RunningAHEAD - Topic: Define Athlete (page 3)

perfesserr

Imminent Catastrophe

posted: 4/21/2009 at 9:30 PM

Quote from xor on 4/21/2009 at 9:28 PM:

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock!

Heh. You get your geek merit badge!

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"The most common question from potential entrants is 'I do not know if I can do this' to which I usually answer, 'that's the whole point'.--Paul Charteris, Tarawera Ultramarathon RD.

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ironbessflint

posted: 4/21/2009 at 9:43 PM

Quote from xor on 4/21/2009 at 9:28 PM:

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock!

Fantastic

Really though, I think I just aim for the disadvantage in these conversations. I ride horses, and now I run. Oh, and I was in marching band through HS and college (still probably the most athletically challenging thing I've ever undertaken). None of which qualify as "real" sports Roll eyes

I like the idea that if you "train" you're an athlete.

Wingz

Professional Noob

posted: 4/21/2009 at 10:28 PM

Quote from Ennay on 4/21/2009 at 8:55 PM:

I was told once that you are an athlete when the training/activity spills out into how you conduct your life when NOT training/playing. In otherwords when you start looking at how your nutrition supports your running and your sleep supports your running and your red wine supports your running....you are becoming an athlete.

Love it!

Roads were made for journeys...

Mr R

posted: 4/21/2009 at 11:09 PM

I have a few definitions: 1. I've always thought of an athlete as one who participates in a physical activity for its own sake. If you only run to be healthy, I wouldn't think of you as an athlete, even if you run a lot. 2. I've also thought of athletes as organisms that engage in aerobic metabolism of carbohydrate in order to contract the actin and myosin filaments of skeletal muscle. I'm actually only half joking. When people say, "I'm just not a runner," I always think to myself, "well, you've got legs..." Unless disease has taken hold, our bodies are always just a few years of training from being able to do extraordinary things.

What was the secret, they wanted to know; in a thousand different ways they wanted to know The Secret. And not one of them was prepared, truly prepared to believe that it had not so much to do with chemicals and zippy mental tricks as with that most unprofound and sometimes heart-rending process of removing, molecule by molecule, the very tough rubber that comprised the bottoms of his training shoes. The Trial of Miles, Miles of Trials. How could they be expected to understand that? -John Parker

skeetermc

posted: 4/21/2009 at 11:18 PM

Quote from Minderbender on 4/21/2009 at 7:53 PM:

This argument comes up frequently when lists are made of the greatest athlete in history. Secretariat usually makes the list, which makes for an entertaining discussion. Golfers and race car drivers are usually controversial in these arguments as well. My daughter is a horseback rider and competes, and she gets ticked at her classmates who think the horse is doing all the work. ESPN- the E stands for entertainment, so not everything on ESPN is a sport. Spelling bee? I thought I might settle this once and for all with this rule-If you can smoke a cigarette while participating in your sport, you are not an athlete. This rules out golf, which is kind of a shame. And I think a lot of Rightfielders could get away with smoking, as long as the ditched it when chasing fly balls. The kids in the spelling bee can't smoke legally, and they are twitchy enough already.

OMG, I used to fight with my army buddies about my horseback riding and they would always argue that it wasn't a sport. I did 3-day eventing, and after riding a cross country course, you come back and tell me the horse is doing all the work! Anyways, back on topic....I'm not sure I'd call the chick (like my roomates) who go out and jog a couple miles once a week an athlete. I train cuz I have to both for the army. But I also love to run. So maybe an athlete is either cuz you have to or you like to. Wow, that was deep. I like srlopez's definition.

egge0080

Arrogant Bastard....Ale

posted: 4/22/2009 at 12:12 AM

Quote from xor on 4/21/2009 at 9:28 PM:

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock!

I'll say arbitrarily, you average an hour a day at that sport

Batensmack

Beware, batbear...

posted: 4/22/2009 at 9:03 AM

Quote from C-R on 4/21/2009 at 5:14 PM:

don't forget bowlers.

Actually, I think bowlers would find that a certain amount of athletic training would really improve their game. Of course, like many golfers, they're more interested in the gregarious social elements than getting better at their sport.

2014 Goal -- Run 5X per week, pain-free (relatively) by end of summer.

Roses Revenge

posted: 4/22/2009 at 9:21 AM

Interesting thread. Thanks! I think some people are athletic and some people are athletes. For myself, I didn't define myself as an athlete until I had trained for and completed my first event and continued training for the second event. I know people who trained for and completed the first event and then sat on their butts for six months until it was time to start training to complete the first even a second time. I don't consider them athletes. Rose Former Bowler

Marathon Maniac #991 Half Fanatic #58 Double Agent #22 It's a perfect day and I feel great!

Cougar89

posted: 4/22/2009 at 9:30 AM

HERE is an athlete!!!!!!! Shocked

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234900-2009-arcadia-invitational/169563-american-decathlon-record-high-school

Runners around the state are getting better today ...are you one of them? TRAIN HARD

NateFromRI

posted: 4/22/2009 at 9:35 AM

Assuming you can define an athlete as one who participates in a sport, you just have to define "sport". Comedian Patrice Oneal says that a sport needs an offense and a defense, thus things like running are not sports. My opinion is that a sport is an activity that requires skill, strength and endurance to play well. Running definitely includes those. Softball does as well. Bowling and golf require little, if any endurance. Poker, pool, etc require only skill. One thing I know for sure is that kickball is definitely a sport. I'm much more tired after a one hour kickball game than I am after a one hour training run!

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5K - 18:25 - 3/19/11
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mamaofthree

Best Present Ever

posted: 4/22/2009 at 10:49 AM

It's a bit odd to exclude running from 'athletics' and runners from 'athletes' since athletics refers to the original olympic sports. Running, wrestling, and other things that I can't think of. track and field-y sort of stuff mostly, I think. I guess we could say that athletes have to be naked, though.

Craig S

Menace to Sobriety

posted: 4/22/2009 at 10:56 AM
modified: 4/22/2009 at 10:56 AM

Sport as defined in current US culture: (read in a good portion of cynicism) Delivery system for advertising, mostly promoting beer and erectile dysfunction meds. This makes poker and golf sports, running, not so much. Confused

Janie, today I quit my job. And then I told my boss to go f*** himself, and then I blackmailed him for almost sixty thousand dollars. Pass the asparagus.

Rundadrun27

posted: 4/22/2009 at 11:04 AM

Quote from C-R on 4/21/2009 at 5:14 PM:

don't forget bowlers.

Horse Jockeys. Does an athlete have to be someone who competes? I've been a football official for 13 years. I would consider myself an athlete as officiating in many sports; hockey, football, basketball requires some form of athletic ability.

mamaofthree

Best Present Ever

posted: 4/22/2009 at 12:29 PM

Quote from Craig S on 4/22/2009 at 10:56 AM:

Sport as defined in current US culture: (read in a good portion of cynicism) Delivery system for advertising, mostly promoting beer and erectile dysfunction meds. This makes poker and golf sports, running, not so much.

on Morning Edition this morning, I learned that texting was a sport, but that it could cost $20,000/month

girmann

Giant Flaming Dork

posted: 4/22/2009 at 12:46 PM

Re Golf: Funny... I would consider Tiger Woods an Athlete. John Daly? Not so much. Maybe we could define "Athlete" as 12% or lower of body fat. (Not that I would pass that test...)

http://xkcd.com/621/

Define Athlete (Read 916 times)