# Curling...Who are they kidding?



## Badrabbit (Nov 18, 2004)

I say this every time I see the game but curling is not a sport. We don't have shuffle board or bowling in the Summer Olympics so how the hell did this make it into the Winter games?

Is there any one out there who actually watches the game or was this just some way for non-athletes to become Olympic medal winners?

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Women thrive on novelty and are easy meat for the commerce of fashion. Men prefer old pipes and torn jackets. 
Anthony Burgess


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## mpcsb (Jan 1, 2005)

I watched one game - because I'd never seen one. Couldn't stop laughing. All I kept thinking is that the players were about 40 years too young. Yes - "Shuffle-Board On Ice" LOL
Cheers


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## tiger02 (Dec 12, 2004)

I love curling. But I also love bocce.

The winter olympics kick the crap out of the summer olympics. Ballroom dancing?!?!

Tom


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## Badrabbit (Nov 18, 2004)

> quote:_Originally posted by tiger02_
> 
> I love curling. But I also love bocce.
> 
> ...


I love the Winter Olympics but "Ice Dancing"!

And Bocce is not a sport either. It's a game for old people.

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Women thrive on novelty and are easy meat for the commerce of fashion. Men prefer old pipes and torn jackets. 
Anthony Burgess


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## Mr. Di Liberti (Jan 24, 2006)

I believe curling to be in the same league as bowling, it's an activity for leisure time, not a sport. If the stone weighed 100 lbs... 

I agree Tom,

Ballroom dancing is more a sport then curling.

If it's almost a sport, ESPN... 

Anthony

Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage ~ Theodore Roosevelt


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## tiger02 (Dec 12, 2004)

> quote:_Originally posted by Mr. Di Liberti_
> 
> Ballroom dancing is more a sport then curling.


I think a sport requires two things: athletic ability and an active defense.

Hockey, football, baseball, judo, and as much as I might hate it, soccer make the cut.

Curling, skiing, running, golf, and for God's sake NASCAR are not sports.

Tom


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## Badrabbit (Nov 18, 2004)

> quote:_Originally posted by tiger02_
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By these criteria, none of the ancient olympic sports would qualify except for wrestling. Most of the early sports are solo endeavors (e.g. discus, marathon, javelin etc...).

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Women thrive on novelty and are easy meat for the commerce of fashion. Men prefer old pipes and torn jackets. 
Anthony Burgess


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## tiger02 (Dec 12, 2004)

> quote:_Originally posted by Badrabbit_
> By these criteria, none of the ancient olympic sports would qualify except for wrestling. Most of the early sports are solo endeavors (e.g. discus, marathon, javelin etc...).


Guess those guys weren't so tough after all [}]


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## mpcsb (Jan 1, 2005)

Speed skating is still the best - [8D] It's like competition ballet.


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

The Olympics should be returned permanently to Greece along with the Elgin Marbles. If nations wish to participate they will cease all warfare.Commercial interests will be banned.


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## ChubbyTiger (Mar 10, 2005)

Hey, I like curling! I agree that it's a game more than a sport, though. I think we should go back to the old model. If it doesn't have some connection with military skills, it's out. (Running, jumping, throwing, shooting, hand-to-hand, skiing, etc.) I will graciously make an exception for games in which attractive women wear tight outfits.

CT


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## manicturncoat (Oct 4, 2004)

I don't mind curling at all.


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## pendennis (Oct 6, 2005)

Watching the gals curl is really fun; especially watching from the opposite end and checking out the short skirts and legs!

Dennis
If you wish to control the future, then create it.
Est unusquisque faber ipsae suae fortunae


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## zegnamtl (Apr 19, 2005)

Badrabbit, curling is one of our "national sports".
But I am with you on this one, ditch it!
What is next, 

Commentator screams........
And Canada wins the Gold in the 400 channel relay remote clicking!!!! (crowd cheers)


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## Yckmwia (Mar 29, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by zegnamtl_
> 
> Badrabbit, curling is one of our "national sports".
> But I am with you on this one, ditch it!
> ...


Just before this year's Games, I read some sports journalist debunking the entire idea of the Winter Olympics, and he singled out curling for special scorn. He said that one year, he and several other scribes were interviewing the American - or perhaps the Canadian - curling team, and, after the Olympians explained the sport to the sportswriters, a friendly match ensued. The scribes lost 3 - 1. If this is true, it should seal the matter: any "athletic event" in which the world's best can barely beat a pickup team of _sportswriters_ is definitely not ready for primetime.

Now _hurling_ on the other hand. . .

"Patriotism is not for those who represent wealth and power. It is good enough for the people" Emma Goldman


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Yckmwia_
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## bigCat (Jun 10, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by tiger02_
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I would also add "if you can smoke while doing it, it's not a sport". It's a bit less restrictive than Tom's.


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## jeansguy (Jul 29, 2003)

A wise man once said - "There are only three sports - bull fighting, boxing, and auto racing. All the rest are just games."

www.thegenuineman.com


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## The Gabba Goul (Feb 11, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by tiger02_
> 
> I love curling. But I also love bocce.
> 
> ...


bocce should be an olympic sport...one of the best games to play on a nice 75-80 degree summer afternoon with a couple six packs of moretti in the cooler, and some peppers and sausage on the grill...now that's a good time...

...I can't wait until summer...

*****
[image]https://radio.weblogs.com/0119318/Screenshots/rose.jpg[/image]"See...What I'm gonna do is wear a shirt only once, and then give it right away to the laundry...eh?
A new shirt every day!!!"​


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## ashie259 (Aug 25, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by tiger02_
> I think a sport requires two things: athletic ability and an active defense.
> 
> Hockey, football, baseball, judo, and as much as I might hate it, soccer make the cut.
> ...


So... all the sports you like are valid, and the ones you don't aren't.


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## tiger02 (Dec 12, 2004)

> quote:_Originally posted by ashie259_
> 
> So... all the sports you like are valid, and the ones you don't aren't.


Well let's study that statement. I led in saying from the beginning that I like curling and made it clear that I dislike soccer, so first off your reading comprehension is not so good. Second, I did not pass judgement on the others. As it happens I love skiing and enjoy golf, occassionally. I do dislike running, a lot. So you also have issues with projecting attributes on me that I do not exhibit.

Let me guess, you were offended by the NASCAR comment?

Tom


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## mpcsb (Jan 1, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by tiger02_
> Let me guess, you were offended by the NASCAR comment?
> Tom


tiger02...watch out for those NASCAR hooligans!!!


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## ashie259 (Aug 25, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by tiger02_
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No, I wasn't offended, and I certainly don't care about NASCAR.

I would say that you did sound rather judgemental, but then you sound a little touchy and I'm not sure where you stand on the pistol issue, so I'll refrain.


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## ChubbyTiger (Mar 10, 2005)

ashie259, I think that quote, or some version of it, was said by Hemmingway. The point he was making at the time was that it shouldn't count as a sport unless you are risking serios injury or death by participating in it. I disagree, but nonetheless....

NASCAR is the automotive equivalent of the WWF. Now, if they actually raced stock cars (run what you brung style), then I'd be a fan.

CT


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## ashie259 (Aug 25, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by ChubbyTiger_
> 
> ashie259, I think that quote, or some version of it, was said by Hemmingway.


Well, I'm not asking for a full citation reference or bibliography, but since the comment was preceded by, "I think..." I took those to be his views. I disagreed with them, and got my head bitten off somewhat.



> quote: NASCAR is the automotive equivalent of the WWF.


Too right. I never liked The Dukes of Hazzard as a kid, so why should I like NASCAR as an adult? What a shocking waste of energy, in all senses of the word.

Tellingly, it's shown over here at about 4am, making it the province of desperate insomniacs, skunked-up students and the unemployed.


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## 16128 (Feb 8, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by hreljan_
> 
> I would also add "if you can smoke while doing it, it's not a sport". It's a bit less restrictive than Tom's.


Okay, so snooker, bowling and darts are right out. But archery, hmm... you could put an eye out with a lit stogie.

In gymnastics, I can see the bars and the rings, but the floor work with ribbons on sticks? I just don't get that. I can twirl a ribbon on a stick and do a cartwheel. I'd probably do this with the grace of a pregnant yak though, so maybe it IS a sport.

And don't get me started on NASCAR. They pre-empted Law & Order, my only vice, for that tripe yesterday.


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## Étienne (Sep 3, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Badrabbit_
> Is there any one out there who actually watches the game or was this just some way for non-athletes to become Olympic medal winners?


Definition is always a difficult endeavour. If you consider physical effort to be necessary for a sport, you lose sports like shooting (in the summer olympics) or archery. If you add that the physical effort should be the basis of the sport (and not a by-product) you lose many sports where the human is merely steering another force (horse riding, mechanical sports, sailing).

Then again, if you accept sports of skill (shooting, curling), just one more step, a slight broadening of the definition of skill, and you accept "intellectual sports" like chess or bridge.


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## ashie259 (Aug 25, 2005)

> quote:
> Is there any one out there who actually watches the game or was this just some way for non-athletes to become Olympic medal winners?


 Hey, that's not fair! You're forgetting the ancient and noble art of lying face down on a tea tray, pegging it down an icy track and staying on until you get to the bottom of the hill.


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## mpcsb (Jan 1, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by ashie259_


 Hey, that's not fair! You're forgetting the ancient and noble art of lying face down on a tea tray, pegging it down an icy track and staying on until you get to the bottom of the hill.
[/quote]

Yes - skeleton ! ! ! I hope the tea trays are melamine not silver - quelle horreur!


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## ashie259 (Aug 25, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by mpcsb_
> Yes - skeleton ! ! ! I hope the tea trays are melamine not silver - quelle horreur!


Apparently this is no ordinary tea tray. "My sled cost Â£3,000 and weighs 32lbs and is specially engineered and I don't think some people realise that." TouchÃ©!

I'm bound to ask - OTR, MTM or bespoke?


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## tiger02 (Dec 12, 2004)

> quote:_Originally posted by ashie259_
> 
> No, I wasn't offended, and I certainly don't care about NASCAR.
> 
> I would say that you did sound rather judgemental, but then you sound a little touchy and I'm not sure where you stand on the pistol issue, so I'll refrain.


OK, I've had issues with NASCAR fans lately in real life, so forgive me that. They tend to get really angry when you suggest that turning left isn't a sport.

I don't think trying to break down passtimes into 'sport' or 'activty' is any more judgemental than accusing someone of sports-favoritism. Does anyone even care about sports-favoritism?

Skeleton's awesome, but I still say it's not a sport.


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## ashie259 (Aug 25, 2005)

Any event where there are judges marking you up or down for style is not a 'proper' sport in my eyes. Either you jumped the longest, or you didn't.

The British commentators have been really excelling themselves in talking up their respective winter sports. To highlight the 'characters' in the sport of luge, we get, "This is the man they call The Cannibal" (erm, why? I'm frightened)/"He's known as the wild man of luge."


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## tiger02 (Dec 12, 2004)

> quote:_Originally posted by ashie259_
> 
> Any event where there are judges marking you up or down for style is not a 'proper' sport in my eyes. Either you jumped the longest, or you didn't.
> 
> The British commentators have been really excelling themselves in talking up their respective winter sports. To highlight the 'characters' in the sport of luge, we get, "This is the man they call The Cannibal" (erm, why? I'm frightened)/"He's known as the wild man of luge."


Agreed


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## mpcsb (Jan 1, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by tiger02_
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Exactly why I like the speed skating.
Cheers


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## ChubbyTiger (Mar 10, 2005)

If you can objectively decide who the winner is, then it should probably count as a sport. Who is fastest, closest to the bullseye, jumps further, etc? Of course, by that definition, curling becomes a sport again. Oh well.

I just don't like the judges making all the decisions. Artistic merit? Choreography? Come on.

CT


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## Badrabbit (Nov 18, 2004)

> quote:_Originally posted by ChubbyTiger_
> 
> If you can objectively decide who the winner is, then it should probably count as a sport. Who is fastest, closest to the bullseye, jumps further, etc? Of course, by that definition, curling becomes a sport again. Oh well.
> 
> ...


Not if you add the additional condition that the sport must require some athletic ability.

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Women thrive on novelty and are easy meat for the commerce of fashion. Men prefer old pipes and torn jackets. 
Anthony Burgess


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## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

You might not like the sport but you may like the , which is apparently both "tasteful" and "artistic".


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