Comments on: In Which We Spend Our Time Talking About Badminton

By: Jamey Stegmaier

Jamey Stegmaier — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:40:27 +0000

Honestly, I don’t even think there’s a debate here. Badminton is clearly a sport. I think we could entertain the notion that Olympic horseback riding or Nascar aren’t sports, since they’re entirely reliant on another vehicle/creature, but I feel like the Nascar debate has been had so many times. What do you think? Worth its own entry? Does it really matter for us to define “sport.”

By: Red

Red — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:33:50 +0000

Trev, this is worthy of it’s own entire post.

By: Jamey Stegmaier

Jamey Stegmaier — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 15:15:45 +0000

Gabby–You’re right. Slate has a good explanation of what was happening (and it was actually the two South Korean teams that were DQed, not Chinese): http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/fivering_circus/2012/08/badminton_scandal_olympics_2012_why_were_those_olympic_badminton_players_trying_to_lose_and_why_is_the_sport_so_dirty_.html

By: Gabby

Gabby — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 15:11:40 +0000

It could be misinformation, because I am obviously not on the Chinese team that tanked, but I did read it at a fairly reputable site, cbsnews.com

By: Katy

Katy — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 15:02:43 +0000

Even though this entry kind of lost me when I read the word ‘badminton,’ I powered through, and agree with the conclusion that they should have been disqualified, and the rules should be changed so that players are to perform to their best ability instead of being able to throw a game in an attempt to win the entire tournament. I haven’t watched any of the badminton matches (I only watch men’s swimming and women’s gymnastics), from what I understand, they can be pretty intense and highly entertaining.

I’m not going to say that badminton isn’t a ‘real’ sport, as I recall it being just as challenging as volleyball and tennis when forced to play those sports in grade school gym class. In fact, the whole hitting what is basically a bouncy ball wearing a dress might have made it even more challenging. Just like any other Olympic event, the athletes who play badminton should be held to the same standards, as isn’t the whole point of the games to showcase and highlight the best of the best from each country?

By: Jamey Stegmaier

Jamey Stegmaier — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 14:16:36 +0000

Hmm…that might be misinformation, Gabby, because I’m pretty sure that BOTH Chinese teams tanked on purpose.

By: Gabby

Gabby — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 14:14:17 +0000

From what I understand the Chinese team tanked to set up the bracket so they would not have to face the other Chinese team until the finals. They just wanted their country to do as well as possible.

By: T-Mac

T-Mac — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 11:40:46 +0000

After reading this chain of comments, the part that I’m most interested in is the idea that badminton isn’t a real sport. Having watched a little of it, I disagree, but more importantly, I’m interested in where you draw the line for what does and doesn’t qualify as a real sport. In my opinion, olympic badminton most closely compares to tennis and volleyball. Are those two also not real sports in your eyes? If they are, what separates them from badminton?

By: Jamey Stegmaier

Jamey Stegmaier — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 06:34:20 +0000

So do you agree with yourself or disagree with yourself that the Olympic committee should stop policing how players choose to play badminton? Just for the sake of clarity.

By: Orianna

Orianna — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 05:29:22 +0000

Well, I may have misread you which is possible. What I was aiming is that the definition is vague and it’s the first time in awhile that a team has gotten caught. Badzine says that this sport has a reputation of unethical behavior specifically by China. So, regardless of an opinion, we first have to evaluate what is being specifically defined as not using best efforts. That’s like saying to an employee we need to see improvement without offering specifics to that end. Technically, I am on the fence and feel badminton is not a real sport.