Billiards - not a sport?

[Drover]

Originally Posted by go phillies

That's not necessarily true.....if that was the case, then football would not be a sport. Have you seen any offensive linemen lately?

Offensive linemen are not fat slobs. They may be big, they may even be fat, but underneath the fat are true athletes who undergo intense physical training to condition themselves to do what they do. An unconditioned couch potato wouldn't last a single down series against a truly conditioned NFL or college lineman.

Originally Posted by go phillies

Then by your definition, auto racing is not a sport...since it doesn't take athletic ability...but it does take skill.

Which I agree with, by the way.

I have to disagree here too. You have to be in good shape to be a truly competitive driver. It takes a lot of athleticism to wrestle a steering wheel in a car that usually has no power steering and weighs up to 4,000 lbs when you account for downforce as you try to hold a very precise line at 180 mph where a few inches off your line could cause an 8-car crash, fighting G-forces that would cause some people to black out, all while contending with dehydration from sweating your balls off in a flame-retardant suit for 3 or 4 hours. Check out
this video for a glimpse of what it's like to contend with g-forces at competitive driving speeds -- and understand that this is a rally car on gravel where the g-forces are light compared to tarmac racing.

[Robhu]

I would consider billiards more of a skill than a sport.
When I think of sports I think of games that require a body to be athletic and in top physical condition with hours of physical training to achieve the condition to play the sport.
Billiards is a fun and competitive game. But anyone with good hand/eye coordination and lots of practice can be competitive.
My old, fat, mother-in-law is pretty good at billiards and she isn't athletic and does no physical training.
Any common person can enjoy the game and be good at it if they want to practice and learn the game and have good eye sight and figure out angles of shots.
Sometimes when I have too many shots my eye sight isn't as good and I don't see angles well. LOL

[jazzy jeff 11]

Billiards is more of a sport than Poker cuz they are actually moving their body and not sitting around. Plus billiards is fun to play

[LinaJo76]

I consider billiards/pool a hobby or recreational activity. But some people perceive it as a sport.