that requires judges to determine the winner is not really a sport but a performance. I debates inevitably devolve when people come in who don’t understand the difference between the roles of a judge and a referee.

Now the Olympics are going to have breakdancing! wi3leong was right.

I don’t imagine Simone Biles would fare too well either if hit by a 6’5", 290 lb. DE.

Classic episode of THE FLINTSTONES where Fred takes up ballet to g et his bowling form back.