The Sport of...Pinball?

* There's an ongoing debate among many sport fans whether NASCAR should be considered a sport. Each side, of course, feels it has the facts that proves their case beyond a shadow of a doubt. One point says that a sport requires conditioning, like lifting weights or running or any type of physical workout, and that NASCAR drivers simply make 3-4 left turns (road courses being different). The opposing side says it requires conditioning to control two ton missiles that are sometimes 2-3 inches from each other traveling at 200MPH for three hours or more. Some insist there to be an example of eye-hand coordination, such as passing & catching in football or throwing & hitting in baseball. The response is, braking & accelerating thru gaps not much wider than the car itself meet the standards. The fans of team based sports will talk about division winners, wildcards and playoffs and championships. In recent years, the Powers That Be in NASCAR have instituted a playoff of sorts with "The Chase" and made even more changes last year towards making it more about the overall season, rather than one driver and his pit crew on a late season roll. And of course a sport must involve strategy, thinking one step ahead of your opponent. In racing, not just NASCAR but any type of racing, there's drafting, who you run with, when to pit and what to do in the pits, gas and tires, and how much of each. Or not to pit at all.

* In the Olympics, the following have been or are awarded medals: curling, trampoline, shooting, badminton, ping pong, equestrian, luge/skeleton. **Please note I am not casting aspersions on these events.** In fact, each require a specific skill set to move from city to state to national to international levels of competition. Then, you must beat the best of other nations in order to qualify, not medal, but qualify for the finals. And at the national, international and Olympic levels, there's no guarantee that you won't go home empty handed. "Thanks, you placed fourth out of thousands. There's the door. Try again next year".

* NASCARS fans (and drivers), participants (and parents of participants) of Olympic events will tell you that each meet the requirements, the definition of a sport. What about pinball?

* Conditioning? I've heard stories of players standing for hours on end in front of a table. And if you subscribe to the school of nudging, well, a pinball machine ain't light.

* Eye-hand coordination? To hit a drop target, to shoot the ball up a lane not much wider than the ball *itself, to hit (in some games) a moving target, to correctly gauge at what point to hit the ball at a specific time as it rolls down towards the flipper in order to send it toward a specific target could be considered a description of good eye-hand coordination.

* Championships? Google "pinball championship", and be prepared, if not amazed, to see the listings that show. PABA, European Pinball Championship, Australian Pinball Championship, even the Poles have a championship. And just imagine all the events that aren't listed on the Web, like "Tommy's Bar & Grill 3rd Annual Pinball Tournament".

* Strategy? In pinball, it's a must. Know where to send the ball in order to set up your next shot. Know when to let that ball drain if you're playing on a table that holds the ball for you if you've done poorly.

* I'll be willing to bet there are pinball fans that go from event to event to cheer for a particular player. Fans that know the history of the tables, how many were made, who made them, how to play them (hey, that sounds like US!), follow the tournaments on You-Tube channels. There may even be groupies, I don't know...(and I don't want to).

* So, I'll leave it up to you, the reader. Is Pinball a sport? Does it meet the criteria to qualify?

* * * * * * * * * ** * * *Updated High Score List

Junk Yard 49,767,520

* * * * * * * * * * * * * Hall of Fame points: 10254

 

[Eaton Beaver]

I saw on a skateboard forum that the video game Call Of Duty is now an event at the X-Games. I really like the competitive high scoring in both video games and pinball. I also think more gambling should take place in pinball and video games. I have found myself playing more video games lately due to the lack of online cash poker available in the United States. There is definitely skill and endurance when doing a marathon on either a game or pinball machine. I don't think they should be an Olympic event but I think the players of the games should be gambling on high score records. A trophy or award is nice but I feel cash is better.

 

[Eaton Beaver]

I also wanted to mention when people say they have paused the game during game play and come back to it at a later time to achieve a high score as a total bs high score. If I was a judge you would be disqualified...

 

[Shaneus]

How about this quote from pro basketball player turned pinball pro Todd MacCulloch?

MacCulloch says there are indeed some similarities between pinball and basketball. He relates: "Hand-eye coordination is really important in both, and maintaining your focus is definitely important. I've been in some pressure situations in big [basketball] games, and nerves wouldn't affect me, but I've found that in pinball tournaments, I can't seem to keep those nerves at bay. My heart beats faster, my chest gets tight. Competition is competition, and I thought I'd respond well, but I haven't been able to rein that in yet."

There it is.

 

[OmegaDef]

For me, I train like it's a sport. I always enjoy playing, but there will be times that after hours and hours I'm ready to take a break. Pushing through that gives you the conditioning you'll need for the times you can't stop. So far I've never needed to compete for longer than some of my training sessions last. Being able to do what you see in your mind needs to become second nature. Being able to hit with precision, nudge perfectly, juggle, or even death save is no different than being able to land a kick flip or hit a free throw the majority of the time. If you've done it 10,000 times prior, then it should happen without even thinking about it.

Conditioning, practice, psychology, coordination, breathing, maintaining nerves in high pressure situations? It's a sport to me, but I don't care what label the world wants to give it. It's an activity unique unto itself anyway. Instead of feeling left out of the sports umbrella, other sports should be jealous they don't get to be called pinball.

 

[shutyertrap]

Pinball is not a sport. It is a skill. For this same reason, I classify golf as not being a sport, nor billiards, darts, bowling, spelling bees, cheer leading, or beer pong.

Sports to me require athletic endeavors. If you can be overweight, partially drunk, sitting in a chair doing whatever it is you are doing, and doing it well, it's not a sport. Now you can argue that I've just described NASCAR, but it has one thing going for it that is inherently a part of sports...racing.