OK, i tend to listen to the radio a lot at work, and lately they've been playing a lot of commercials for the "ultimate sport and rv show." Now, what sports would you expect to see represented at such a show? basketball? baseball? hockey?

nope, its for hunting and fishing. now, i dont know about your definition of "sports" but mine is something like "a challange between two opposing forces trying to achieve some goal by means of athletics where strict rules are known and abided by by both parties" hockey is like that. you have two teams, skating around checking each other is athletic, there are tons of rules which both teams are expected to know, and they're trying to get a lil rubber thing in the other teams net. thats a sport. hunting and fishing are not. and let me show this by way of analogy.

i always kind of think of hunting like tag. you're out in the middle of nowhere trying to "tag" an animal. first of all, i think most of us would consider tag a game, not a sport, but whatever. however, hunting gives such a huge advantage to the hunter that its just about as much a sport as shooting a fish in a barrel. so if you think of it like tag, you are "it", the animal is some kid who doesnt even know he's playing the game. you sit in a deer blind all day getting drunk. he goes about his merry business. as soon as he gets in your line of sight you "tag" him from half a mile away with no warning whatsoever, using technology that took you years to develop. basically when you look at it there is so much hunting stuff made specifically to make it easier to shoot a deer its a wonder anyone ever comes back from a hunting trip with out one.

i consider fishing being like me leaving a cyanide laced cupcake in the middle of a sidewalk (perhaps with a sign that says "free trial cupcake" or some such) then hiding around a corner. wait til someone tries to eat, collect the corpse and start over. again, not a sport since the other party has no idea whats going on and you have every advantage conceivable. its not really a sport if its that easy, sorry.

anyway, here's my opinion on how to make hunting and fishing more "sporting."
Take away all you're technological advantages. fight your prey on their home turf, using only tools to level the playing field for you a bit. for example, deers have antlers, so you are allowed a knife (no knife throwing unless the deer throws his antlers at you first).

so this would make hunting look like you either sneaking up on a deer, or dropping down on him from a tree, then wrestling him to the ground until he's dead. thats a sport. then he has an equal chance of killing you, or running. this would be much more exciting than clicking at a dot in the distance. in fishing you would have to do it like a bear. stand knee-deep in water and swat anything that comes near. none of this fancy 'heres food, it wont kill you' approach. stand there, let the fish see your legs, and if it still decides to come close enough you have every right to try and catch it.

let me just end this little rant off by saying i have no problem ethically with hunting or fishing. you can kill as many deer or fish as you want and i'd have no problem with it. my problem isnt hunting, its trying to call it a sport.

ps, golf isnt a sport either. i'd call it more like a pleasant stroll punctuated by occasional ball-whacking, but definatley not athletic enough