Sports that deserve a wider following

[story]

I confess that I’m not that into sports. I like boxing, and cycling, and some tennis. I’ve worked out that the common thread for the bits I like in the sports I like are the gladiatorial bits. Like Indurain and Armstrong battling it out on the mountain stages, or those five set marathons when part of the fascination is seeing the sheer force of will on show.

But I’ve also discovered that I enjoy sports when there’s an added WTF element.

Things like Phone Box Boxing. Two people stand back to back in a phone box, turn when the bell rings and start punching each other. Inside a phone box.

MMA in a convertible car. How the fuck did this get past the monkey tennis stage of planning?

And Horse Vaulting. I’m enjoying this. Like the kind of stuff you see at the circus but as a sport.

Also humans doing horse jumping. There’s quite a lot of wtf involved with this for me.



I was in Athens during the olympics in 2004. There were helpful signs up at junctions so people could find their way to particular sports, and sometimes the juxtaposition created new sports that I’d like to see.

Javelin tennis was one of them. I’d make a detour to see that.
Swimming bowling was another. Not even sure how that would work but I’m kinda interested to see that.

 

[marty21]

I quite like seeing Skicross? At the Winter Olympics, mostly because there's a lot of falling over .

 

[dessiato]

Bull riding. It's a very misunderstood sport. You get points for the difficulty of the ride and for riding for up to the full 8 seconds. People think that the bull's balls are tied or otherwise restricted or squeezed to make the bull buck. This is not true.

 

[platinumsage]

Croquet is more fun to watch than golf. Not so much Golf Croquet, which is the simple form of the game, but Association Croquet which is more complex.

 

[story]

Bull riding. It's a very misunderstood sport. You get points for the difficulty of the ride and for riding for up to the full 8 seconds. People think that the bull's balls are tied or otherwise restricted or squeezed to make the bull buck. This is not true.

All rodeo stuff is full on fascinating but I do worry about cruelty and exploitation,

 

[story]

I quite like seeing Skicross? At the Winter Olympics, mostly because there's a lot of falling over .

I remember watching Ski Sunday mainly because there was fuck all else on the telly at that time. Blimey, I can’t imagine skiing getting that telly slot these days.

Ski Cross sounds interesting.

 

[pseudonarcissus]

All rodeo stuff is full on fascinating but I do worry about cruelty and exploitation,

mule pulling is the best...a proper redneck sport

 

[Sweet FA]

I remember watching Ski Sunday mainly because there was fuck all else on the telly at that time. Blimey, I can’t imagine skiing getting that telly slot these days.

It's on in the ski season; 8pm BBC2 so still primetime. I was on it a couple of years ago











*in the 'funny' bit at the end where bastards your loving nephews send film in of you falling over.

 

[story]

It's still on in the ski season. I was on it a couple of years ago











*in the 'funny' bit at the end where bastards your loving nephews send film in of you falling over.

Is it?! I’m surprised.
Do they still show the wrestling on a Sunday afternoon?

 

[Karl Masks]

Three Day Crisp Eventing

International Mixed Mockery

Union rules Thesaurus Wrangling

 

[Karl Masks]

Is it?! I’m surprised.
Do they still show the wrestling on a Sunday afternoon?

Easy now

 

[Sweet FA]

Is it?! I’m surprised.
Do they still show the wrestling on a Sunday afternoon?

I remember that as Saturday on World of Sport. Where they had other brilliant sports like motorcycle jumping. I loved Eddie Kidd so much

 

[story]

I remember that as Saturday on World of Sport. Where they had other brilliant sports like motorcycle jumping. I loved Eddie Kidd so much

I still love Eddie Kidd.

Remember when he did the London Marathon? He took more than a month to finish it and I went to cheer him over the finishing line on the Mall on a weekday evening with about 60 other people. He had the biggest biggest smile on his chops.

Proper fucking hero.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

I took part in the 2015 world bog snorkelling championships, does that count?

 

[story]

I took part in the 2015 world bog snorkelling championships, does that count?

View attachment 346761

The problem with this, I suspect, is that the sporting bit takes place underwater, in water so opaque that the spectator can’t actually see what’s going on.

Could you see much of what was going on when you were doing it?

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

The problem with this, I suspect, is that the sporting bit takes place underwater, in water so opaque that the spectator can’t actually see what’s going on.

Could you see much of what was going on when you were doing it?

Kept my head above water, there was no way on earth I was risking swallowing any of that muck

It was great to watch, there’s the comedy factor of the rules specifically banning the use of “any officially recognised swimming stroke”

 

[story]

I think, on reflection, that I’m not that into wacky sports, like cheeserolling and that event where they try to fly off of a pier with a flying contraption. Or bog snorkelling to be honset.

Those look like a fun day out, and loads of fun for the people doing it, but they don’t work as spectator sport for me.

 

[story]

Beating the shit out of the other person in a phone box, we’ve all been there, eh.

One night, after a particularly brutal phone box melee, one of the participants went “wait wait wait WAIT ffs! Wait a minute! What if…..” and after promising to cut the other bloke in, they went home and woke up with black eyes to make plans for bringing this brand new sport to the masses.





And yes, I didn’t misremember…,, there is also human dressage. As showcased by… oh hang on what’s her name…. Miranda, on (I thin) the Graham Norton show.

Well it’s real, and it’s not called human dressage, it’s called Horseless Dressage. Very serious business.

 

[bellaozzydog]

After a vape I’ll watch lumberjack sports, but there is a distinct lack of meat meeting the metal accidents

 

[maomao]

I remember that as Saturday on World of Sport. Where they had other brilliant sports like motorcycle jumping. I loved Eddie Kidd so much

I had the Eddie Kidd game for my Acorn Electron. It was rubbish but the loading screen was in BASIC so we used to hack it to say 'Eddie Flidd's Wank Challenge'.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

I remember that as Saturday on World of Sport.

Yes - it was usually on at 4 pm, between the half time scores and final results

That's something else you don't get any more - a big crowd round any shop that sells tellies round half time and full time...

and how about bunny show jumping?



or kitteh synchronised napping?

My Two Cats Won The Olympic Medal For Synchronized Napping

Callie and Chloe were sisters, inseparable since birth. I often found them adorably sitting, sleeping or bird watching in the exact same position. Sorry that a couple photos are not high quality, hopefully the level of cuteness makes up for it! Unfortunately, Callie passed away last year, so I...

www.boredpanda.com

 

[Pickman's model]

I took part in the 2015 world bog snorkelling championships, does that count?

 

[Elpenor]

There is a wife carrying race in Surrey (with a fairly broad definition of what constitutes a wife)

The UK Wife Carrying Race

Homepage for the UK Wife Carrying Race, Dorking, Surrey, UK

www.trionium.com

I’ve done one of the races put on by the organiser years ago and he’s quite the eccentric.

 

[DaveCinzano]

I just tend to flick on the Ocho and get my dodge on with whatever's playing, because I believe in unlikelihoods

 

[stavros]

Free running:

 

[xenon]

Beating the shit out of the other person in a phone box, we’ve all been there, eh.

One night, after a particularly brutal phone box melee, one of the participants went “wait wait wait WAIT ffs! Wait a minute! What if…..” and after promising to cut the other bloke in, they went home and woke up with black eyes to make plans for bringing this brand new sport to the masses.





And yes, I didn’t misremember…,, there is also human dressage. As showcased by… oh hang on what’s her name…. Miranda, on (I thin) the Graham Norton show.

Well it’s real, and it’s not called human dressage, it’s called Horseless Dressage. Very serious business.

Link, explaining the horseless dressage thing? I only get a couple of results, from Youtube which I CBA watching. Is it just people jumping over fenses in a paddock?

 

[Throbbing Angel]

I really like watching Sumo on NHK.

Starts again mid November.

More: GRAND SUMO Highlights - TV - NHK WORLD - English

 

[flypanam]

Weightlifting
Biathlon
Hurling
Short track speed skating
one man and his dog

Actually a combination of these would be good.

 

[petee]

Weightlifting
Biathlon
Hurling
Short track speed skating
one man and his dog

Actually a combination of these would be good.

oooh 4 out of 5 there i like (one man and his dog? cometitive dog walking?)

i also like field events, javelin, discus, hammer.

 

[flypanam]

oooh 4 out of 5 there i like (one man and his dog? cometitive dog walking?)

i also like field events, javelin, discus, hammer.

Sheep herding. It’s magnetic.