The other day, a friend of mine, CBS Sports college football and golf writer Robby Kalland, and I were discussing what conceivably makes something a sport. We’ve had this discussion before on the site, and have enlisted help to make that call in other situations.
But Robby brought up a good point: We know what most sports are, but whenever you are in doubt, ask yourself two questions: Can you compete in this? And is there the possibility of severe injury and/or death incorporated in the competition?
Which brings us to bear slapping. Yes, bear slapping. While this man with a GoPro strapped to his head isn’t currently competing in the endeavor, I believe this can be made into a sport pretty easily. You go full Olympics gymnastics-style on the judging. Degree of difficulty, force of the slap, size of the bear, number of slaps (? hey, maybe), number of bears, trash talking, and other factors can all be incorporated into the decision.
Obviously, the bear will be safe and we will take care of it because bears are awesome and are basically just the best version of our selves considering they are extremely strong, play around, goof off, get irrationally angry over things they shouldn’t, and love hibernating in a cave for a few months at a time.
All I’m saying is if we can get arm wrestling on ESPN, a thing I enjoy greatly, it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility that we can get bear slapping down the road. So props to Brad Josephs for capturing such a cool moment. Maybe, just maybe, you’re starting a revolution.
