# There is no manlier sport... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 5, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748 "2005-04-05T00:21:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Burnt\_Sugar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee59a6/32.png) [@Burnt\_Sugar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burnt_Sugar)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/41 "2005-04-06T23:45:43Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Not me for a start. OTOH, put any of 'em against me in the front row of a scrum, and they’d be leaving the field in a wheelbarrow if I was trying. Umm, these are little girls, I’d be worried if you _couldn’t_. Besides, being in the front row of a scrum is not the definition of toughness/manliness. > [@Malacandra](#): > > And even in a not-too-serious club game I used to invariably pick up bruises that took a week to fade, and I bet they don’t. 😛 Yeah, because no one could get bruises practicing flips\* on 4 inch wide pieces of wood over a metre off the ground. I guess that makes another point too - gymnasts are really mentally tough - imagine how scary that would be! > [@Malacandra](#): > > Women’s gymnastics isn’t for manly men. But then it doesn’t seem to be for womanly women either, judging by what I see on TV. I mean, a sport that requires its participants to look like 8yo girls on steroids… :dubious: I think you forget there is men’s gymnastics - or is that not for manly men either? \*not a term we generally use, but one laymen recognise. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/42 "2005-04-07T00:17:19Z")
A manly sport is one in which men actively interact with men. Gymnastics is out, for in it men do not interact with men. Boxing is out because in it only one man interacts with one other man. Baseball is out because although men interact with men, it lacks activity. Same goes for North American football. Sorry, but although possibly the most extreme sport, ferret legging does not qualify because it only involves a ferret chewing on a man’s balls, rather than men interacting with men. That leaves us with manly man sports such as football/soccer, ice hockey, hurling, and rugby. Football/soccer has people who fall down and play dead or injured or whatever just to try to get the ref to penalize an opponent, so that sport is off the list. Pads are used in ice hockey, so it is off the list. Hurling uses weapons, so it is off the list, not because it is not manly, but instead because it is better characterized as armed warfare than a sport. That leaves us with rugby, the manliest sport of all. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/43 "2005-04-07T08:26:59Z")
> [@Burnt Sugar](#): > > Well, I am strongly biased, but gymnasts have a huge weight to strength ratio, and they have to be really tough. Most of my girls (average age about 8) can do over 60 straight-body pushups without stopping. In warmup they have to sit in splits (or over splits) for over 10 minutes. Their training session is 3.5 hours long. They’re pretty tough! > > How many of you manly men can do over 60 pushups without stopping?! I can. I still wouldn’t venture on a rugby pitch though, since my little self would probably be crushed like a tin can. OTOH, my BF plays rugby with a majority-gay team. They look and sound butch enough on the pitch, but it’s hard to see them as manly when you see them camping it up in a club after the game. Them boys is flaming! ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/44 "2005-04-07T08:42:28Z")
> [@Burnt Sugar](#): > > stuff about gymnastics. It’s different strokes and all that. Most gymnastics AFAIK doesn’t involve entering the arena in the sure and certain knowledge that some very large guys are going to be flinging their enormous bulk at you very hard, not with intent to injure you but with the understanding that any lumps and bumps you pick up are all to the good from their point of view, and in my case, with the knowledge that maybe every other minute my neck and shoulders are (were, anyway) going to be the pivot point for about 1700 pounds of bone and muscle pushing against another 1700 pounds going the other way. Male gymnasts have an amazing musculature, as do ballerinos, but we _were_ talking about girl gymnasts, yanno. Besides, most of the guys look gay to me - although boy-humping as a cultural standard didn’t stop, say, the Spartans from being the kind of men you wouldn’t want to mess with, I mean, they reshowed “The 300 Spartans” on BBC over Easter. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/45 "2005-04-07T08:43:38Z")
> [@Jervoise](#): > > I can. I still wouldn’t venture on a rugby pitch though, since my little self would probably be crushed like a tin can. > > OTOH, my BF plays rugby with a majority-gay team. They look and sound butch enough on the pitch, but it’s hard to see them as manly when you see them camping it up in a club after the game. Them boys is flaming! Is this where we say something about “queering the pitch”? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/46 "2005-04-07T11:13:30Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Male gymnasts have an amazing musculature, as do ballerinos, but we _were_ talking about girl gymnasts, yanno. Besides, most of the guys look gay to me - although boy-humping as a cultural standard didn’t stop, say, the Spartans from being the kind of men you wouldn’t want to mess with, I mean, they reshowed “The 300 Spartans” on BBC over Easter. What the hell’s looking gay got to do with it? You’re comparing gymnastics to a sport where guys spend 80 minutes hugging each other before they retire to a communal shower. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/47 "2005-04-07T11:50:07Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > What the hell’s looking gay got to do with it? You’re comparing gymnastics to a sport where guys spend 80 minutes hugging each other before they retire to a communal shower. If you think that’s “hugging” then I am officially worried about your love life. :eek: As for the communal shower, that’s sexual in nature only if synchronised farting counts as foreplay. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/48 "2005-04-07T12:00:38Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Isn’t Rugby League the form of the game that involves proctologic exams in mid-play? Hopoate’s a nutter. He’s been dropped by the Tigers recently after one too many fights, which has pretty much ended his career, as he’s getting on a bit and has had a rep as a dangerous loony for years, so no other club’s going to pick up his contract. He’s fairly atypical - apart from dangerous play like head-high and spear tackles, most players settle for just punching each other amicably in the face. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/49 "2005-04-07T12:25:10Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Pads are used in ice hockey, so it is off the list. There are pads in hockey, but the puck can fly at 100+ miles an hour, knock a man unconcious through his pads, shatter a goalies hand through a glove, shatter pretty much any exposed bone it comes in contact with, and knock every tooth out of your mouth. Oh yeah, even the non goalies will dive in front of a puck to stop the thing. You have fun with your little ball. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/50 "2005-04-07T13:20:38Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > Hopoate’s a nutter. He’s been dropped by the Tigers recently after one too many fights, which has pretty much ended his career, as he’s getting on a bit and has had a rep as a dangerous loony for years, so no other club’s going to pick up his contract. He’s fairly atypical - apart from dangerous play like head-high and spear tackles, most players settle for just punching each other amicably in the face. Translator’s note: Being considered a dangerous loony by other RL players is like being considered flat by other carpets. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/51 "2005-04-08T00:30:00Z")
I’ve played hockey as well. Getting crushed against the boards is no fun, and the puck can sting pretty harshly. But rugby is still tougher because you are wearing pads in hockey and they do make a difference, and you have time to recuperate during line changes. Rugby is two 45 minute halves with a 5 minute halftime, not much time to rest. I was once infamous in our league for being the guy that would use halftime to smoke a cigarette. Boy I was young and stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Scarface\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Scarface\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarface_Z)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/52 "2005-04-08T02:39:36Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Hurling uses weapons, so it is off the list, not because it is not manly, but instead because it is better characterized as armed warfare than a sport. Pfft, sounds like an unfair classification to me. Using tools is what separates the manly sports from the beastly sports. Does this rule out all the knife throwing tournaments I played in as a kid as well? Where the object was to throw the knife as close as you could to a person without killing them. Where I had a knife thrown through my foot, and also one lodged in my knee. And what about hunting people? Isn’t that still the most dangerous game? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/53 "2005-04-08T08:45:55Z")
I once read about an Arapaho sport (possibly other Native Americans went in for it also) that translated as “bear smacking”, and that is exactly what it was. It involved a lot of woodscrafty stalking, a swift open-handed slap, and a minute or two of running like buggery. That’s slightly more excitement than I think I’d want. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/54 "2005-04-08T12:01:17Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Translator’s note: Being considered a dangerous loony by other RL players is like being considered flat by other carpets. 😃 Being considered a dangerous loony by other League players is grounds for being sedated, muzzled, chained to a wall and then bricked up in a tiny cell. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/55 "2005-04-08T12:28:51Z")
> [@August West](#): > > I’ve played hockey as well. Getting crushed against the boards is no fun, and the puck can sting pretty harshly. But rugby is still tougher because you are wearing pads in hockey and they do make a difference, and you have time to recuperate during line changes. Rugby is two 45 minute halves with a 5 minute halftime, not much time to rest. > > I was once infamous in our league for being the guy that would use halftime to smoke a cigarette. Boy I was young and stupid. I play iron man street hockey. No line changes. No pads. Being run down the boards by someone twice your sze is much less than fun, and we have a guy who smokes while he plays. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/56 "2005-04-09T01:51:04Z")
OK, that wins. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/57 "2005-04-09T02:30:55Z")
I’ll agree with **Duffer** that boxing is a manly sport. George Carlin used to do a routine about it. Two guys pounding each other senseless with the possibility of serious injury and/or death. That sure takes guts, strength and stamina. And what are they fighting over ? A purse !!! And the victor, the obviously tougher of the 2 gets … the bigger purse !!! But seriously I think boxing does take guts. I don’t think anyone has mentioned auto racing yet - so I will. If nothing else, boxing and auto racing can be fatal. Any rugby deaths reported? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/58 "2005-04-09T03:29:15Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > Oh yeah, even the non goalies will dive in front of a puck to stop the thing. Now that brings back memories. Jacques Plante wearing a mask in the Leaf’s goal, but not having a lot to do thanks to Bobby Baun, kneeling down and blocking slap shots with is face. Would have made a good rugby player. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/59 "2005-04-09T03:33:09Z")
Auto Racing? Bunch of posers in cars built to be almost impossible to die in no matter how spectacular the crash, driving around in circles? Not a chance. _Maybe_ off road racing, but not that NASCAR crap. ---
**Author:** ![SlowMindThinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@SlowMindThinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlowMindThinking)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/60 "2005-04-09T18:19:30Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > A manly sport is one in which men actively interact with men. > > Gymnastics is out, for in it men do not interact with men. > > Boxing is out because in it only one man interacts with one other man. > > Baseball is out because although men interact with men, it lacks activity. Same goes for North American football. > > Sorry, but although possibly the most extreme sport, ferret legging does not qualify because it only involves a ferret chewing on a man’s balls, rather than men interacting with men. > > That leaves us with manly man sports such as football/soccer, ice hockey, hurling, and rugby. > > Football/soccer has people who fall down and play dead or injured or whatever just to try to get the ref to penalize an opponent, so that sport is off the list. > > Pads are used in ice hockey, so it is off the list. > > Hurling uses weapons, so it is off the list, not because it is not manly, but instead because it is better characterized as armed warfare than a sport. > > That leaves us with rugby, the manliest sport of all. I’m an American who got kicked out of a rugby match because of cut on my scalp. (I don’t know if it is fear of AIDS or what, it didn’t hurt.) And, of course, I’ve played American football, and even a little hockey. (If pads bother you, play street hockey. No pads, and pavement hurts more than ice.) I don’t know the which of the sports is the most manly to play. But I’ll tell you which one is the most manly spectator sport. Belly dancing. See, they had this class start at my gym. The class consisted of a few hotties, and nobody else. Oddly, every guy in the gym was down at the end where you could see in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748.md?page=2)