Even less of a fan of Charles Barkley...

I watched something last night that I wouldn’t typically have watched…except I’m in a hotel with nothing else to do. It was a brief interview with Charles Barkley, and he was asked about what constitutes a sport. To be fair…the interviewer didn’t use the word constitute…probably because he wouldn’t have been able to understand it. He began spouting off different sports that he didn’t think counted as actual “sports.” In this list was poker, Nascar, The Tour de France, and Swimming. Ok…I can kind of understand the first 2, but as a triathlete…I was quite offended about the last 2.

His comment that was that “Lance Armstrong is in really good shape…but all he does is ride a bike.”

I, personally, would like to see Mr. Barkley on a bike…and then see how long he’s able to stay on it before he starts crying because it’s too f’ing hard.

As someone that has recently had to learn how to do 2 of the 3 disciplines of a triathlon…I can tell you…it’s no walk in the park. One of the “jokes” that I have heard about triathlon is that the reason the bike leg is so long is because we spend so much money and time getting our bikes to fit properly, we have to make it worth it. This might not have been the original reason…but I can completely see that this is true. We spend countless hours trying to get the right fit, making minute adjustments that end up making a world of difference when you spend hours on your bike.

I have no doubt about his ability to play basketball. I don’t question that at all. But to question the ability of any endurance athlete is preposterous. There are only certain people in the world that have the mental capacity to become an endurance athlete. Anyone in the world could physically do it, but it’s the mental block that most people cannot overcome.

In my (somewhat biased) opinion…endurance athletes are the toughest athletes in the world. Many of them are competetive…but normally more with themselves than anyone else they are racing against. We do things that many people consider crazy, causing our friends to threaten checking us into an insane asylum. But it’s something that we do because we love it.

This is my sport. And I challenge anyone who thinks that it isn’t a sport to give it a try. See how long you last. But don’t call me when you quit.