"Daniel-San" wrote in message
.. .

"Ken Fortenberry" wrote ...
Daniel-San wrote:

So, OK. Fly fishing is not a sport, baseball is a sport,
football is a sport, fly fishing is recreation.


To me (for whatever small change that may be worth), it's not a sport
until it requires physical skill(s) not possessed by the average person. I
sure as hell can't hit a Major League fastball. But I can catch a bass.

Hm.....

It looks like you're saying that hitting a major league fastball is a sport
while baseball (played at one level or another by tens of millions of people
in the U.S......the majority of whom, by definition, cannot possess greater
than average skills) in general is not. The same would of course be true
with regard to some analogous feat (if you'll pardon the pun) in football
(played by hundreds of millions of people worldwide......most of them with
no more than average skills). But then, most people who try can catch a
bass. It follows that there must be some level of bass catching skills at
which this too becomes a sport. And, since we have only the one criterion
by which to judge, there must be a level at which macramé, Parcheesi,
Christmas tree decorating, and shaving become sports. I think we may need
to tweak this definition a bit.

Wolfgang