I am not as anti-Olympics as David Carr at the Samizdata or the Instapundit (although I am sure that I have already witnessed the finest the Olympics has to offer, which of course was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performing on opening night), but it really irks me when I hear the chattering classes call some of these things sports.
Folks- Ice skating is not a sport. It is an athletic event. Sure, it takes skill, it takes stamina, it takes coordination- but it is not a sport. In order for an athletic event to be considered a sport, you have to be playing or doing something in which you play offense and defense. Anything that is judged, anything that is voted on- that is not a sport. Baseball, for example, which is far less exhausting than say, cross country skiing, is a sport. Cross Country skiing is an athletic event. In fact, baseball is the only sport that I am aware of in which the defense starts with the ball every play. But that is trivia.
So, in case you are confused, let’s go through it.
Ice Dancing is an ATHLETIC EVENT
Hockey is a SPORT.
Down-hill skiing is an ATHLETIC EVENT.
Basketball is a SPORT.
It isn’t that difficult, so quit lumping figure skating in the same category as lacrosse, hockey, soccer, baseball, rugby, Australian rules football, football, or for goodness sakes, Buzkashi.