ESPN's Max Kellermans ignorant comments

[sirsteveo55]

1 hour ago, mcanadiens said:

Ah the ravages of cable tv and so much air time to fill. 

Give me a good football or hockey game. Reds baseball is fine. The talking heads are totally unwatchable in my book. 

My problem is, I have a TV in my office at work and its either watch sports or watch news. I learn towards the sports even if its sometimes unwatchable.

[1badbadger]

About a week ago, I noticed this comment on a general information site that I contribute to when someone else answered the question Which Sport Is Mentally The Toughest And Why?:

"You just made the case for why golf is not a sport at all. The difference between sport and just any old game is physicality. Chess, shuffle board or fishing are games. A 12 year old could compete against a 90 year old. Golf requires little physical exertion or skill. Anyone can learn and play quickly. Mentally it is challenging, but it is also a favorite past time of those who retire. This all points to the fact that golf is a great game but is in no way a sport."

Even though this comment was not made to me or my answer, I took exception to it.  Normally, I don't give a crap if others think golf is a sport or a game...it doesn't affect me, so whatever.  But this comment dug under my skin.  It actually still pisses me off to be honest.  I couldn't not respond to this guy.  The rules of that website are very strict as to how you can confront someone, so it must be done diplomatically, but I thought my use of subtle sarcasm got my point across.  It didn't, and his comment to my response was even more infuriating.  It was so much easier before the internet when you could tell someone they don't know what they are talking about to their face.

[Golfingdad]

2 hours ago, 1badbadger said:

About a week ago, I noticed this comment on a general information site that I contribute to when someone else answered the question Which Sport Is Mentally The Toughest And Why?:

"You just made the case for why golf is not a sport at all. The difference between sport and just any old game is physicality. Chess, shuffle board or fishing are games. A 12 year old could compete against a 90 year old. Golf requires little physical exertion or skill. Anyone can learn and play quickly. Mentally it is challenging, but it is also a favorite past time of those who retire. This all points to the fact that golf is a great game but is in no way a sport."

Even though this comment was not made to me or my answer, I took exception to it.  Normally, I don't give a crap if others think golf is a sport or a game...it doesn't affect me, so whatever.  But this comment dug under my skin.  It actually still pisses me off to be honest.  I couldn't not respond to this guy.  The rules of that website are very strict as to how you can confront someone, so it must be done diplomatically, but I thought my use of subtle sarcasm got my point across.  It didn't, and his comment to my response was even more infuriating.  It was so much easier before the internet when you could tell someone they don't know what they are talking about to their face.

Out of curiosity, why does that comment piss you off so much?

[boogielicious]

Who?

[1badbadger]

3 hours ago, 1badbadger said:

About a week ago, I noticed this comment on a general information site that I contribute to when someone else answered the question Which Sport Is Mentally The Toughest And Why?:

"You just made the case for why golf is not a sport at all. The difference between sport and just any old game is physicality. Chess, shuffle board or fishing are games. A 12 year old could compete against a 90 year old. Golf requires little physical exertion or skill. Anyone can learn and play quickly. Mentally it is challenging, but it is also a favorite past time of those who retire. This all points to the fact that golf is a great game but is in no way a sport."

Even though this comment was not made to me or my answer, I took exception to it.  Normally, I don't give a crap if others think golf is a sport or a game...it doesn't affect me, so whatever.  But this comment dug under my skin.  It actually still pisses me off to be honest.  I couldn't not respond to this guy.  The rules of that website are very strict as to how you can confront someone, so it must be done diplomatically, but I thought my use of subtle sarcasm got my point across.  It didn't, and his comment to my response was even more infuriating.  It was so much easier before the internet when you could tell someone they don't know what they are talking about to their face.

 

1 hour ago, Golfingdad said:

Out of curiosity, why does that comment piss you off so much?

It was the arrogance (or maybe ignorance) in his assertion that "golf requires little physical exertion or skill.  Anyone can learn and play quickly."  And some of my feeling could be from his response to my comment that I wrote explaining that golf does in fact require skill and is not easy to learn.  I told him that he should try it sometime and he might have a different viewpoint. His response:

"I have played golf and still do, going on 9 years now.  It’s true that golfers don’t have to run, jump, hip-check or really deal with any adversity whatsoever. If someone is even talking a golfer will freak out at them. Total silence and no one is allowed to impede or oppose you in any way. That’s not sport, that’s a game.

Also golf isn’t nearly as hard as you think it is. That, or Happy Gilmore is right and my hockey background made it a breeze to pick up. Do I play like a pro? No, but in my first round I could drive the ball 200 yards with a cheap second hand set of clubs. The learning curve is the opposite of what you think it is. Picking it up and playing competently is easy. A sport is a physical competition. If you can’t actively compete against your opponent, you aren’t engaged in a sport. Put a green defender on every hole and maybe you can change my mind."

[krupa]

@1badbadger, he's just another guy who redefined "sport" to fit his personal biases; no argument will convince him otherwise.  But I'm glad to hear that golf is so easy, I thought it was hard so my scores are really high.  Now that I know it's easy I'm sure I'll play a lot better next time.   

@sirsteveo55, coming into the office this morning I heard Steven A. Smith's comments that Kellerman was responding to.  I though Smith's comments where much more ridiculous than Kellerman's.  For those who didn't hear/see, Smith was angry/upset (or just found something to yell about) at Sergio and Rose's display of sportsmanship during the final round.

[Shorty]

On 12/04/2017 at 2:26 PM, Golfingdad said:

Out of curiosity, why does that comment piss you off so much?

Well it pisses me off because he wrote "past time" instead of pastime.

[caniac6]

Kellerman and Smith don't impress me as guys that ever played the game, so why should anyone care what they think or say about golf? Kellerman is a boxing "expert" that looks like he never threw a punch. Smith, at least, played D2 college basketball, but I would bet neither have spent six hours at the course and walked a couple practice rounds followed by four tournament rounds.

[Dannyhansen88]

Golf is definitely a sport, if not, the hardest sport. For example, take a golf ball at the range and throw it as hard as you can on a line drive and put cut spin on it and watch how much it moves left to right, and we expect to hit it straight with a club moving 100+ mph, its insane. Hitting drives over 300 yards and straight, shaping shots high low left and right requires great amounts of athleticism. I think some people call it a "game" because anyone can pick it up and play it at any age.

[WUTiger]

MK evidently was having a "slow news day" moment and couldn't come up with anything worthwhile.

He's not the first - nor will he be the last - to suggest that golf is not a sport. Just ignore him.

[Jack Watson]

I've never seen that guy.  

He sucks.  His definition of a sport made no sense.  I have no reason to watch him.  I am dumber for having seen that.

[colin007]

if someone asked me what my favorite sport is, i would say golf.  that being said, i do NOT think golf is a sport. FOR ME, its in the same category as billiards, horseracing, auto racing, surfing, bowling, etc.

but in the end, does it really matter what anyone calls it?

[Groucho Valentine]

6 minutes ago, colin007 said:

if someone asked me what my favorite sport is, i would say golf.  that being said, i do NOT think golf is a sport. FOR ME, its in the same category as billiards, horseracing, auto racing, surfing, bowling, etc.

but in the end, does it really matter what anyone calls it?

No, i guess not. I think competition golf is a sport, but not the game itself. If that makes any sense. 

[colin007]

1 hour ago, Groucho Valentine said:

No, i guess not. I think competition golf is a sport, but not the game itself. If that makes any sense. 

I can get behind that.

[1badbadger]

On 4/14/2017 at 0:32 PM, colin007 said:

if someone asked me what my favorite sport is, i would say golf.  that being said, i do NOT think golf is a sport. FOR ME, its in the same category as billiards, horseracing, auto racing, surfing, bowling, etc.

but in the end, does it really matter what anyone calls it?

Agreed...it doesn't matter.  Football is considered a "sport", but the actual competition is called a football "game", played on game day, so it's all just semantics.

[cipher]

It really should not matter how people define the things we love to do.  Just don't allow terribly formed opinions to change your state of being.  It won't change my desire to get back out on the golf course, to catch fish or to spend an evening hunting.

Edited April 16, 2017 by cipher

[Patch]

I gave up on espn years ago. Just too many unqualified opinions, and not enough factual sports reporting. I check their site for scores, but that's about it. 

[JonMA1]

ESPN/Sports Center has been bad for a long time.

I remember watching my son's high school baseball practice years ago when the team's star/hot dog shortstop used the buzz-phrase "glove optional" while fielding a slow grounder bare-handed. When he failed on the throw to first, the coach yells out "maybe you should concentrate more on making the play instead of using stupid ESPN expressions".

You kind of had to be there, but it was funny at the time.