Taylor a sportsman?

mixed up · 20-12-2010 02:49PM #1

Hi first off i really love darts but i nearly get sick everytime i listen to the crap sid talkes on sky but then i see stevie gerrard and ronnie o sullivan talking about how taylor is a great sportman and i can't help thinking what a load of crap it is.I know taylor is a great player but i don't think he is a sportsman.I know he talkes crap about going to the gym so my question is do you think taylor is a sportsman?

DH2K9 · 20-12-2010 02:58PM

Well the public like him because he came second in the BBC Sports Personality.

Ash.J.Williams · 20-12-2010 02:59PM

of course he's a f**ing sportsman

Kingp35 · 20-12-2010 03:13PM

Here we go again, that old chestnut of whether darts is a sport or not. The short answer is: Yes darts is a sport and yes Phil Taylor is a sports man.

The sport of darts takes an extraordinary level of physical and mental skill to play and you certainly need a certain level of fitness to play it, particularily mental fitness. If you are on stage for an hour throwing darts it can become incredibly tiring with the sheer concentrationa and phyical skill involved so Darts is just as mucha sport as anything else.

Just because a sport isn't played on a field doesn't mean its merits should be questioned. Phil taylor is one of the greatest sportsmen plying their trade today and deserves every recognition he gets. Still don't like him though

Tarquin1970 · 20-12-2010 03:17PM

Would that make chess a sport?

Dymo · 20-12-2010 03:19PM

Tarquin1970 wrote: »

Would that make chess a sport?

Sport is an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition. I'm sure darts hit's that on both counts and even chess.

mixed up · 20-12-2010 03:22PM

I guess it's a matter of opinion maybe it's me but having played sports i don't class him as a sportsman.I have never seen a sport where you can drink and be considered a sportsman.

Jay.cymru · 20-12-2010 03:31PM

mixed up wrote: »

I guess it's a matter of opinion maybe it's me but having played sports i don't class him as a sportsman.I have never seen a sport where you can drink and be considered a sportsman.

george best and paul gasgoine (and god knows how many others) used to drink before they played does that mean they aint sportsmen??

Wolfe Tone · 20-12-2010 03:33PM

I wouldnt class darts as a sport anymore than I would chess. I love and play both though.

Tarquin1970 · 20-12-2010 03:33PM

mixed up wrote: »

I guess it's a matter of opinion maybe it's me but having played sports i don't class him as a sportsman.I have never seen a sport where you can drink and be considered a sportsman.

Snooker?

villabren · 20-12-2010 03:39PM

Why is it acceptable to question whether or not Taylor is a sportsman but nobody ever asks the same questions about Ronnie O Sullivan or Tiger Woods? Woods plays in a sport in which a man in his 60's almost won a major about a year and a half ago. And Padraig Harrington was voted Ireland's greatest ever sportsman last year. If sport was only about physical exertion then we'd all be watching UFC non stop.

mixed up · 20-12-2010 03:41PM

I wouldn't class snooker as a sport either.I know best was a brilliant player but i meant drinking while playing.I dont think andy fordham would be on man utds transfer target list and just don't see how these can be classed as sportsmen.I would honestly love to know when darts was classed as a sport was it just when sky decided to show it on sky sports?

mdwexford · 20-12-2010 05:22PM

What is the difference between a sport and a game??

fwiw i would class Darts and Snooker as sports but Chess and Poker as games.

lisa simpson · 20-12-2010 05:30PM

I wouldn't class poker,chess,snooker or darts as a sport when i think of sports i think of people like king henry or messi not somebody like taylor or dennis smith who is sweating after throwing three darts and collecting his darts from the board

Devastator · 20-12-2010 06:01PM

mixed up wrote: »

I wouldn't class snooker as a sport either.I know best was a brilliant player but i meant drinking while playing.I dont think andy fordham would be on man utds transfer target list and just don't see how these can be classed as sportsmen.I would honestly love to know when darts was classed as a sport was it just when sky decided to show it on sky sports?

Would Tiger Woods, Tony McCoy, Rafa Nadal or Usain Bolt be on Man utd's transfer list?

NO??....BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT F**KIN FOOTBALLERS :rolleyes: Neither is Fordham ya moron

MRPRO03 · 20-12-2010 06:40PM

mdwexford wrote: »

What is the difference between a sport and a game??

Sport: an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

Game: a competitive activity involving skill, chance, or endurance on the part of two or more persons who play according to a set of rules, usually for their own amusement or for that of spectators.

enfant terrible · 20-12-2010 06:49PM

mixed up wrote: »

I guess it's a matter of opinion maybe it's me but having played sports i don't class him as a sportsman.I have never seen a sport where you can drink and be considered a sportsman.

So basically what your saying is your a greater sportsman than Phil Taylor and Ronnie O' Sullivan.

johnny_cash · 20-12-2010 06:55PM

I seen andy fordham collapsing against phil tylor in a game of darts i honestly can't see how these guys can be considered sports athletes but i still love watching it

Devastator · 20-12-2010 07:04PM

What was that little do shown on bbc1 last night that Phil Taylor came runner up in?

Gamesman of the year or something was it called?

How would you classify the difference between archery being considered a sport and darts not being a sport?

1 can be played outside and used a bow & string....essentially the ultimate aim(hitting a target from a specified distance) is the same....although darts would have to be considered much more complex and its not just highest score wins

roashter · 20-12-2010 07:10PM

MRPRO03 wrote: »

Sport: an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

Game: a competitive activity involving skill, chance, or endurance on the part of two or more persons who play according to a set of rules, usually for their own amusement or for that of spectators.

Well if fishing is classed as a sport, then darts is most definately a sport.

dartbhoy · 20-12-2010 07:21PM

Darts is classed as a sport by the UK sports council so yes Phil Taylor is a sportsman and clearly deserves to be BBC sports personality runner up. Personally I thought last night's award was great recognition for the sport of darts.

Kingp35 · 20-12-2010 07:21PM

Devastator wrote: »

What was that little do shown on bbc1 last night that Phil Taylor came runner up in?

Gamesman of the year or something was it called?

Exactly, Phil Taylor came second in the Bc competition of SPORTS Personality of the year. If his fellow sportsmen, sports journalists and the general pubic who voted for him consider Taylor a sportsman then I think it's safe to say that he is one!

objj52 · 20-12-2010 08:21PM

"Darts is classed as a sport by the UK sports council so yes Phil Taylor is a sportsman and clearly deserves to be BBC sports personality runner up. Personally I thought last night's award was great recognition for the sport of darts." Quoted from dartbhoy sorry dont know how to Quote

Totally agree - it is so much a sport that it has been attracting crowds and packing arenas since the 1970's . it has been televised over decades and has generated a following which is more diverse and more dedicated than alot of minority sports.

Taylors selection is great recognition for the hours of dedication and practice that is done by all Darts players who are trying to progress in the game - whether its a local league or a televised competition

I play alot of sports and training is the key to success - darts is no different

MD1990 · 21-12-2010 12:19AM

i like darts
but it isnt a sport

TanG411 · 21-12-2010 12:36AM

To those who take it seriously, it is a sport, and a difficult one at that.

To those who play as a hobby with a few friends, it's only a game.

I can tell you, personally, it is a sport. As many users have said, it takes a great deal of mental exhertion. First concentrating on trebles which measure about 1.5'' across and throwing from 5' 9.25'', it's not easy.
Then when your scoring is down, you have mental arithmatic to worry about while at the same time, focusing in on your targets.
Then the dreaded double. As Bobby George says, ''Trebles for show, doubles for dough''. You can hit all the trebles you want, but if you don't hit that double, it all counts for nothing. The difference between success and failure are on those outer wires.

What should be given credit to darts is its lack of physical exhertion. It is a sport for everybody. Why should people who are physically disabled, who dreamt of becoming world renowned footballers, rugby players, or any other sport which requires full exhertion, be denied of that chance? With darts, they are not. They have that chance of success if they can put in the dedication and practise, there is nothing stopping them. Many people who are confined to wheelchairs are darts players. They have their own rules regarding the position of the dartboard, the throw line etc. Which gives them equal chance against an able bodied person.

I'm aware there are other sports that allow physically disabled people to play (Wheelchair Basketball springs to mind), but they are never given the chance to play alongside their able-bodied heroes. With darts, a wheelchair user has equal chance in beating a top professional, if they're capable.

(I'm aware I'm using wheelchair users as an example everytime. I feel they are the best example for this post. Of course, it could easily be people who have a lost limb, or other physical disabilities. Only blindness seems to be exception)

What do I think? It's a sport, simple as. And also the fairest sport out there.

NeoRox · 21-12-2010 01:11AM

Larkin91 wrote: »

What should be given credit to darts is its lack of physical exertion.

Larkin91 excellent post, the only thing that i would disagree with is this point. Darts is as they say 90% in the head and 10% in the throwing arm but if your body looses or gains muscle mass it is nearly impossible to throw without allowing time for the body to adjust and only if it is capable of doing so.

First of all look at Taylor, when he lost all that weight a few years ago, his muscles did not allow him to throw the dart properly, back then he was throwing the 24 gram unicorn darts. he lost weight and worked out and everything changed for him therefore he changed to the modified John Lowe dart in the premier league that he is throwing now.

In the last six months he has lost more weight and while he is still scoring brilliantly he is not throwing like the Taylor that is a constant winner.

That was one example I will give myself as another. I used to play darts to a very high standard. Now due to being disabled due to injury and being on crutches for the last 18 months I can play for maybe five minutes a day if lucky. I can hit the board and maybe hit a few trebles in that five minutes but when i was able to play i could hit unknown amount of treble in that time. Complete lack of muscle memory in my case due to not playing.

Anybody who says darts is not a sport really has no idea if they have played to any standard that matters.

Do I think darts is a sport. Yes

(Plus where is Dicie when a opinion is wanted

)

pudzy · 21-12-2010 11:25AM

great sport darts, need nerves of steel in front of the crowd, when things not going well for you up there, there is no body that can help you, no one to turn to for inspiration, just knuckle down , DARTS for the olympics

SantryRed · 23-12-2010 12:49PM

Not a sport, the state of the physical fitness of most of the players who play is disgusting. They should sumo wrestle. I actually like watching Darts, but no, it's not a sport.

Kingp35 · 23-12-2010 01:58PM

SantryRed wrote: »

Not a sport, the state of the physical fitness of most of the players who play is disgusting. They should sumo wrestle. I actually like watching Darts, but no, it's not a sport.

Is Golf a sport?

SantryRed · 23-12-2010 04:24PM

Kingp35 wrote: »

Is Golf a sport?

Nope. And either is snooker tbh. Or clay shooting. I class those as games. I just don't know how you can look at Phil Taylor and say he is at his peak fitness for the game of darts and classify it as a sport. Seriously like :pac:

baalthor · 23-12-2010 05:33PM

I would say that if it can be played by Stephen Hawking then it's not a sport.

Taylor a sportsman?

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