A Good Year for the Outlaw

I saw a show on Speed tonight that showed several NASCAR drivers participating in the Japanese “sport” of drifting, where drivers throw a car into a smoky power slide and hold it there while being judged on style, control, and other factors.

When I heard the announcer call it “The ’sport’ of drifting”, I became agitated. Anything judged is not a sport, it’s a  competition.

Hockey is a sport; figure skating is a competition. See what I mean? I have nothing against competition, I just think it’s different than sport, because the opinions of several humans decide the winner.

For instance: Baseball is a sport; Dancing With The Stars is a competition.

So stock car racing is a sport; “Drifting” is a competition.

Whenever the winner is chosen by judges (gymnastics, ice dancing, etc.), that is not a “sport”, it’s a competition. Is it athletics? In most cases, sure, but it shouldn’t be called a sport.

Off the top of my head, the only thing that qualifies in both categories is boxing, where you can knock a guy out for a clear victory (the sports part) or rely on the judges to decide a winner (competition).

Can you imagine the winner of the Super Bowl being decided by three judges’ scorecards? Or the “Russian judge” being the reason a baseball team lost a World Series?

Drifting fans: have fun with it, enjoy the show and the talent it takes to control a car like they do, and call it whatever you want…but don’t call it a “sport”.  Thanks.