For as long as cars have raced around in the NASCAR circuit, the argument about whether or not it is a sport has also raced around in discussions and forums.
Though I am not personally a huge fan of cars racing around a track, I do understand the physical stamina that is required of somebody to sit in the cramped little roll cage of a hot car for hours and hours as it tools around a track for 400 miles. The focus you have to have and the strength to keep that wheel turned in the right direction is intense. It is not appealing to watch, but to me, NASCAR is a sport.
The arguments against it being a sport are fair. After all, car racing is exactly that: cars racing. But the competition is not about which car is faster. All of the cars are going to be moving as fast as they can move around that track without crashing during a race, and no car out there is going to be significantly faster than any other car.
The only difference lies in which person inside the car can operate his or her car better than everyone else. Essentially, who can run their machine the best.
I know a lot of people who would scoff at that. Running a machine? Does that make taxi driving a sport? Or what about running a vacuum cleaner? Whoever can get the floor cleaner in a faster time is the winner!
Obviously operating a machine better than everyone else cannot be grounds for calling something a sport—well, except for sport shooting. After all, you can win an Olympic medal for shooting a pistol. And archery, too. And bobsledding, I guess, despite the fact that it is really the sled that is doing the brunt of the work.
And then there's sailing. And equestrian…
Then there are people who criticize rhythmic gymnastics. They cannot believe that people can jump around on a big, springy floor holding a wand with a ribbon attached to it and win an Olympic medal because a panel of judges decides one of them is able to do it the best.
However, you rarely find someone who thinks that someone dancing and jumping around on a skinny beam or whipping around on a pommel horse does not deserve an Olympic medal. The fate of a ""regular"" gymnast relies just as much on a panel of judges, but their athleticism and grace is rarely disputed. The same could be said for figure skaters, high divers and ski jumpers, yet cheerleaders and synchronized swimmers get eye rolls for their athletic endeavors.
At the root of all this lies the question of what defines sport and where do we draw the line. Is it at bass fishing? Chess? Ballroom dancing? Billiards? Professional eating?
Surely it is only a sport if you can win an Olympic medal for it. But then, what about football? So maybe whatever ESPN or Sports Illustrated reports on is what counts. But when was the last time either one of them had anything to report on in the world of cricket or curling?
The point is that there is no line. You can argue with NASCAR fans until you are blue in the face that driving a car does not constitute sport, and you still will not change their minds.
Do not try telling a cheerleading squad that what they do is not a sport, because they will not hear it. And if you think that Joey Chestnut or Takeru Kobayashi are not true competitors for stuffing fifty plus hot dogs down their throats in less than ten minutes, they will probably throw their world titles, endorsements and ESPN spots back at you with hordes of fans standing in their wake ready to back them up.
The fact of the matter is, if you can compete in something, it is a sport and no lack of respect or trash-talking can take that away. Save your breath, naysayers, because every game, contest and skill test in the world will have someone backing it up in earnest.
No set of rules or guidelines of what defines a sport can contain every competition, so get past it. Like it or not, the NASCAR racers, baton twirlers, cheerleaders, bass masters, pistol shooters, and hot dog eaters shall have theirs too, and to them we must also say long live sport.
Think NASCAR is just a glorified engineering contest? Let Andy know at avansistine@wisc.edu.
