Are We A Hobby? Or Sport? Again!

No Longer an Annual – Bible?
This is a little something that has noodled my noodle for years. I think I have even done stories on it. I am scratching my noodle about it. Regardless, of the past. We now have a printed proof that in fact it is a SPORT! The term hobby has always felt rather frivolous to me. Very past time ish. And thats not right. A Passion? Sure? Culture, ya? But SPORT is the term. Ya ya I know, you don’t go out and try out for boating. You should BTW based on what I have seen this year out there.

Cover! HELL YA
Syd, Text Museum Marsdin followed up with a text yesterday from a Motor Annual for 1927 and there is a Chris Craft Ad in there. They call boating a SPORT, and far as I am concerned, that’s the term for our community of classic boaters. According to the Google dictionary ”

An ad targeted to car dealers not buyers. This is insider info.

Close up of the quote.
Sport – amuse oneself or play in a lively, energetic way. “the children sported in the water”
So, Sport! Ya that’s another meaning. – a person who behaves in a good or specified way in response to teasing, defeat, or a similarly trying situation.
There ya have it. We are Sportsmen.

And Sportswomen.

Sportsfather and Son

Sportsmen of New England

Even Minnows were sportsmen

And back to New England.
We are a team of them, and every now and then we score some points. It explains boat shows, judging and races. It explains the slight sense of one upmanship that takes place. We practice on our boats, and hopefully on the water they perform like the beasts they are. Each boat is a specific different type of athlete. Okay, ya, this is just getting dumb. But you get my point. So go out this weekend and Sport that dapper T-Shirt and cap, and go Sporting in your Sportsman.
And because we are always bringing you things you never saw coming. We are Sportsman, We Are DEVO! Hit it!
PS, I just searched our files. And dam, I wrote the same thing back in 2018. Even wondered if I had talked about it before. But this isnt a rerun. Its new. But is it? Wow. Did I leave my car keys in the fridge again? Well, it was new to me again. So.. Its a sport. The world is now a tad more secure. Here is that story
Feel free to just copy paste your comments from that story. Still applies.
This is too deep for this hour of the morning. If they can show cornhole on ESPN as a sport, I think anything qualifies, especially boating. I can equate it to running and biking. People are out casually participating in those sports at different levels from weekend warriors to Olympic athletes. At Nathans on Coney Island they make eating hot dogs a sport on 4th of July. Boating is no different. Now lets go have some more coffee.
Floyde: You drink your coffee your way.
It felt like a sport when I had to break out the Ben Gay after doing contortions to change the alternator on Band-Aids.
Damn, sport huh. Who knew. Now that I’m an athlete I must be in better shape than I thought. Guess I will go back for another donut this morning.
I can’t believe I watched that video!!!
Evinrude Sportsman
Sportspower
David, how can I get in touch with you, I just acquired a 1942 (so I’m told) Johnson that you might be interested in.
All I know is; after crawling around in the bilges of my Sportsman I feel like I have been playing a sport. Muscle and joint aches and “feeling the burn” must mean I’m in it to win it.
So now that this is a “sport” Do we take a knee?
I agree. Anyone who has spent hours and hours sanding a wooden hull for refinishing knows that this is more than just a hobby, The tricep work out on an hour’s sanding must be equal to 100 pushups. Even with an electric sander, it’s still hard work.
Oh yeah!
New Woody Boater Shirts?
Definitely a sport! Now back to Troy’s coffee drinking view. Lol
Who hasn’t been out enjoying their boating hobby when a similar boat pulls along side. Involuntarily your hand finds its way to the throttle and your hobby becomes a sport…
I’ve got a sport to do today(overhauling gas hot water heater assembled by tiny handed midgets)That devo song fit right in.Thanx.
Feeling the “sport” of it right now on my sportsman…
Sport vs hobby. Now that’s a deep question.
To change the subject—-the price of One Dollar and a Quarter in 1927 was one lot of money.
It’s definitely a Sport for me. Super Sport and Sportsman.
Sorry. Not “on board” with this being a sport.
The sport part of sportsman is what you do with the boat like fishing or water skiing. Not sitting down and turning the key.
ABC said it was about “athletic competition”. And they spanned the globe to find it all….
Sport? I dunno….each week I’d watch the following clip just to see that poor “agony of defeat” bastard fly off the ski ramp….
Wait a sec…I do watch Boneheaded Boaters of the Week on youtube all of the time, and there are plenty of Agony of Defeat idiots in the boating world….so I guess that does make it a sport too.
My father started an outfitter and fishing and boating/hunting store in Richmond in 1949 and called it
the SPORTSMAN’S SHOP…so I am a sportsman and owe my boating interest to those days.
In tribute to which I am Going Boating…today…again…
John in Va.
Boating has always been a sport to me. Growing up rowing sailing and waterskiing you always found someone to race or outlast. Still going.
Forgot the picture. Didn’t even get my hair wet. Lake Powell.
Part Hobby and Part Sport…….