The Wierdest Games To Play
Tuesday, February 9, 2010 1:00There are a lot of crazy sports out there these days. It just seems to be getting stranger and weirder. Once you think you’ve seen the weirdest sport imaginable, you’ll tune into a sports station one day and see something that takes the cake (probably a cake-eating contest). While not so long ago it seemed strange to watch billiards on television, the extent things have led to in today’s world makes hitting a few spheres around with pool cues look incredibly conservative. Why have sports come to this? What is it about the way we live that makes us think such crazy sports would be interesting?
One such game that actually has its own show is that of hot-dog eating. This is absolutely true. The show consists of one guy (or woman) standing at a podium with a plate filled with hot-dogs, and trying to eat as many as he can before the time ends. There’s a crowd cheering the competitor on, and commentators discussing strategies used by the “sportsmen” to achieve their desired goal without throwing up. Half of the contest tends to land with the viewer, who’ll likely also be battling a case of sickness after watching this show for too long.
Another game that has gained an ever-increasing amount of popularity is that of poker. While there’s no doubting that it’s more interesting to see and requires more technique and mental prowess than hot-dog consuming, it’s still strange to watch an hour-long show purely based on people playing cards. In years to come, will we be watching the solitaire championships? How will we tell who’s winning?
These new sports are funny to watch, but they’re also a bit disconcerting to see. In ancient times, sport was often something that was actually a life and death situation for those playing, and the reason sport was created by the elites of a country was to keep people looking away from the problems of their nation, such as the corruption of their government. Have sports really gotten any better since then? Okay, so nobody’s being killed, but people are majorly damaging their health if they’re willing to eat as much as fifteen hotdogs within the space of a few minutes. And mixed-martial arts fighting hasn’t even been mentioned.
It may be possible that just like the ancient Greeks, governments of today like their citizens to take a keen interest in sports at the cost of taking an interest in the way their country is run. Certainly this is the case in Brazil, where massive levels of poverty and corruption are rife throughout the political system. The response by those at the top isn’t to fix these problems, but to focus money and attention on getting the football team to the World Cup every time.
Perhaps it’s time we took a step back and noted the way we treat sport in today’s society. While a little entertainment can be a good thing, there’s no use gaining an interest in a sport that’s ridiculous, or to lose attention from our lives and start to think sport is the most important thing of all.

