What makes an athlete?

[Hendrick4life]

So I just had a conversation with a buddy of mines about the whole JJ - McNabb debacle. He kind of agrees with McNabb. He says NASCAR drivers are not athletes but says its not easy to do. He also says some other sports aren't really athletic. Golf to be one of them.



So after hearing his side. I agree to an extend of course I'm trying to defend my sport but it makes you think. What makes an athlete....an athlete?

 

[Mcc457]

Well to me an athlete is a person who uses a well developed skill competitively.

For example there are math athletes, who are exceptional at mathematics.

 

[Racecarboy93]

An athlete is built up, has great skill at what he/she does, and/or has a risk of injury. Any person that sweats at all while doing a sport is an athlete. All of these are qualifications in my mind.

 

[Markfan]

I'd say that an athlete is a person that either specializes in endurance, strength or agility (or more).

Due to this, it is not actually necessary to be athletic to be a NASCAR cup driver, as many 60-year-olds and a few 70-year-olds have raced in the top circuit (not to mention start-and-parkers really don't need to be all that skilled as long as they can qualify), but is basically a requirement to being a contender for victories in the top series (although there are exceptions in lower series, it's hard to necessarily say that the drivers below drinking age are necessarily athletes themselves. Even in the cup series people say that Richard Childress, a person in his 60s, could beat the crap out of Kyle Busch (not saying he hasn't already). However, Childress himself was an athlete.).

This is as opposed to most sports, where there is more demand for being part of the game compared to nationwide-or-international racing, due to there always being players on the side ready to take over for a person past their prime, thus resulting in virtually all members being athletic. This results in the misconception that racers are non-athletic, due to it being more likely to be a part of a race if non-athletic, as opposed to say, in a football team.


tl;dr In my opinion, the majority of NASCAR drivers in the top 3 series are athletes, but not all. There is a big difference between being a professional and being an athlete, though they often overlap.

 

[evan07]

If NASCAR wasn't a sport then one of the greatest action sports athletes of all times would not be leaving the sport after this year.

 

[Markfan]

If NASCAR wasn't a sport then one of the greatest action sports athletes of all times would not be leaving the sport after this year.

So you're saying that Juan Montoya would only stay if NASCAR wasn't a sport?

 

[evan07]

So you're saying that Juan Montoya would only stay if NASCAR wasn't a sport?

Ok let me reword that I meant that racing is a very hard to do successfully. That read very confusing haha. I meant that if you ask Travis Pastrana if NASCAR is a sport or not he would say yes. He has been super successful in every sport he's ever tried to compete in. He's in great shape and I saw a interview with him talking about how tough racing is on his body. I was using Travis because he came from another form of sports to NASCAR and found out how tough it really is.

 

[canadienhits]

Boy this could get ugly.

 

[Markfan]

Boy this could get ugly.

It's been perfectly sane so far, don't alter the future with your assumption.

 

[Mcc457]

Well then this bring up the question of whether NASCAR is a sport.

It's not.

Neither are F1, WTCC, V8 Supercars, NFL, NHL, NCAA, NBA, etc.

They are all sanctioning bodies, NASCAR is motorsport.
So because motorsport is a sport and athletes play sports any racing driver is considered an athlete.

 

[ayrwolf]

To me it is how you parse the word athlete. Some people refer to poker as a sport. Other than playing with your pile of chips and keeping a straight face I see no physical skill involved

 

[K.Chuck]

via Websters

ath·lete
noun \ˈath-ˌlēt, ÷ˈa-thə-ˌlēt\

: a person who is trained in or good at sports, games, or exercises that require physical skill and strength

Pretty cut and dry that it takes physical skill and strength to race.

 

[Markfan]

So because motorsport is a sport and athletes play sports any racing driver is considered an athlete.

That's not how logic works. lol

A frog is a tetrapod and humans are tetrapods so any frog is considered a human?
A firearm is a weapon and policemen use weapons so any firearm-weilder is considered a policeman?
A racehorse is a horse and dressage competitors ride horses so any jockey is a dressage competitor?

Pretty cut and dry that it takes physical skill and strength to race.

While potentially true, that isn't always true, that's the interesting part about debating about whether classifying a NASCAR driver automatically as an athlete is accurate. There's no doubt that NASCAR elites are athletes (and I do believe he was wrong for classifying JJ as a non-athlete), but is that always true about any NASCAR racer? What measure is a non-athlete?

To me it is how you parse the word athlete. Some people refer to poker as a sport.

^Basically this. All sports feature sportsmen, but not all sportsmen are athletes.

 

[canadienhits]

It's been perfectly sane so far, don't alter the future with your assumption.

Well, my assumption has been based on other forums and social media, so it has a basis to it.

 

[Markfan]

Well, my assumption has been based on other forums and social media, so it has a basis to it.

I was only teasing you, y'know. lol

 

[The Captain]

Donovan McNabb has been a bitter blowhard ever since he resorted to TV jobs because he was too out of shape to play football. He should be the last person to criticize athleticism.

 

[MrDude68]

Donovan McNabb has been a bitter blowhard ever since he resorted to TV jobs because he was too out of shape to play football. He should be the last person to criticize athletic ability.

ftfy

Yeah, Donovan is an ignoramus.

 

[4x4yoda]

They may not think it takes physical strength to race but it does. Mostly it take mental strength. To bad they don't have a talledega ride along program to prove the mental aspect of racing.

 

[Carl Robinson]

A couple healthy buffalo chicken subway footlongs.
-Extra Ranch
-Two Strips of Bacon

With a Large Diet Coke

Get 1 cookie instead of 3.

make sure you park close to the door. You burn more calories in short bursts than long ones.

Get those muscles toned. Lift a gallon of Juice 4-6 times every times you take a swig out of it.


Make sure to tone your bottom and back of your legs by driving everywhere. Even to the Mailbox!



And you sir. Can be just like me.

 

[BredCooper]

An athlete is someone who's doing a physical and mentality demanding sport and his/her body's build up.There are different levels of athletes...e.g. runners, soccer players and so on could never compete with the physical and mental strenght of a football player, pro soccer players (sissies) wouldn't win against a high school or college player.

I say football players are the ultimate athletes, and I'm playing football for like 17 years now.

About NASCAR, the drivers have to meet specific physical and mental reqs and I'm sure they have to work out in the gym and/or home pumping to keep they bodies in good condition because of all the forces and heats while racing.

Of course, drivers don't have to work out like a football player.

So, a driver in whatever motorsport isn't an actual athlete because of racing, but if he's/she's doing other sports (or athletic work outs), they can be...but in first place they are race drivers.

Sports - Athletes
Motorsport - Race Drivers

Tho, I wouldn't call the average golf player an athlete...but a few may have an athletic body because of being an athlete aside playing golf.