Would you consider DDR/ITG a 'sport'?

**dragonmegaXX** · 01-4-2012, 09:48 PM

I ask because often times teachers ask if we're involved with any sports, which automatically makes me think to myself 'I play ITG/DDR'. However, if I say this out loud, no one seems to take it seriously, and some may even laugh.

I think being able to pass infernoplex and trying to gradually get better and better is on par with a lot of sports.

Also, the obvious fact that ITG/DDR is a competition game, with tournaments, matches, winners, losers, etc.

What do you think?

Trogdor!!!! · 01-4-2012, 09:53 PM

Sport: An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others.

Everything you just said fits the category of sport, so yes.

**wildfireskunk** · 01-4-2012, 09:54 PM

Yes. It's obvious that it IS a sporting activity, and thus a sport. But it's so niche almost everywhere that people don't know enough about it to officially have it labelled as one. Although the various professional fitness versions on the market are slowly making lots of schools and health centers change their minds.

Edit: Parts of Europe actually recognise it as an official sport, now that I remember. I believe Norway were the first. Either them or Sweden...

**PrawnSkunk** · 01-4-2012, 10:00 PM

When people think sports, they think mainstream - football, soccer, hockey, tennis, volleyball, etc. They think everything that is not on ESPN is not a sport. (ie. pool, table tennis, bowling)

By the definition Trogdor The Burninator made, FFR would technically be a sport..

so sure, DDR/ITG.. why not?

**wildfireskunk** · 01-4-2012, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PrawnSkunk

When people think sports, they think mainstream - football, soccer, hockey, tennis, volleyball, etc. They think everything that is not on ESPN is not a sport. (ie. pool, table tennis, bowling)

Remember that e-sports are broadcast (or have been broadcast) all over ESPN, so I suppose that would mean that the definition of sport really doesn't have much to do with the physical side of it, it just needs competition behind it. If it has an organised competetive aspect, it can be a sport?

I wonder if ESPN could be talked into streaming the long running sport of chess, if that's the case. Maybe backgammon XD

**sakura080789** · 01-4-2012, 10:04 PM

Yes it is. a sport.

Profraine · 01-4-2012, 10:12 PM

I don't even think the physical exertion part would be needed, just a major competitive base would be enough (like PrawnSkunk said with Billiards), and DDR and ITG's got that. So yes.

Trogdor!!!! · 01-4-2012, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trogdor!!!!

Sport: An activity involving physical exertion and/or skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others.

Kay then, fix'd.

**wildfireskunk** · 01-4-2012, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trogdor!!!!

Sport: An activity involving physical exertion and/or skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRIXXCe0Hi0

We'll see about that. Exertion... no. Skill? Debatable, but... no

**UserNameGoesHere** · 01-4-2012, 10:20 PM

Anything can be a sport but what people usually mean when they say "sports" is "team sports". And specifically sports which cannot be played solo. You can't play football with one person. You can't play basketball with just one person though you can shoot hoops. But you can play DDR/ITG with just one person.

So, is it a sport? In a strict definitional sense, I'd say yes. But is it a sport in most people's eyes? Aka a traditional team sport? No.

**wildfireskunk** · 01-4-2012, 10:23 PM

Screw team sports. Most are rubbish

Watching individuals compete for glory is always more interesting in my eyes. I grew up doing athletics, which has probably biased me though ^_^

**A2P** · 01-4-2012, 10:28 PM

Trogdor!!!! · 01-4-2012, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildfireskunk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRIXXCe0Hi0

We'll see about that. Exertion... no. Skill? Debatable, but... no

I'm sorry, but I read the top comment of that and laughed for like 20 minutes and didn't even watch it. XD

**iironiic** · 01-4-2012, 10:32 PM

Sports don't necessarily have to focus on human's physical limits and constraints. Recently these days, it's common to accept activities like chess and poker as sports, where one develops a versatile strategy to attack and counter their opponent, just like most of the well known everyday sports.

Games like FFR, DDR and SM fall under the category of activities that requires no strategy against your opponent, just like bowling and track. We all develop many strategies to improve our performance on rhythm games, whether it be focus on the jumps, increase speed mod, etc., just like bowlers who (presumably) have a strategy for optimal game play. However, it is more apparent to realize that bowling requires a considerable amount of concentration just like rhythm gaming.

As a former track athlete, I am definitely confident to say that there is an optimal form of running and sprinting. This is where strategy comes into play in the case of track.

That being said, I would say rhythm gaming is a sport.

EDIT: tldr, strategy, concentration, and endurance are considerable factors in sports that many people don't realize. It's not only physical limitations.

**wildfireskunk** · 01-4-2012, 10:38 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZwmP...eature=related I'm totally trolling all of these big professional competitions.

As iironiic has said, there's not as much strategy in DDR as there is in a team game, or a complex board game. Although songpicks, specific areas of strength and the such can be thought of as strategic moves, as I said earlier I think it likens very well to Athletics. You're just pushing for continual improvement, with the aim of showing that you've managed to attain a higher level of skill than everyone else.

**igotrhythm** · 01-6-2012, 09:52 PM

On top of there being competitions for it, there /is/ a fair amount of physical conditioning involved, as well as necessitating detailed study and practice of various situations.

However, insofar as you can't actually do much to affect the other player's performance in most tournament formats, it's not a "sport" to some. However, gymnastics and other "performance" sports (diving, etc.) break this rule wide open.

So yeah, I'd say it's a sport if DotA and SC can be considered sports.

**Emo_Saur_** · 01-6-2012, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PrawnSkunk

When people think sports, they think mainstream - football, soccer, hockey, tennis, volleyball, etc. They think everything that is not on ESPN is not a sport. (ie. pool, table tennis, bowling)

By the definition Trogdor The Burninator made, FFR would technically be a sport..

so sure, DDR/ITG.. why not?

Bowling is on ESPN, well I know it used to be.

**ShadowSpawn13** · 01-6-2012, 10:08 PM

Man ive thought about it so many times!
i think it should definetly be considered a sport, ive been playing for years and it is very physically demanding and difficult to perfect.
you have to have timing, control of your muscles, good footwork; theres many factors to the game that can make it be considered a sport.
in my opinion, the only reason it is NOT a sport is because its not popular enough and also because its more of a solitary thing and when people think sports they think TEAM sports... (then again golf is also a solitary sport and its barely physically demanding. :P)

**Jerry DB** · 01-6-2012, 10:22 PM

If curling is a sport then yes

**TC_Halogen** · 01-6-2012, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by igotrhythm

On top of there being competitions for it, there /is/ a fair amount of physical conditioning involved, as well as necessitating detailed study and practice of various situations.

However, insofar as you can't actually do much to affect the other player's performance in most tournament formats, it's not a "sport" to some. However, gymnastics and other "performance" sports (diving, etc.) break this rule wide open.

So yeah, I'd say it's a sport if DotA and SC can be considered sports.

Not entirely true in tournaments. Like many games where you analyze your player/competitors in a case by case scenario (poker is a great example of this), you can pick a player's weakness and use it to your advantage. It's not affecting their physical performance in terms of stamina/speed/etc., but you can pick a certain type of thing to wear your opponent down or out perform them.

In any event, there used to be huge tournaments for ITG, and there are STILL huge tournaments for PIU like WPF. PIU is a huge sport down south of the border in places like Chile/Mexico, as well as Korea. It's actually cool to watch footage of tournaments because you see CROWDS of people cheering on the players, rather than a few people sharing a common interest. See what I'm talking about with this video.

Definitely a sport - it's a minor sporting event, but it fits by any stretch of the imagination.

01-4-2012, 09:48 PM	#1
dragonmegaXX ITG playing fur Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: USA Posts: 3,660	Would you consider DDR/ITG a 'sport'? I ask because often times teachers ask if we're involved with any sports, which automatically makes me think to myself 'I play ITG/DDR'. However, if I say this out loud, no one seems to take it seriously, and some may even laugh. I think being able to pass infernoplex and trying to gradually get better and better is on par with a lot of sports. Also, the obvious fact that ITG/DDR is a competition game, with tournaments, matches, winners, losers, etc. What do you think? __________________

01-4-2012, 09:53 PM	#2
Trogdor!!!! Forever Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 1,664	Re: Would you consider DDR/ITG a 'sport'? Sport: An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others. Everything you just said fits the category of sport, so yes. __________________ Violets Forever

01-4-2012, 09:54 PM	#3
wildfireskunk Purveyor of tea Join Date: Sep 2004 Age: 37 Posts: 1,247	Re: Would you consider DDR/ITG a 'sport'? Yes. It's obvious that it IS a sporting activity, and thus a sport. But it's so niche almost everywhere that people don't know enough about it to officially have it labelled as one. Although the various professional fitness versions on the market are slowly making lots of schools and health centers change their minds. Edit: Parts of Europe actually recognise it as an official sport, now that I remember. I believe Norway were the first. Either them or Sweden... __________________ ITG guru, FFR noob, wants to hug every cat. Last edited by wildfireskunk; 01-4-2012 at 09:58 PM..

01-4-2012, 10:00 PM	#4
PrawnSkunk Administrator User Administrator Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Vancouver, BC Age: 29 Posts: 3,902	Re: Would you consider DDR/ITG a 'sport'? When people think sports, they think mainstream - football, soccer, hockey, tennis, volleyball, etc. They think everything that is not on ESPN is not a sport. (ie. pool, table tennis, bowling) By the definition Trogdor The Burninator made, FFR would technically be a sport.. so sure, DDR/ITG.. why not?

01-4-2012, 10:04 PM	#6
sakura080789 Rapture Universe Join Date: Feb 2007 Age: 34 Posts: 1,749	Re: Would you consider DDR/ITG a 'sport'? Yes it is. a sport. __________________

01-4-2012, 10:12 PM	#7
Profraine FFR Player Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 236	Re: Would you consider DDR/ITG a 'sport'? I don't even think the physical exertion part would be needed, just a major competitive base would be enough (like PrawnSkunk said with Billiards), and DDR and ITG's got that. So yes.

01-4-2012, 10:23 PM	#11
wildfireskunk Purveyor of tea Join Date: Sep 2004 Age: 37 Posts: 1,247	Re: Would you consider DDR/ITG a 'sport'? Screw team sports. Most are rubbish Watching individuals compete for glory is always more interesting in my eyes. I grew up doing athletics, which has probably biased me though ^_^ __________________ ITG guru, FFR noob, wants to hug every cat.

01-4-2012, 10:28 PM	#12
A2P FFR Veteran Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: nah Age: 34 Posts: 3,127	Re: Would you consider DDR/ITG a 'sport'? Yes.

01-4-2012, 10:32 PM	#14
iironiic D6 FFR Legacy Player Join Date: Jan 2009 Age: 32 Posts: 4,342	Re: Would you consider DDR/ITG a 'sport'? Sports don't necessarily have to focus on human's physical limits and constraints. Recently these days, it's common to accept activities like chess and poker as sports, where one develops a versatile strategy to attack and counter their opponent, just like most of the well known everyday sports. Games like FFR, DDR and SM fall under the category of activities that requires no strategy against your opponent, just like bowling and track. We all develop many strategies to improve our performance on rhythm games, whether it be focus on the jumps, increase speed mod, etc., just like bowlers who (presumably) have a strategy for optimal game play. However, it is more apparent to realize that bowling requires a considerable amount of concentration just like rhythm gaming. As a former track athlete, I am definitely confident to say that there is an optimal form of running and sprinting. This is where strategy comes into play in the case of track. That being said, I would say rhythm gaming is a sport. EDIT: tldr, strategy, concentration, and endurance are considerable factors in sports that many people don't realize. It's not only physical limitations. Last edited by iironiic; 01-4-2012 at 10:38 PM..

01-4-2012, 10:38 PM	#15
wildfireskunk Purveyor of tea Join Date: Sep 2004 Age: 37 Posts: 1,247	Re: Would you consider DDR/ITG a 'sport'? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZwmP...eature=related I'm totally trolling all of these big professional competitions. As iironiic has said, there's not as much strategy in DDR as there is in a team game, or a complex board game. Although songpicks, specific areas of strength and the such can be thought of as strategic moves, as I said earlier I think it likens very well to Athletics. You're just pushing for continual improvement, with the aim of showing that you've managed to attain a higher level of skill than everyone else. __________________ ITG guru, FFR noob, wants to hug every cat.

01-6-2012, 10:08 PM	#18
ShadowSpawn13 FFR Player Join Date: Nov 2011 Age: 33 Posts: 35	Re: Would you consider DDR/ITG a 'sport'? Man ive thought about it so many times! i think it should definetly be considered a sport, ive been playing for years and it is very physically demanding and difficult to perfect. you have to have timing, control of your muscles, good footwork; theres many factors to the game that can make it be considered a sport. in my opinion, the only reason it is NOT a sport is because its not popular enough and also because its more of a solitary thing and when people think sports they think TEAM sports... (then again golf is also a solitary sport and its barely physically demanding. :P)

01-6-2012, 10:22 PM	#19
Jerry DB FFR, lift, repeat Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: oregon Age: 32 Posts: 2,071	Re: Would you consider DDR/ITG a 'sport'? If curling is a sport then yes

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)