Shadow wrote:What does being a fan have to do with playing sports? Fans aren't playing the game.
True enough statement. At least for sports, however, I tend to like watching things I actually do/can enjoy doing even if I suck at them.
Shadow wrote:BTW, have you ever played the game of baseball? At all? Little League, maybe?
I did back in the day when I was much younger. Since then, I've umped several different leagues of baseball/softball and been invited to be an assistant girl's fastpitch coach. I turned that down because of time/pay. No, I don't profess to be a huge baseball nut nor do I know everything about it. I do know enough to understand the game.
Shadow wrote:I'm not so sure you actually understand the game of baseball. Guys like Prince Fielder and David Ortiz excel in the game of baseball for one reason--they are power hitters and they can smash home runs. That's instant offense, which is huge in a game like baseball (which is typically a low-scoring game) for any of the MLB teams. Think about it--what else do they bring to the table? They certainly don't have a lot of speed or particularly good throwing arms or great defense. They exist simply for their "instant" offense abilities. MLB pitchers are in the same boat. They normally can't hit worth a damn and they only exist to pitch. But are they athletes? Absolutely. If you want to bash a few baseball players, go right ahead....but take a look at some other sports like pro bowling or even golf to a certain extent. Hell, I think a beer belly is a prerequisite to become a pro bowler. Those guys consider themselves athletes, but I doubt they could sprint up a flight of stairs without getting winded. And lets not forget NFL lineman. They are all lardasses these days, over 300 lbs....but they are still athletes. Still, the point is that professional athletes are the best in their sports, despite their level of fitness or their appearance. If a guy like Prince Fielder couldn't contribute to a professional baseball team, he certainly wouldn't be earning $24 million salary from the Texas Rangers for 2014. He happens to have an ability to hit the ball in a way that is very rare, even among his pro baseball peers. His size/weight obviously isn't a detriment, similar to the size/weight of an NFL lineman. In fact, an argument can be made that guys his size have a power advantage compared to some of the smaller and more "fit" guys.
You'd be surprised at how fast some of those 300+ lb linemen can move. Most of your paragraph just reiterated my statement about being able to be strong and have some technique and be considered an athlete. For the record, I don't consider pro-bowlers athletes, even if I do respect their skill to do what they do. Related, I am not a fan of the argument about what is a sport or not, because it just depends on your metrics for whatever game/sport.