I get replays on that less often than pinball

LOL.......Man you got some serious problems.....LOL.

John P. Dayhuff
Battle Creek, MI.
269-979-3836

You obviously have never truly shot archery or firearms. There is a lot of physical strain in doing both of these consistently.

The definition of sport leaves a lot to interpretation. If you consider golf, fishing, pool, car racing, darts, poker and tiddlywinks a sport then pinball would certainly fit in with that interpretation of a sport. I would not consider them a sport nor do I consider pinball a sport. But it's all in the interpretation. I would not disagree with anyone if they would want to call it a sport. They just interpret the definition of sport different than I do. The definition does not have a clear line on what can and can not be considered a sport. It is open to interpretation which will be different depending on who you ask.

cant wait to hear Kanedas take!

There's a cup holder built into the sporting equipment - just like bowling.

RESTORING a pinball machine should be a sport!

You should see what this workout does for your pop bumper points.

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Not a sport....but it certainly is a lot more fun to play than many "accepted" sports.

I'd make an exception for that, and hauling them.

This is confusing. You're aware the entire point of a compound bow is to make it EASIER to draw, right? If you had that hard of a time, it wasn't set up for you, it's not that it was "impossible".

Nope. The whole point of the compound is to make it easier to hold in a drawn position. They can be very, very hard to pull into that position.

100% correct. Also any of these "men" who claim it is not physically exhausting I would gladly let shoot my fiancées bow for an hour set up at only 40lb draw and I guarantee they are extremely sore.

Nope wasn't aware of that. It appears the two posts above this one disagree though. I was using a friends now that is my size. Figured I would be able to pull it back with relative ease. Not so much.

It's not a sport.... no way.

But that doesn't diminish it as a "game of skill"

Wasn't April fools day 10 days ago?

Try using your dominant hand.

For those saying its not a workout, I think that's ridiculous. If I'm standing at a bar putting up over 40B on AFM, that's tiring! Even if you don't move the machine, your muscles tense up a lot, especially when the game is getting really good. And I don't know about any of you, but even if I don't move the machine, I move myself a lot. I dance. Hopping back and forth, throwing my arms in the air because for some reason, these things help keep the ball alive. And after a half hour or more of this on a single game, I need a rest. And not for nothing, I'm a 22 year old guy in pretty good shape.

All that said though, I'd say it's not a sport for the same reasons I don't consider golf or chess as sports. By definition, I believe it does qualify, but eh. Who is anyone kidding, really.

I did not misquote you before. You misunderstand logic.

A brown dog is still a dog.

Junior athletes and professional athletes are two categories of athletes. (So yes, then, they are technically athletes after all. Just not what one thinks when they hear "athlete," was my point.)

Athletic and "unathletic" sports are both sports.

My earlier quote was entirely accurate, and used common convention to remove irrelevant detail. Nothing deserving your downvote.

I disagreed with the previous statement along with this one. Hence the down votes.

Heck no. I'm all for it being classified as a skill-based recreational activity, but a *sport*? As The Black Knight might say, "NO WAY!!!!!!"

Well, if this is a sport..

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What about the luck element? I think that pinball involves some luck. I mean, you definitely need to be skilled, but sometimes the ball drains accidentally by pure and simple luck. This is the main reason why pinball cannot qualify as sport in my opinion.

An interesting test anyway would be considering pinball rankings: is there some consistency? Or not? I mean, is there somebody that consistently can show he is better than others playing pinball? If that is the case, then it means that the luck element is not so relevant.

hey, I got that from Nintendo controllers back in the day. Nintendo thumb sucked. Used to wear these leather pad things used to sort mail. Feel the BURN!!!!!!!!!

Every sport has an element of luck, or they wouldn't need to play the games. Or all best of 7 series would end in 4 games, etc.

I can do it, so no, it's not a sport. It's as pastime like bowling or golf.

If disagreeing with facts trips your trigger, go for it!

correct.... I settled an argument with a friend over "bowling as a sport" when i showed him bowling shirts came in sizes up to 7XL.

Back in the day?? I STILL suffer from Nintendo thumbs. #DuckTales4Life I also suffer from Genesis thumbs and SNES thumbs. The worst though are N64 analog stick thumbs when playing a particularly grueling game of smash.

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I'm very surprised by the results of the poll. Pinball is absolutely a sport by definition, much different from traditional ones, but a sport none the less. I feel like anyone that says otherwise has never played in a tournament, because you are often physically and mentally drained after playing in one.

No. No. No. There is a minimum level of physical exertion that needs to be met for something to meet my definition of a sport.

I do this myself. I confirm it is not a sport. Although I am no annie oakley. Don't depend on me to defend you.

Ducktails

btw, I have perma snes thumbs from super metroid

Same thing can be said for bigger Poker tournaments. The WSOP lasts for over 7 days and is very taxing both mentally & physically. Don't see anyone here that would argue that High Stakes Pokes is a Sport.

So we're in agreement that anything involving an element of competition, plus physical movement of any kind, however slight, is a sport? In that case I was definitely varsity on the board game squad in high school.

Or could it be that people are confusing the terms "game" and "sport?" It's a Venn diagram, folks, but let's not get ourselves tied up in knots over it. Pinball's in the "game" circle.

If you're IFPA ranked yes.
If you're not no.

I just do 'The Stranger.' I sit on my hand until it falls asleep and then it's like someone else is there to help.

Pinball is not a sport and should never be considered as one.

I believe the all-time low of olympic 'sport' was "walking". The way those people waddled around but not quite running. If walking can be a sport then I believe anything can.

Not a sport, but more so than poker............

These are one of them questions I really can't waste any time on thinking about. Call it what you want. I'm good with whatever.

At a minimum it should be called an e-sport. It is an electronic device that requires skill to compete at a high level.

If something is a game, and you play it in a league, competitively against other players from all over the world, then why wouldn't it be a sport.

I don't think the definition of sport includes running, jumping or heavy lifting.

Running in itself is not a sport, but racing is. Once again it is all in the context of the activity. Competitive pinball is a sport, playing pinball in your basement while sitting on your hand to numb your self awareness is not.

When I run in a marathon, I'm "racing", but I have zero chance of winning. I'm just not fast enough. If I can't win, am I involved in a sport?

I' ve played several sports in my life, including tennis at an amateur advanced level. Of course there is a slight element of luck in any sport, but in pinball luck has a bigger impact on the final result.

As a proof, consider your last ten scores at your last favourite game: you have probably some in the lower hundreds millions and some in 3/4/5...+ billions. What a huge difference! In any sport (including darts, pool, bowling!) the results of a single athlete are way more similar from game to game.

About poker. It is definitely not a sport, but a table game (like chess, go, etc): they require mental endurance (surely linked to physical endurance), but not physical skills. Pinball actually requires physical skills, but it's still not a sport because of the role of luck. Luck plays a big role in poker too in a single game: so also in pinball to properly evaluate the skill of players, it would be necessary to test them over many games and then adding/averaging scores.

On top of this, although not so crucial in the definition of "sport", you have to consider that all pinball machines differs from others: steepness, rubbers, slingshot responsiveness, you name it... when playing a tournament, the (local) guys that have the opportunity to train on that machine have a huge advantage over others (unless local players are not allowed of course).

What about PAPA tornaments? Are there some players that can consistently beat the field?

Well if pinball is a sport then I guess all the other carnival games, like skee ball and milk jug toss are sports as well

Cane toad races are recognized as a sport in Australia. Therefore, I belive pinball is also considered a sport in Australia. In the U.S. debating what is a sport, is of itself, a sport.

I LOLed at this a bit.... I feel sorry for anyone that doesnt play MOSTLY for recreation... I'd bet even the top tourney players would say the same....

Yeah.... still "no."

Is COMPETITIVE slot machine playing a sport? (Their fingers can ver VERY sore at the end of a long tournament).

Pinball is a GAME of skill.