# In which sport is there the least/greatest disparity between a professional and an average layman? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 21, 2020, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223 "2020-05-21T05:49:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/81 "2020-05-27T14:16:37Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I have long wanted to slide a curling stone down a bobsled track, just to see what would happen. Just think of the poor guy with the broom trying to keep up. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/82 "2020-05-27T17:20:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I suspect that a lot of sports could be played with mixed teams like you describe… except that, in practice, most of them would be one-on-one (or two-on-two, or however many pros you have) with some spectators having better-than-ringside seats. That’s why Ultimate (with man-to-man coverage) works so well. Is it easier to throw to a world class player being covered by another world class player, or a rec league player covered by another rec league player? And because (unlike soccer or basketball) you can’t move the ball yourself, you can’t just have lebron driving to the hoop against chumps over and over and over. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/83 "2020-05-28T16:39:55Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I have long wanted to slide a curling stone down a bobsled track, just to see what would happen. Sounds dangerous, things could go downhill…fast! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/84 "2020-05-28T18:38:40Z")
Bah, that’s just the slippery slope fallacy. ---
**Author:** ![NorthernStar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c77e96/32.png) [@NorthernStar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NorthernStar)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/85 "2020-05-29T10:58:37Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I have long wanted to slide a curling stone down a bobsled track, just to see what would happen. I’ve never heard of such an experiment taking place but I don’t think the stone would actually make it far, let alone reach the finish line. It’s simply way too light to reach the speeds the tracks are designed for. The stone would be scraping the bottom wall of every curve instead of taking a nice sweeping turn to pick up speed, not to mention the complete lack of steering which would make it bounce off the walls in straights. Plus, a sliding track isn’t a constant downward slope. At least some tracks have incorporated uphill sections, too. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/86 "2020-05-29T14:01:40Z")
Curling stones are almost as heavy as luge sleds. It might make it. ---
**Author:** ![NorthernStar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c77e96/32.png) [@NorthernStar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NorthernStar)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/87 "2020-05-29T16:14:51Z")
Still very doubtful as that would only be 1/4 to 1/5 of the combined weight of sled and athlete. A sled seldom makes it to the finish line on its own after a crash, unless it happens way down the track. Usually, by the time the sled has gone through the next curve or two, it has already bled off enough speed that it is safe for the nearest track worker or coach to simply grab it and lift it out of the track. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/88 "2020-05-29T18:39:43Z")
Luge is for children. Adults do skeleton. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/89 "2020-05-29T19:12:13Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > There are some sports where I don’t even know how they do it. Gymnastics, pole vault, diving come to mind. Pole vaulting is what I came in here to mention. When I watch people doing this on TV, I can’t comprehend how you’d even _begin_ to learn to do it. Then they’ll replay a vault in slow-motion and I realize that it’s even more complicated than I thought. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/90 "2020-05-29T20:17:57Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Luge is for children. Adults do skeleton. everyone else calls that sledding. Why bother with a different name? Let me guess because they want to sound cooler? ---
**Author:** ![NorthernStar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c77e96/32.png) [@NorthernStar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NorthernStar)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/91 "2020-05-29T22:38:21Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Luge is for children. Adults do skeleton. You actually got me wondering - is there an established sport where one can go from the “fit person with zero experience” level we are discussing here to the very top in a shorter timeframe? Over the past few Olympics, winning the gold in men’s skeleton has been somewhat of a point of pride for the host nation. Korea had barely any presence in the sport before 2011 when they were awarded the 2018 games (and winter sports fans back then would laugh at the idea of them becoming a powerhouse), but they immediately moved to pour a lot of funds and manpower in a skeleton program, Sungbin Yun took up the sport at the age of 17 and went on to triumph in front of his home crowd. All signs point to China getting set to repeat that feat - their best young slider won his first World Cup medal this past season and has almost two full seasons to improve even more. So that’s around 6-7 years between your first attempts at a sport and an Olympic gold, or whatever is considered the pinnacle of a particular sport. No other sport comes to mind, at least immediately. I am reluctant to include the likes of bobsled push athletes (because their job is more of a “go all out and don’t screw up” type rather than the result of honing specific skills over years and decades) or the occasional foreign NFL convert who takes up football after coming to the US as a student athlete in a different sport (these players may get a pro football job but seldom excel over locals who have played it in some form for most of their lives, unless we are talking something narrow like kicking or punting which then in turn disqualifies Australian football, rugby or soccer players under the “not a beginner” rule). ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/92 "2020-05-29T22:40:40Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > Pole vaulting is what I came in here to mention. When I watch people doing this on TV, I can’t comprehend how you’d even _begin_ to learn to do it. Then they’ll replay a vault in slow-motion and I realize that it’s even more complicated than I thought. We teach it in High School track. It can be difficult to find a coach qualified enough to teach it. You can’t just show up and teach kids pole-vaulting. You really have to know it yourself. Fortunately, both schools I have been in have had a coach that could come in a couple times a week to train it. Basically, you start by simply learning how to run holding the pole properly and straight up. If you can not run with it in the elevated position you can’t plant it safely. Once students show they can do this, they work on planting the pole and elevating themselves just part-way. You work up to an actual vault over time. The equipment is super expensive, too. The mat has to be specifically designed for vault or you can not get insurance to cover any risks. The mounting of the bar also has to be done correctly. You can’t be cheap on having it installed. Anyway, they start as young as 15, but only with top jumpers. Most kids wait until their Junior year(16-17 years old) to get into this event. It’s kind of a specialist thing. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/93 "2020-05-29T23:24:04Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Anyway, they start as young as 15 … Or in rare cases, at 3 (here’s a [video starting at age 7](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMBqU_KWdB4) \*), which can lead to breaking world records by age 20. \*Warning for music that rates as godawful even by the strict YouTube standard. I concur that pole vaulting is a “technique-intensive” sport with a huge difference between professional and layman. Others in track and field would include hammer throw, discus and the triple jump. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/94 "2020-05-30T04:35:12Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > We teach it in High School track. It can be difficult to find a coach qualified enough to teach it. You can’t just show up and teach kids pole-vaulting. You really have to know it yourself. Fortunately, both schools I have been in have had a coach that could come in a couple times a week to train it. > > Basically, you start by simply learning how to run holding the pole properly and straight up. If you can not run with it in the elevated position you can’t plant it safely. Once students show they can do this, they work on planting the pole and elevating themselves just part-way. You work up to an actual vault over time. > > The equipment is super expensive, too. The mat has to be specifically designed for vault or you can not get insurance to cover any risks. The mounting of the bar also has to be done correctly. You can’t be cheap on having it installed. > > Anyway, they start as young as 15, but only with top jumpers. Most kids wait until their Junior year(16-17 years old) to get into this event. It’s kind of a specialist thing. Thanks for that interesting explanation. I figured students wouldn’t do a complete vault on the first try, but I couldn’t get my head around how you’d gradually work up to that. A well-executed pole vault seems almost miraculous to me. ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/95 "2020-05-30T05:32:31Z")
greyhound racing. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/96 "2020-05-30T13:43:36Z")
Your typical man off the street isn’t anywhere near as good at greyhound racing as one of the pros. Though he’s even further from horse racing, and for falconing, forget about it. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/97 "2020-05-30T15:11:12Z")
Boxing — remember Mike Tyson’s early fights in the 1980s? He destroyed other fighters, with several 1st round knockouts in under a minute. 1985-04-10, 52 seconds, Trent Singleton — [1985-04-10 Mike Tyson Trent Singleton. - YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=K4QQOUsaXnY) 1985-06-20, 39 seconds, Ricardo Spain — [Mike Tyson v Ricardo Spain [FULL FIGHT] - YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eG65V9dJd50) 1985-09-05, 39 seconds, Michael Johnson — [Tyson vs Johnson - 1st Round Knockout - YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jGYIw_anTBM) 1985-10-25, 37 seconds, Robert Colay — [09.Mike Tyson - Robert Colay - YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ix_-kvU8ZRc) 1985-11-01, 54 seconds, Sterling Benjamin — [Mike Tyson vs Sterling Benjamin fastest KO - YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DYZ2DV4kizU) 1985-12-27, 50 seconds, Mark Young — [14.Mike Tyson - Mark Young - YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4JpazC66ASs) 1986-07-26, 30 seconds, Marvis Frazier — [Tyson vs Frazier - 1st Round Knockout - YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc2phQYGq2g) The average Joe off the street probably wouldn’t last 5 seconds against Tyson, or any professional boxer. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/98 "2020-05-31T09:22:11Z")
Professional wrestling American football because there are so many specialized positions NHL hockey since equipment managers can be recruited as emergency goalies ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/99 "2020-05-31T13:24:09Z")
Are those examples of least or greatest disparity? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223/100 "2020-05-31T13:37:58Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > NHL hockey since equipment managers can be recruited as emergency goalies That guy, David Ayers, actually runs a goaltending school. He may not have played in the NHL before his big moment but he wasn’t exactly a noob either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-is-there-the-least-greatest-disparity-between-a-professional-and-an-average-layman/854223.md?page=6)