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Author Topic: The most libertarian sport  (Read 14737 times)

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AL the Inconspicuous

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The most libertarian sport
« on: February 08, 2010, 02:20:44 PM »

I can't stand sports!  I never bothered to learn even the basics of American football and baseball since coming to this country ~17 years ago, and I fight myself to avoid wasting any time even on World Cup Soccer - the sport I played and loved as a kid.  Man, what a waste!  I can't believe the people who wanted to outlaw drugs and alcohol didn't want to do the same to an even greater destroyer of human braincells - spectator sports!

There is one guilty pleasure that I allow myself from time to time though...  "Professional" Wrestling.  (I usually only watch the monthly pay-per-view events though, and via BitTorrent of course.)  You may be floored with surprise, given how obviously fake and childish and stupid that genre of "sport entertainment" truly is, but I think I have a pretty good rationalization for it - and not just how I like to work the dumbbells while watching.  It seems like mainstream juvenile pop-culture bullshit at its worst, and with plenty of militarist propaganda (ex. U.S. Army commercials) thrown in there as well, but I think it's no accident that the two most famous libertarian athletes you know (Glenn Jacobs and Sean Morley) are pro-wrestlers, even though there are relatively few members of that profession compared to all the other college, professional, and Olympic athletes out there.  Another libertarian-leaning sports-related celebrity, Mark Cuban, has also been involved with pro-wrestling from time to time.  (And some might say Jesse Ventura should be counted as well.)

Pro wrestling is one of the most difficult professions out there, and one of the few that requires exceeding levels of both physical as well as mental accomplishment.  To be a great pro wrestler you need to be a stage actor, a weightlifter, a gymnast, and a ballerina all at the same time.  You need to be able to remember your lines, remember the script of the match, take some pretty heavy blows, improvise if necessary, and stay in character no matter what.  It is the most individualist sport that I can think of, but one that still requires losing when you're scripted to for the good of your long-term career.  The performers see their bodies as their assets that they own, and are sometimes willing to take significant calculated risks.

It is the most capitalist of entertainment genres - ever dynamic, it never lets tradition or societal pressure to keep it from giving its fans a good time, which they're willing to pay for in record numbers.  This industry doesn't try to justify itself as delivering some feel-good societal benefit, but it recognizes that many of its fans work hard for their money, and they deserve to spend their money on whatever entertainment that makes them feed good.  Everyone has an occasional need to turn off one's higher brain functions and just enjoy a bunch of muscle-bound men try to smack and slam the shit out of each-other with a stupidly amusing premise, which is what professional wrestling is all about!
« Last Edit: February 08, 2010, 02:26:20 PM by Alex Libman »
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Sam Gunn (since nobody got Admiral Naismith)

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Re: The most libertarian sport
« Reply #1 on: February 08, 2010, 02:28:27 PM »

Wrestling is fake and gay.

Motocross is exciting, individual based, and not fake.
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anarchir

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Re: The most libertarian sport
« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2010, 02:38:05 PM »

Wrestling is fake and gay.

Motocross is exciting, individual based, and not fake.

I used to like playing in baseball, until the whole "team first-you second" started having negative drawbacks and it wasnt fun anymore.

I dunno about a libertarian sport, many would work. Libertarians can work in teams, so how about bowling?
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blackie

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Re: The most libertarian sport
« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2010, 02:40:57 PM »

Wrestling is fake and gay.
Most libertarians are fake and gay.
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Re: The most libertarian sport
« Reply #4 on: February 08, 2010, 02:41:28 PM »

Wrestling is fake and gay.

Motocross is exciting, individual based, and not fake.

I used to like playing in baseball, until the whole "team first-you second" started having negative drawbacks and it wasnt fun anymore.

I dunno about a libertarian sport, many would work. Libertarians can work in teams, so how about bowling?
Most libertarian Sport?  Eh I dunno, I guess I don't really care either.  I grew up around the corner from a bowling alley, but I think bowling is kinda boring.  
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davann

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Re: The most libertarian sport
« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2010, 02:44:07 PM »

I'd say golf is fairly individualistic. I vote Golf.
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Turd Ferguson

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Re: The most libertarian sport
« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2010, 02:52:49 PM »

If you fuck up in this sport............ NOBODY can cover your ass for you. More of an activity than a sport though I guess.

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Re: The most libertarian sport
« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2010, 03:32:51 PM »

how about Paintball or Target shooting

alaric89

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Re: The most libertarian sport
« Reply #8 on: February 08, 2010, 04:09:55 PM »

Freestyle- motorcross, snowmobiling, skiing, skating etc.  You can take the risk and reap the rewards. 
I think baseball is the most libertarian team sport. A athlete can shine as a individual, or work well in a team and be a great player.
I enjoy pro wrestling though. guess I am a gay faker- what will I tell my wife?
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AL the Inconspicuous

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Re: The most libertarian sport
« Reply #9 on: February 08, 2010, 04:15:38 PM »

Wrestling is fake and gay.

Wrestling is fake in the same sense that theater is fake, but it's still a great art-form and some people clearly enjoy it.  The skill necessary to put on a scripted performance like that is definitely real.

People who think admiration of male athleticism and physical competition is gay have a problem forming a rational and healthy psychological boundary between what does or does not constitute homo-erotic stimulation, and that is a probable sign of latent homosexual tendencies in the subject himself.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.


Motocross is exciting, individual based, and not fake.

I never spent as much as a minute watching "motocross", but I can confidently predict that it would not stimulate me to lift weights while watching it.  Wrestling appeals to the most basic masculine instinct of physical competition, something that all animals do for social status and play.

Every male in the audience can identify with a wrestler as a basic psychological prototype, no matter how suppressed it may be in any individual.  I can also predict certain "plot twists" in pro wrestling and put myself in the writer / producer's shoes as well.  I even like to ponder the role that the announcers, cameramen, equipment engineers, and all other participants play in creating this theatrical illusion.  Etc.  But having a crude transportation device vibrating underneath your butt is purely an acquired taste, it appeals neither to my inner child nor to my higher intellect.


[...]  I think bowling is kinda boring.

This x1000!

Libertarians / capitalists always seek to maximize value, to matter if it's material, psychological, or any other kind.  Bowling is meh...  neither athletically beneficial nor exciting in any other way that I can imagine.  It's a kind of pointless hobby that communist Culture Ministers always like to promote, to keep the public occupied and distracted, but aimed at people who can't imagine accomplishing anything else with a ball except waiting your turn and then rolling it.


I'd say golf is fairly individualistic.  I vote Golf.

I passionately hate golf, as I do $10,000-a-tiny-bottle perfume or other pointless luxury.  I recognize a person's right to play golf if he so chooses, of course, but I just can't get over how freaking inefficient it is, and how could it even be called a sport if someone else carries your clubs or you ride in a golf-cart from hole to hole!  I'll have more respect for a person who uses all that land that a golf course requires to plant a food forest and hike through it with a backpack instead.


how about Paintball or Target shooting

Yeah, I'm big on that in principle (see also: the "Tax Resistance Olympics" thread), but the word "sport" typically means an athletic event that people also enjoy watching.  I think of target shooting as more of a part of your workout routine.  Watching even the best shooter hit his targets is like watching a boxer beat the shit out of a punching bag.  Paintball is more of an experience, like a video game, not something you'd want to just watch.

Plus it's more of a right-wing survivalist aesthetic, not specifically libertarian in its motivations.  Some might even argue that the best libertarian would swear off from ever touching a gun - for "non-violent civil disobedience" reasons, PR reasons, as well as because being a great libertarian means using your mind, which creates tremendous economic value, while you can always hire people to carry guns and catch bullets for you for relatively cheap.
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DontTreadOnMike

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Re: The most libertarian sport
« Reply #10 on: February 08, 2010, 08:09:37 PM »

Target shooting or 3-gun competitions.
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John Shaw

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Re: The most libertarian sport
« Reply #11 on: February 08, 2010, 08:55:46 PM »

The biathalon.

Cross Country Ski, then shoot a gun, then ski more, then shoot.

The hardest competition is with the self.
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Re: The most libertarian sport
« Reply #12 on: February 08, 2010, 09:51:14 PM »

Team sports can be perfectly "libertarian". Just think of rational self interest and the division of labor. Reasonable people are wise to associate with those who best complement their own skills.

On the other hand, I don't want to encourage any activity that is funded by me under threat of force - in the way that I am forced to pay to build professional sports facilities though my taxes.

Wrestling seems to have quite a bit of central planning involved. I vote for cross-county racing.
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Re: The most libertarian sport
« Reply #13 on: February 08, 2010, 10:14:57 PM »

This........... simply because its illegal in MANY states, even though all participants voluntarily take part in it. Perfect for Libertarians.





« Last Edit: February 08, 2010, 10:17:43 PM by quickmike »
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Re: The most libertarian sport
« Reply #14 on: February 08, 2010, 10:16:03 PM »

I don't think there are sports that are more or less libertarian, since they're all activities that people choose to engage in of their own free will.

All that said, my favorite sports are tennis and (alpine) skiing.  I can't really decide between those two.  After that, I'd pick (small boat) sailing.  I guess the pattern with all those sports is that they're all very individualistic.
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