Sports names and phrases

[Roland Hearn]

When I watch sports I have noticed that most of the sports that I am interested in and some that I have only casually observed there are naming phrases that each has internationally adopted and become known as. So I was wondering about other sports that I haven't yet heard such terms for. Here are the ones that come to mind starting with the one we are hearing all the time at the moment:

Soccer (or football to the purist) - The Beautiful Game
Rugby Union - The game played in heaven
Rugby League - The greatest game of all
Horse Racing - The sport of kings
Cricket - The gentleman's game

I was trying to think of one for Aussie Rules but fans of that sport think it is the only game that is played anywhere so they may not have coined one.

So I was wondering if anyone can think of any others; not really nicknames but phrases that are used so generally that if a person uses that phrase you know exactly what they are talking about.

[Shea Zellweger]

Baseball is "America's Passtime (or game)."

[David Graham]

For "Aussie Rules" how about the phrase: "The high flyer's game"; dispelling the myth that "white men can't jump":); or if that doesn't "fly"..... just "aerial ping pong".:smilies1722:

[Gina Stevenson]

If horse racing is "the sport of kings," what would polo be?

[Roland Hearn]

For "Aussie Rules" how about the phrase: "The high flyer's game"; dispelling the myth that "white men can't jump":); or if that doesn't "fly"..... just "aerial ping pong".:smilies1722:

Aerial ping pong I think is a pejorative term that we east coasters use, I'm not sure too many Aussie Rules fans call it that :-). I'm not trying to make up new ones it just occurred to me the other day in listening to a news bulletin, when I heard a couple of these phrases used instead of the name of the game, that it would be interesting to find out if it was true of most sports.

[Roland Hearn]

If horse racing is "the sport of kings," what would polo be?

- difficult to understand, like ice hockey.

[Shea Zellweger]

If horse racing is "the sport of kings," what would polo be?

Croquet for bored rich people.

[Gina Stevenson]

If horse racing is "the sport of kings," what would polo be?


- difficult to understand, like ice hockey.

Well, what I meant was that it involves horses, too, like the horse racing. But, then Shea came up with a good answer ... forgot that polo involves hitting things with mallets while riding those horses! Thanks for the reminder, Shea, of what it even is ... why I didn't remember that, tho' the name came to mind, I dunno. ;)

And then there's golf ... taking a walk while chasing a little white ball around. ;)

[Jim Poteet]

Baseball is "America's Passtime (or game)."

Don't you mean "America's Past Time?"

[Billie Goodson]

Is Cricket really a sport or is it just something to do between rounds in the pub?

Recently in the UK, someone spent a good deal of time explaining Cricket to me and a friend. This was mainly because someone used the phrase "close of play" in a meeting and it sparked the entire conversation later about cricket. Pretty fascinating game but still not sure if I could take one of the five day matches. The only thing worse than those would have to be the NBA finals.

[Roland Hearn]

Well Billie five day cricket is an acquired taste but once acquired there is simply nothing that compares. The game evolves like no other can. To cater for different tastes and to introduce it around the world you can now finish an entire game of cricket in three hours. This form of the game is now a multi-billion dollar industry. Cricket ranks only behind soccer as the world's most popular sport.

[Roland Hearn]

Well, what I meant was that it involves horses, too, like the horse racing. But, then Shea came up with a good answer ... forgot that polo involves hitting things with mallets while riding those horses! Thanks for the reminder, Shea, of what it even is ... why I didn't remember that, tho' the name came to mind, I dunno. ;)

And then there's golf ... taking a walk while chasing a little white ball around. ;)

You did hear about the Irish water polo team though didn't you? They kept drowning their horses.

[Billie Goodson]

Well Billie five day cricket is an acquired taste but once acquired there is simply nothing that compares.

I have heard the same thing about beer... I just don't know if I am willing to go to the trouble to "acquire" the taste. Hey, I'm an American, we can hardly stand the wait between the campaign kickoff and inauguration, patience may be a virtue, but we don't have it.


The game evolves like no other can. To cater for different tastes and to introduce it around the world you can now finish an entire game of cricket in three hours. This form of the game is now a multi-billion dollar industry. Cricket ranks only behind soccer as the world's most popular sport.

I actually would probably really enjoy a match if I went. I sat in a restaurant and watched about 30 minutes a few weeks ago. Amazing what you can find to do when you are in a strange place and eating alone. And that was before someone explained the basics to me. All I knew then was there was a wicket and the guy running toward the other play in a throwing motion that looked really sissy was "bowling". Now I understand why his motion looks that way at least. And that there are a lot of terms we stole for our sports.

[Roland Hearn]

And to be able to bowl that ball at over 90 miles an hour without bending your elbow takes a lot of skill. I've talked with Shea a few times about watching a game of cricket some day together. Maybe we could have a Naznet cricket watching meeting, I know Hans would enjoy it ;-). The new form of cricket will come to the US, primarily for the growing sub continent population but once there I think a lot of people will begin to enjoy it. As a note of trivia the very first international cricket match was actually between the US and Canada.

[Gina Stevenson]

You did hear about the Irish water polo team though didn't you? They kept drowning their horses.

Cute. ;) That's right ... there is water polo. How do they play that!? :smilies0417::smilies0275:

[Roland Hearn]

Cute. ;) That's right ... there is water polo. How do they play that!? :smilies0417::smilies0275:

Well not with horses I can guarantee. Actually it is played with a ball that floats well and actually looks like soccer in the water except people throw the ball rather than kick it, which would be difficult. It therefore is a lot like all of that type of sport, soccer, hockey, other football codes.

[David Troxler]

If horse racing is "the sport of kings," what would polo be?

Thought Chess was the sport of Kings!
Not to mention Queens, Bishops, Knights, Rooks, and Pawns. ;-)

[David Graham]

Is Cricket really a sport or is it just something to do between rounds in the pub?



Actually the "sport" that is renouned for having drinks between "ends" is lawn bowls.

At an elite level in Cricket, I don't think that any player would be "game" to drink during the match breaks. That's not to say that the players don't drink, there have been some "renouned drunks" among cricketers just like in other sports.:smilies0275:

[Gina Stevenson]

Thought Chess was the sport of Kings!
Not to mention Queens, Bishops, Knights, Rooks, and Pawns. ;-)

Aha! Good one ... I like chess, too! ;) [does that mean we're royalty? HA! ;)]