Read the damn title of thread.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that sports are the best thing man has created, but they're pretty close to the top.

They are demanding activities that not only improve us as individuals but also are entertaining to watch.

Not even close..just good exercise . I cant stand it when people take sports serously .I said it once and will say it again "its just a damn game"

agreed. sports stop being fun when it gets serious. afterall, how can serious ever be fun??

Yes, one thing : TV chanels!
LOL, I have never watched such chanels... :D

Offcourse I mean medicine doesnt even count who cares if your dieing when you got FOOTBALL!

Hmmm
Considering sport is nothing but ordered physical activity.. I would have to say yes... say.. everything else.
:-)

It is amazing that when you mention sports most people think of TV..

Sport as an activity is one of life's great pleasures.

Sport on TV is dull and repetitive..

I like competition hence i like sports.

I think sports serves/have served higher purposes than fun.

Sports is the opium of the nations.

enough said. ;)

playing sports is one of the best things ever. pretty much anything you find in a sporting goods store is great. watching sports doesn't make any sense though. somebody explain the point of that please.

I have played and seen many sports in my time, and I notice that sports in today's world is for bullies.

I have something far superior to sports: music.

Can't stand watching sports on TV......fucking hate it with a passion....but ask me to play them and i am game....i can go for hours on end playing sports that are popular and urban created...i.e handball etc....


Just can't watch them. Also is it me or are the professional athletes paid way to much??? yes they put their lives on the line and their image and they take unbarebale amounts of scrutiny but......I don't need to see $$ bill signs in derek Jeter's eyes everytime he smiles.

http://www.rightturns.com/images/tsmith.jpg

tv revolutionized sports

Doesn't mean it made it anymore entertaining to watch.

sure it did

TV has revolutioned everything but that don't mean that it is better.

hmm perhaps some sports are best watched on tv? how about nascar? whatnot?

I like watching the odd hockey game, but playing it is my passion. Sports near the top if my list of the best creations.

I know this isn't my thread, but interesting responses and ideas people.

Originally posted by spookz
hmm perhaps some sports are best watched on tv? how about nascar? whatnot?

Nascar - i would have to be near dangerous level drunk to watch a car go round in circles 500 times.

Formula 1 is better watched on TV and so is Lemans...you can kep up with the action. Infact aren't sports better on TV....especially these days with camera near the action, Hi-definiton broadcast, up to date staistics and conditions and commentary and facts.....I think so

and court games are cooler live yes? tennis, basketball, whatnot.

Sports are definately great. They are one of the few kinds of entertainment you can partake of that will not rot you away in some way(TV, Internet, drugs). Quite the opposite, they make you healthier. There is such a variety of sports that anyone can find one that they enjoy.
Some people might want to characterize athletes as "dumb jocks" and that could be true in some cases. However, some athletes are very brilliant and creative in their own athletic way. On the surface sports can seem so simple, but there are so many intricacies. That is what makes them so engaging to play. On the field my mind forgets everything outside the goal lines and the touchlines. The focus on the game is so sharp and so intense. I think that also makes me dislike much simpler athletics like running or swimming. There is nothing to distract me from the mundane and tedious physical exertion.
The only sport I really watch on TV is the one I play the most, soccer. I suppose the same reasons that I prefer to play that sport over others are the same reasons that make me choose to watch it. It is better to watch on TV than live. Its so difficult to get a feel for where the players are if watching from a low angle. Watching on TV is also a lot safer :D
So does anyone know when humans first developed sports? I would think they probably started in relation to hunting.... throwing spears, rocks, or running.

catch

Originally posted by fredx

I have something far superior to sports: music.

Agreed

I play sports... street hockey, and karate and ken-jutsu if you consider those sports. I don't quite, but some people do.
However, I don't believe sports deserve near a title near so grand as alleged in this thread.
I view sports through two lenses. Professional and personal. The latter are great. They provide exercise, and a way to channel stress. I love every once in awhile getting together with some friends and playing a good game of street hockey. Sports are a good hobby.
But professional sports fall short of deserving any such great title. What actually benefit are they to humanity besides a rather pointless entertainment? They serve no practical use, for example such as medical research, exploration, technology development, self defense, etc. I say pointless because I've seen people get so utterly worked up and upset over some team defeating another. Who cares? How does it actually make any difference what so ever in the grande scheme of things? It has no meaning to life at ALL! Professional athletes make so much money compared to greater fields of work it's disgusting. They get millions of dollars just to play a game. Tell me a more important task than that of a true teacher? They get pathetic salaries in comparison.
The entire thing is just a way to graze money off of the public and make various corporations rich. Do you actually think Mr. Sportswhatever personally chose those shoes 'cause he thinks they're the best? Or because they paid him the largest amount of money? Duh.

I like personal sports... but the obsession that is often shown for professional sports makes me lose faith in the intelligence of the masses. Pisses me off just thinking about it.


~Fatal


To know that you do not know is the best. To pretend to know when you do not know is a disease. --- Lao-Tze

i hate sports. i always end up taking things way too far and end up beating some1 on the head w/ somthing or trying to strangle them while theyr wraped in the gaol. wich sux cause i only way like 90 pounds so i cant possibly win a fight... and is also y i am obbsesed w/ weapins:D

Im obssesed with tai-jitsu..seven years and going ...but martial arts is not a sport ..its a way of life..its not about winning and losing ..its about killing and dieing

Sports.. has mankind created anything more usless? REally, whats the point of sports of any kind? I'm not talking about the streetside basketball games, or backyard football, I'm talking about professional sports of any kind, ranging from highschool, and college foot ball, to the big leagues, where everyon has a salary in the millions. That is pointless. There are multi billion dollar industries based on sports. They promote the celebrity lifestyle, the man who excels at a skill that would be worthless if all hell broke loose, and he had to fend for himself. Whats he going to do? Throw a baseball at a deer to try and kill it to bring food back to the cave? That's worthless. At least in the old days, the "sports contests" were actual skills that were useful, like shooting arrows, and jousting, these were skills those men could use, they weren't wastes of space. Same thing goes for the movie industry, everyone should read books, promoting celebrities just makes your life shittier, it makes an upper class where there shouldn't be one. bleh, whatever, i'm done for now.

Fatal Talon, i just read your post, i love you, will you marry me and mother all my children?

Originally posted by Fafnir665
Sports.. has mankind created anything more usless? REally, whats the point of sports of any kind? I'm not talking about the streetside basketball games, or backyard football, I'm talking about professional sports of any kind, ranging from highschool, and college foot ball, to the big leagues, where everyon has a salary in the millions. That is pointless. There are multi billion dollar industries based on sports. They promote the celebrity lifestyle, the man who excels at a skill that would be worthless if all hell broke loose, and he had to fend for himself. Whats he going to do? Throw a baseball at a deer to try and kill it to bring food back to the cave? That's worthless. At least in the old days, the "sports contests" were actual skills that were useful, like shooting arrows, and jousting, these were skills those men could use, they weren't wastes of space. Same thing goes for the movie industry, everyone should read books, promoting celebrities just makes your life shittier, it makes an upper class where there shouldn't be one. bleh, whatever, i'm done for now.

Thats what I always thought

farfnir... i so agree. u just spoke my soul.

so u wanna go kill some jox or celebs later? ill bring the rpg and ammo, my treat!

Fafnir, lets take this one step at a time, ok?;)



But I'll reiterate... when I see grown men stand up and start jumping up and down shaking their fists yelling at the top of their lungs enraged that their team just missed a point..... well...
...I either get all philosophical and wonder why society has as many issues as it has, and what in their childhood warped them into this... or I start contemplating how much fun it'd be to give them a swift spin kick to the head. Both are fun.


~Fatal

To know that you do not know is the best. To pretend to know when you do not know is a disease. --- Lao-Tze

I have something far superior to sports: music.

Please explain why this is so...


Sports.. has mankind created anything more usless? REally, whats the point of sports of any kind? I'm not talking about the streetside basketball games, or backyard football, I'm talking about professional sports of any kind, ranging from highschool, and college foot ball, to the big leagues, where everyon has a salary in the millions. That is pointless. There are multi billion dollar industries based on sports. They promote the celebrity lifestyle, the man who excels at a skill that would be worthless if all hell broke loose, and he had to fend for himself. Whats he going to do? Throw a baseball at a deer worthless. At least in the old days, the "sports contests" were to try and kill it to bring food back to the cave? jousting, these were skills those men could use, they wereThat'Same thing goes for the movie industry, everyone should read bookss actual skills that were useful, like shooting arrows, and n't wastes of space. , promoting celebrities just makes your life shittier, it makes an upper class where there shouldn't be one. bleh, whatever, i'm done for now.

If you think professional sports are useless because they provide salaries in the millions, then I believe you don't fully undersatnd your point. What are the usefullness of these multibillion dollar IT/Video game/cosmetic, etc corporations where these CEOs earn millions and literally play golf all day? At the subsitence level which you brign up, or "good old days" their skills are useless. Why they are useful?--Simple they provide jobs, serve a need, etc. Professional sports provide jobs. Put a damn computer programmer in the "good old days" and ask him to compete with a professional footballer for food or survival. In a capitalists system where goods are exchanged for money, the financial strength of an industry is both the result of demand and marketing. These atheletes are providing a service and being rewarded. Oh I suppose you want the "old, greedy oweners" to pocket the billiosn and pay the atheletes 45,000 yearly as this would justify their "intellect"?


Everyone should read books instead of wathcing movies because making movies require LESS skill? Please tell me you are joking for if I have to tell you that a movie has a SCRIPT which is essentially a NOVEL, then damn! A script--a virtual novel, combined with direction, cinematography, music, acting, production-- design, etc..... And you think this is less complex and a worthless artform??????

I think your problem really is with 'celebrity' because I miss the logic in your post. Celebrity status is gained through the exploitation of several other industries latching unto these individuals...and so the capitalist net continues. It is brilliant if you can take a "useless" skill and earn millions, not stupdity.


Some good points people BTW. Noone has of yet mentioned the first wide scale sports event--the olympics and the purposes it has served, amongst a myriad of other reasons as to why sports....... Sports permeates virtually all aspects of a working society.

Quoth the fountainhed:

If you think professional sports are useless because they provide salaries in the millions, then I believe you don't fully undersatnd your point. What are the usefullness of these multibillion dollar IT/Video game/cosmetic, etc corporations where these CEOs earn millions and literally play golf all day? At the subsitence level which you brign up, or "good old days" their skills are useless. Why they are useful?--Simple they provide jobs, serve a need, etc. Professional sports provide jobs. Put a damn computer programmer in the "good old days" and ask him to compete with a professional footballer for food or survival. In a capitalists system where goods are exchanged for money, the financial strength of an industry is both the result of demand and marketing. These atheletes are providing a service and being rewarded. Oh I suppose you want the "old, greedy oweners" to pocket the billiosn and pay the atheletes 45,000 yearly as this would justify their "intellect"?


Which is more vital in this world? Teachers? Or people that play games for a living? America's education system is horrible, among the worst there is in the world. Starting with elementary... and so on. Did you know that in many Indonesian highschools it's standard for students to take the equivalent of US college's Calculus 2? To many places in Europe, America's college education would be considered high school... the people who go on and get masters would be considered the one's that "go get a better education".

I've been living in Japan for the last year, and though I disagree with many of the rote memorization elements to their education methods, their system annihilates my own country's.

I believe a good part of this ignorance is related to the sports obsession that is ever increasing. It's like a drug for the population to keep them happily mesmerized. (much like most of the crap on TV. Don't get me wrong, I love movies... but so much on TV is a total waste of time) I remember back to my highschool days, when a local highschool shut down its music program to increase funding for the football team. I was fortunate enough to attend a different private institution, but still that fact infuriated me with its inherent idiocy. Sure bring up kids with a focus on playing football... yeah a few of them might be stars, but the rest will be pumping my gas. (Not that there's anything wrong with that job if that's what you like, mind you.)



~Fatal

P.S. No, I'm not a teacher if you were wondering by my pro-teaching stance. I merely wish that more of my fellow countrymen took education more seriously.


---
To know that you do not know is the best. To pretend to know when you do not know is a disease. --- Lao-Tze

If they are going to pay someone millions of dollars it better be for something more usefull then throwing a round object into a ring with a net on it (useless crap!). How depressing too devote a life too such crud. anyway if they get paid so much they better be doiingg something I can use. Like above said: education is a good place too put the money.

Originally posted by thefountainhed

If you think professional sports are useless because they provide salaries in the millions, then I believe you don't fully undersatnd your point.

I'm quite fully aware of the point i'm trying to make, are you fully able to comprehend what i wrote? Your response thus far has proven no.
What are the usefullness of these multibillion dollar IT/Video game/cosmetic, etc corporations where these CEOs earn millions and literally play golf all day?
who said there were or weren't usefull, actually, where was this brought up at all? this is a thread about sports.. at best this is off topic, at worst, a waste of my time
At the subsitence level which you brign up, or "good old days" their skills are useless.
Still off topic concerning those people
Why they are useful?--Simple they provide jobs, serve a need, etc. Professional sports provide jobs.
People who could be working on projects to further humanities well being, if so much money wasn't wrapped up in professional sports
Put a damn computer programmer in the "good old days" and ask him to compete with a professional footballer for food or survival.
I'd put my money on the computer programmer. Most computer professionals have a large variety of activity and stimulous in their life, they don't spend it honing one skill. Most proffesional sports players spend their time promoting their image to futher fatten their pockets.
In a capitalists system where goods are exchanged for money, the financial strength of an industry is both the result of demand and marketing. These atheletes are providing a service and being rewarded. Oh I suppose you want the "old, greedy oweners" to pocket the billiosn and pay the atheletes 45,000 yearly as this would justify their "intellect"?
I would rather have americas obsession with the celebrity life style cured, i find it annoying that we promote this upper class.


Everyone should read books instead of wathcing movies because making movies require LESS skill?

I don't know where you got this from, i think you made it up so you could argue some obscure point, i clearly said "Same thing goes for the movie industry, everyone should read books, promoting celebrities just makes your life shittier", which is promoting the reading of books. I said this not because i think it takes no skill to produce a movie, but because it takes nothing to watch one, just your total attention which could better be put to use reading a book and using your imagination.

I think your problem really is with 'celebrity' because I miss the logic in your post.

you would

Celebrity status is gained through the exploitation of several other industries latching unto these individuals...and so the capitalist net continues. It is brilliant if you can take a "useless" skill and earn millions, not stupdity.

you miss my point, i was refering to their superior status, i applaud their use of these industries to make money, but they shouldn't be treated differntly by the populace because they stared in a couple of movies.


Some good points people BTW. Noone has of yet mentioned the first wide scale sports event--the olympics and the purposes it has served, amongst a myriad of other reasons as to why sports....... Sports permeates virtually all aspects of a working society.

The olympics have been connected with the downfall of the roman empire. By the fall of the roamn empire, sports had so infiltrated the running of the society, that they interfered with the running of the empire to such an extent, that they shut it down. The days in which the sports events were held were considered national holidays, and towards the end, they were held almost everyday to make the government popular.


Anybody have some real points to make?

Originally posted by fredx
I know this isn't my thread, but interesting responses and ideas people.

lines like these are why fredx has so many posts

^^^ lines like those are why i do too

This is just my opinion, but I believe you're asking the wrong question, grammar errors set aside. I mean, has mankind created anything WORSE?

I'm not sure I see how you can put high school and college sports together with professional sports. When students play sports they are not supposed to be paid. Most student athletes know they are not going to become a professional so I don't think they are driven by money. They play for fun and the satisfaction of accomplishment and winning. These students are practicing a variety of skills.
Maybe if more people played sports we wouldn't have an epidemic of overweight people, heart disease and other health problems. Then we wouldn't need so many doctors to take care of them.
I don't understand why everyone expects these athletes to be doing something for everyone else. They are not obligated to help you out. As long as stupid people keep paying way too much to watch them play and buying their league liscensed gear the players will get ridiculous amounts of money. I don't buy any of that crap, but that's really as much as I can do about it.
It would be interesting to add up all the money spent on sports and all the money spent on education. What do Americans collectively value more? Sports or Education?

To the above (slaughterist), you need to read the posts. My point is not based on the drive of the palyer. If anything the player is driven by the need for prestige. I played highschool football. I played because i liked to push myself, but at the back of my mind the entire time, was how i looked in my fellow students minds. It was a way to make me "better" then them because i was doing something they weren't, and this view was supported by the coaches. I'm trying to say that professional sports, at any level, should not be a way to personally raise someones popularity, to such an extent that they become a celebrity. I don't think there should be celebrities. I think their a plague among our nation. I don't like them. Ever read the book "The Giver" ? Thats not what i'm getting at, but what i'm trying to say that people are raised now, not with the goal to survive, but the goal to outshine everyone else, and get recognized. This post is all over the place. If you have read to this point then you are a moron. I am exhausted, and having trouble coherently saying anything. I just lost my train of thought horribly. I apologize for the shabiness of this post, but not the ideas represented here. Good Day.

This post is a little cleaner. I Promise. I Swear to god. I'm not kidding around, I swear.

Originally posted by Slaughterist
I'm not sure I see how you can put high school and college sports together with professional sports. When students play sports they are not supposed to be paid. Most student athletes know they are not going to become a professional so I don't think they are driven by money. They play for fun and the satisfaction of accomplishment and winning. These students are practicing a variety of skills.

see above

Maybe if more people played sports we wouldn't have an epidemic of overweight people, heart disease and other health problems. Then we wouldn't need so many doctors to take care of them.

Excercise is more efficient. Though sports are more fun. If your directing yourself at me, then i would ask you to read my posts more carefully. I am dismissing organized sports leagues which operate on sales and the prestige system outside of their close friends and relatives. If you have more then 50 people watching a game, then it's no longer personal, it's for the whole world to agonize over. Professional sports, most varsity teams. The doctors not taking care of fat people would go do cosmetic surgery, which is worse.

I don't understand why everyone expects these athletes to be doing something for everyone else.
i don't think they do, i think your making this up, or you misread something, or your saying this from personal exp. where an athlete didn't sdo something you wanted them to do.
They are not obligated to help you out.
They are obligated to mantain their image, whatever that image may be
As long as stupid people keep paying way too much to watch them play and buying their league liscensed gear the players will get ridiculous amounts of money. I don't buy any of that crap, but that's really as much as I can do about it.

your jealous

It would be interesting to add up all the money spent on sports and all the money spent on education. What do Americans collectively value more? Sports or Education?

You mean the billions that each state spends on education? Or do you mean personally by the individual, not whats done with your taxes?

Well needed or not they are a nice economic helpout to the economy. The amount they generate in sports related paraphenelia is amazing and the tax revenues is also doesn't hurt either.