I’ve had many an argument over where skateboarding ranks in comparison with other sports. Of course it’s tough to compare, because every sport is different with different objectives. What sport take the most strength? Agility? Nerve? Endurance? Well, someone over as ESPN took a scientific approach to it. Granted, it’s ESPN, there were only two judges, and one of them is a pro baseball and football player, so you couldn’t exactly expect great results for skateboarding.
If you’re unhappy with the #37 ranking, take their poll and give your own opinion.
I don’t necessarily think skateboarding is superior to sports in all ways. In some ways, yes, but ultimately what matters is whether it is superior in a fun way for you, and you don’t need anyone else to tell you that. But here are the ways in which I believe skateboarding is “more” of whatever than other sports:
1. Complexity – There are more variables in skateboarding than any other sport, or in other words, you can do more different kinds of stuff. In football there are a limited number of plays you can run. Baseball today is more or less the same game today that it was 30 years ago when skateboarding was just starting. In order to find more variables in other sports you really have to start digging, but in skateboarding new tricks in new places are being done all the time. We’ve got new videos coming out every month, and when’s the last time you watched a video and thought “There’s nothing new in this video.” Heck, 90% of what I saw in Cheese and Crackers was brand new stuff I had never seen and most of which I hadn’t ever considered possible. It was the equivalent of somebody in football breaking half of the existing NFL records in one game–mind blowing. But in skateboarding “mind blowing” is the norm, such that we’re almost used to it and expect to have our minds blown.
2. Skill – Look at Daewon, Rodney Mullen, Colin McKay, or Danny Way. I’m sorry, I know it’s not easy to be a good athelete when it comes to basketball, football, or baseball, but if you take strength out of the equation you can’t tell me it’s harder to learn how to hit a baseball right than it is to do a heelflip lipslide on the mega ramp or a switch 360 flip to fakie manual to fakie 360 flip out. I don’t expect a baseball player to agree, but those of you who skate know it’s true.
3. Intestinal fortitude – Is there anything in baseball or basketball that requires guts? Boxing, maybe. Football, sure, maybe a bit. But is there anything in any other major sport that compares to the feeling you get when you’re looking at doing a new rail or large set of stairs? Your legs wobble, you ride up 50 times, and you just can’t bring yourself to do it. When you finally do, you either make it, make it far enough to break the fear and try it again, or get broke off so bad you can’t skate for two months. And sometimes you don’t have what it takes to even try and you go home and cry yourself to sleep. Seriously, what other sport requires the level of guts that skateboarding does? Ok, I’m not talking about ledge tricks or flatground, I’m talking about rails, stairs, and other such stuff, but you get the idea.
Skateboarding uber alles!
ha, I didn’t even think about all of the aspects to it. If only everyone else could understand this, maybe skateboarding wouldn’t be so looked down upon. You forgot the optional padding! ha. skateboarding is the best, hands down.
wow you guys are cool hit me up if you a guy…….
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The thing about skateboarding that stands out from every other comperable activity is the possibilities. It’s just amazing to think about it. There’s no way you can count the various trick variations and lines you can come out with on any given spot. You’re not attached to the board, you can do anything.
To quote one of the most uniqe skaters of all time, Karl Watson; “skateboarding is like geometry, it’s like math, you know.. but I give credit to every sport, because you don’t know how hard it is before you’ve tried it”.
I have two brothers that make fun of me because i skate.They are older that me and say that skateboarding is stupid and a waste of time.But I know that there wrong but they also say that BMXing is much harder that skateboarding.Is that true?If there is anyone who BMX’s and skates out there write to me about witch is harder.mmmmk.
I have two brothers that make fun of me because i skate.They are older that me and say that skateboarding is stupid and a waste of time.But I know that there wrong but they also say that BMXing is much harder that skateboarding.Is that true?If there is anyone who BMX’s and skates out there write to me about witch is harder.mmmmk.
omg yes bmxing is so hard you wouldent beleve but skateboreding is hard to not as hard tricks are way easyer
i bmx and skate play football baseball box wrestle you name it ive done it SKATEBOARDING is by FAR the hardest to learn and the scariest you fall the most and takes alot of determination. bmxing is hard to learn but you dont fall as much but i do think it hurts a little more not much more though. now for football football players talk shit about skaters all the time but the fact is you get pads and even without them its not nearly as hard or dangerous as skating or bmxing. most football players are regretably way to full of themselves. ive done research it took 26 years for about 350 people to die playing football in that time well over 2000 people died in extreme sports. Dont get me wrong i love playing football but i hate jocks who think there cool cause they get tackled by a fat man try……………….falling over 20 stairs onto your dome piece without crying ya wuss
skateboarding is the hardest sport out there. period. anyone whose ever even stepped foot on a skateboard can tell you that. most people look at it with their oohs and aahs but until you actually try it its the most f-in difficult thing to learn. anyone can pick up a basketball and start making shots that same day, or pick up a baseball bat and start hitting some pitches. Obviously becoming pro at anything requires dedication and time, and lots of blood, sweat, tears, etc along the way. But no where more so than skateboarding is that true. You can become pro at most sports, without much serious injury. Look at any pro skateboarder and you know theyve been fucked up. i really liked this article because youve hit a lot of things spot on about skateboarding. yes, you dont need to be jacked or have a six pack to be able to skate well, but theres so much to consider, it should be #1 on that list by far.
1) you need finesse. like gymnastics, you need damn good balance, and on a skateboard learning how to balance, whether its manuals, various foot positions for tricks, or stomping your landings, youre gonna spend lots of your life getting the finesse for those higher level tricks and combos.
2) you need balls. not just any balls, you need jupiter sized balls. you can hurt yourself just dicking around on flat ground, so when you start learning to skate fast and skate longer gaps, bigger stairs, youre gonna take some slams, and you KNOW its gonna happen. thers no way anyone learns to take shit down stairs without ever getting hurt, and youre gonna need the balls to a) realize that, and b) say fuck that and go for it. Yeah you can get fucked up in any sport, but not like in skateboarding.
3) money. many people forget the cost of skateboarding. you can get good at pretty much every sport on that list, maybe except hockey or golf, without much money. skateboarding, youre gonna have to shell out some green for decks, those shoes that are gonna go to shit fast, the hospital bills once you start getting good, etc…
4) straight up skill. skateboarding is fucking hard because it takes skill. natural physical advantages mean nothing here. height doesnt help you, size doesnt help you, in fact it probably is bad for you because youll have a tougher time balancing and controlling your center of mass. fuck, skateboarding seriously requires so much damn skill it can be almost maddening at times. how long does it take you to learn a new trick…on flat? hours? days? thats only 10% of the story once you land it, anyone will tell you how much freaking practice it takes just to keep the tricks you already have, and then to perfect them, which brings me to my last point…
5) style. no where else does style matter as much as in skateboarding. you can land every damn trick known to man, but if it looks like crap then you might as well not have landed it to begin with. And getting style is a whole different story. that frontside flip you landed? its gonna take even longer to get your style up on that trick, and so far ive been only talkin flat, when you start flipping in and out of ledges, dont even get me started…
Man, you are scaring me! I was planning to take on skateboarding since I can’t dive anymore (ear problems), but I don’t want to get hurt. What about aggressive skating? I mean, not on rails and stairs, but at a skateboard park.