fivebranch - Posted - 07/15/2011:  20:50:34

msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story...gt1=39002

Someone needs to ask this YAHOO if he can sit in a car for three hours with 114 degrees (and that's on a cool day) burning his body. AND the possibility of a major wreck that may or may not be fatal. I consider anyone participating in any sport and athlete. Yes even in Curling.

bigfeller - Posted - 07/15/2011:  21:16:36

Yeah, it steams me up too. This Golden Tate kid is ignorant when it comes to auto racing, and he's not alone. A lot of people equate driving a race car with driving a street car down the highway. The two are not comparable at all. People don't realize just how physical driving a race car is. The heat inside the car, which on a hot summer day can reach up to 140 degrees, the G-forces the drivers have to fight, and not to mention having to wrestle an ill-handling car, very rarely does the car handle perfectly. Most race drivers keep themselves in better shape than stick and ball sport athletes, they have to because it's so rough on the body.



Johnson, Carl Edwards and some other drivers have extended an invitation to Tate to come to the track and check racing out, but he probably won't, I think he's too chicken. But if he actually does take them up on the invite, I suspect he'd change his attitude pretty quickly.

Edited by - bigfeller on 07/15/2011 21:18:45

pandjlocke - Posted - 07/15/2011:  21:48:09

What does he know? He plays for the Seahawks!

Lachlan - Posted - 07/15/2011:  22:33:37

So, let's see... An elderly person who is in great shape, but lives in a home with no air conditioning and some rickety stairs is an athlete? I mean it's hot and their life is in danger...

Bowlers, golfers, billiards players... Practitioners of a pastime, a diversion. Not athletes. Just being healthy does not an athlete make.

dmiller - Posted - 07/15/2011:  22:58:24

Sport is all about competition.  I guess you could call professional poker a sport (since it's about competition), and some of those players probably sweat as much as a guy on the football field does (but for a different reason)!    I'm guessing that "dude" making the adverse comments about driving has also (maybe) ridden a bicycle in his life too.  I'm betting he wouldn't call a Tour de France rider a "non-athlete" for just riding a bicycle.  Some folks need to think things through before they talk, since the law of gravity  is infallible.

Nother words - - "What's in the brain, drains out at the mouth".  

1four5 - Posted - 07/16/2011:  00:53:18

I remember arguing about this at work all the time. I've always contended that an athlete is someone us common folk can't beat. We can all drive a car, bowl, golf, shoot pool, ride a bike, play some weekend ball, swim, ski, skateboard, jump off a diving board, throw a football, lift weights, whatever you name it. If it was easy to be a pro, we'd all be doing it and making the big bucks and getting our faces all over Wheaties boxes and on TV etc. Arguing that professionals athletes are not real athletes is just average people's way of making themselves feel better about just being average. And I guess that can go for athletes views of other sports that they are not good at. Does anyone remember the TV show Superstars from the 70's that pitted athletes off all different sports against eachother? Great show.

Bill Rogers - Posted - 07/16/2011:  01:07:17

Try engaging in a world-class chess  tournament or championship match series without being in great physical shape.

figmo59 - Posted - 07/16/2011:  03:59:20

i think being an athlete is a matter of the heart........

speachial olympics HAVE athletes that could teach many folks about compatition and heart.

Paul R - Posted - 07/16/2011:  04:20:02

quote:

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Originally posted by fivebranch

I consider anyone participating in any sport an athlete. Yes, even in Curling.

---

No kidding! We tried curling this winter, and it's really hard! Just getting the right balance to throw the rock was a major accomplishment. It really blew the stereotype away.

And cycling is an incredibly tough sport. Try sitting on that saddle for six hours while going at warp speed over all kinds of terrain. Pro cyclists consume more calories than any other athlete. Second on the list behind cyclists is ... sumo wrestlers.

8thpol - Posted - 07/16/2011:  05:37:07

Is competitive food eating a sport?? are the participants athletes ?

banjomule - Posted - 07/16/2011:  05:47:57

I read the article and am very impressed how much class Jimmy showed in his response. It's great to see professional competitors acting like real rolemodels!

That said, I do believe there should be some sort of divison between skill and raw athleticism.

Yes, it takes skill to win a Nascar race. Yes, a motocross racer has to be in amazing shape just to hold on to his bike. But in these sports the main concept is to manipulate a very complex machine.

Other sports have less machinery and require more raw athleticism. Usain Bolt running down a track. Michael Phelps in a pool. Two boxers or MMA fighters standing toe to toe. No machinery to hide behind. Thats a whole different ballgame to me.

Consider looking at it this way: A DJ and a musican both make music. I've never been to a big city, but i've heard there are famous DJs that are known for thier skill of picking out music in the right order. I personally think there is more skill involved in manipulating a simple instrument to make music than manipulating a complex switchboard.

gshall - Posted - 07/16/2011:  08:44:52

For the first 20 minutes we can all compete with an athlete. After several hours, the athletic ability shows.

fivebranch - Posted - 07/16/2011:  10:15:15

quote:

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Originally posted by Bill Rogers

Try engaging in a world-class chess  tournament or championship match series without being in great physical shape.

---

 Now we have to define the difference between Game and Sport. You had to go and open up another can of worms didn't you?

Lachlan - Posted - 07/16/2011:  16:53:34

Surgery's hard, too. So is crocheting. Having advanced skills does not automatically qualify someone as an athlete.

Micki - Posted - 07/16/2011:  19:13:17

Athletes have to train and stay focused every day of their life.  Race car drivers have more capabilities to worry about than  just being able to drive a car at the speeds they drive and a different track at every race.  They have to stay competitive,  keep owners as well as sponsors happy.  Personal appearances and all sorts of media stuck in their faces all the time and criticized by so many, their free time is not so free. They drive and do these sports events even when they are sick or loose a member of their family, unless  they have a back up ready,  show must go on.  I think doing a sport of any kind for a living would be much harder than just doing it for fun. Micki

thecirclebroke - Posted - 07/17/2011:  04:44:57

what about mathletes??!

Nick Danger - Posted - 07/17/2011:  05:20:44

quote:

---

Originally posted by fivebranch

msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story...gt1=39002

Someone needs to ask this YAHOO if he can sit in a car for three hours with 114 degrees (and that's on a cool day) burning his body. AND the possibility of a major wreck that may or may not be fatal. I consider anyone participating in any sport and athlete. Yes even in Curling.

---

I drive an un-air conditioned truck in the Southwestern US in summer, where late-afternoon temps can hit 112 degrees F, and I share the road with a bunch of maniacs who daily make me fear for my life.  Yet I don't consider myself an athlete.  Nuff said?    

justryin2play - Posted - 07/17/2011:  05:24:20

Very revealing piece into the mind-set of a pro athlete...funny how he degrades into name calling when a little pressure is applied.

Please feel free to draw your own conclusions from his actions  

We don't need to discuss those conclusions here though.

fivebranch - Posted - 07/17/2011:  19:35:22

quote:

---

Originally posted by Nick Danger

quote:

---

Originally posted by fivebranch

msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story...gt1=39002

Someone needs to ask this YAHOO if he can sit in a car for three hours with 114 degrees (and that's on a cool day) burning his body. AND the possibility of a major wreck that may or may not be fatal. I consider anyone participating in any sport and athlete. Yes even in Curling.

---

I drive an un-air conditioned truck in the Southwestern US in summer, where late-afternoon temps can hit 112 degrees F, and I share the road with a bunch of maniacs who daily make me fear for my life.  Yet I don't consider myself an athlete.  Nuff said?    

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 I reject your opinion and insert mine. The last line of my original post sums up what I believe. If we all were to stay with your logic then life itself would be a sport all who participate would be athletes.

Micki - Posted - 07/18/2011:  00:43:37

quote: This is a good  question?  How does one eat, say,100 hot dogs, and stay in good shape?  Micki

---

Originally posted by 8thpol

Is competitive food eating a sport?? are the participants athletes ?

---

fivebranch - Posted - 07/18/2011:  20:03:51

I want this to flame. Burn baby burn.

See how nice it looks with the flames

Edited by - fivebranch on 07/18/2011 20:07:47

1four5 - Posted - 07/18/2011:  20:12:35

And athlete is anyone who can do anything they want today, and not be sore tomorrow...

Tommy5 - Posted - 07/19/2011:  13:50:34

What is the difference between a nascar driver and a baseball player? A baseball player doesn't burst into flames when he runs into a wall.