Yet Another Cycling Forum

Off Topic => The Pub => The Sporting Life => Topic started by: Wowbagger on 24 June, 2019, 05:01:18 pm

Title: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Wowbagger on 24 June, 2019, 05:01:18 pm
I have just learned about Fierljeppen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP32iWoqjnQ
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Kim on 24 June, 2019, 05:04:18 pm
Football, obviously.

Fierljeppen looks much more fun.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: caerau on 24 June, 2019, 05:06:40 pm
I have always had a soft spot for Kabaddi, reminds me so much of Bulldog or other tig variants at school  :-D
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: spesh on 24 June, 2019, 05:25:51 pm
Football, obviously.

There is a theory which states that if ever anyone manages to fully understand the Offside Rule, our universe will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Mr Larrington on 24 June, 2019, 06:21:12 pm
And there is another theory which states that this has already happened, hence the offside rules of Rugby.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: spesh on 24 June, 2019, 06:27:34 pm
Chess boxing is a tad more explicable - a French-Yugoslav artist/writer dreamt it up for one of his comic books, and then a Dutch performance artist made it an actual thing...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_boxing#History

Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Salvatore on 24 June, 2019, 06:47:26 pm
Although many nations have their own wife-carrying championships, it comes as no surprise to me, having visited the country several times, that the sport originated in Finland, where the annual world championships (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq68TcAxMS4) are held. Wacky bunch, the Finns.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Wobbly John on 24 June, 2019, 07:08:28 pm
Jiskefet - English Sports  (https://youtu.be/E_6d3JBBo4s) :demon:
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: caerau on 24 June, 2019, 08:24:12 pm
Another favourite of mine was seen on Eurosport back in the days of the mid 90s when it just showed utter guff because it was clearly not allowed to show 'proper sports' back then - it was as a result sometimes hilarious.


So... football... but with a twist and very appropriate for here..... on bicycles.  :-D   And not just any bicycles, properly specifically designed  ones so that it was mostly done as wheelies (riders sat almost behind the back wheel) so they could dribble the ball with the front wheel.  Awesome stuff it was  :-D
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: caerau on 24 June, 2019, 08:47:53 pm
OOh ooh, here it is on youtube... :thumbsup:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfTM1mMce40
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Andrij on 24 June, 2019, 08:58:59 pm
Cricket.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: caerau on 24 June, 2019, 09:05:30 pm
bConkers?  :-D
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: T42 on 25 June, 2019, 08:24:02 am
So... football... but with a twist and very appropriate for here..... on bicycles.  :-D   And not just any bicycles, properly specifically designed  ones so that it was mostly done as wheelies (riders sat almost behind the back wheel) so they could dribble the ball with the front wheel.  Awesome stuff it was  :-D

A friend of mine played at international level.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Nuncio on 25 June, 2019, 01:15:06 pm
Jiskefet - English Sports  (https://youtu.be/E_6d3JBBo4s) :demon:
I go to the trouble of searching in YouTube for 'Silly English Sport foreign commentary' to find Jiskefet, only to find you got there before me.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 25 June, 2019, 01:21:22 pm
So... football... but with a twist and very appropriate for here..... on bicycles.  :-D   And not just any bicycles, properly specifically designed  ones so that it was mostly done as wheelies (riders sat almost behind the back wheel) so they could dribble the ball with the front wheel.  Awesome stuff it was  :-D

A friend of mine played at international level.
It is UCI recognized. Which doesn't stop it being silly, obviously.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 25 June, 2019, 01:22:05 pm
I have always had a soft spot for Kabaddi, reminds me so much of Bulldog or other tig variants at school  :-D
They've been doing kabaddi in PE at my son's school.  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Greenbank on 26 June, 2019, 11:51:11 am
Calcio Fiorentino

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksJtH2CCCUY
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Ben T on 26 June, 2019, 01:38:10 pm
Roller derby, a sport which the main reason blokes don't play it seems to be that it would be too dangerous.

Having played it, I reckon badminton's also pretty daft.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: essexian on 26 June, 2019, 01:53:44 pm

Having played it, I reckon badminton's also pretty daft.

I had a badminton partner taken to A&E once when my racket caught them a nasty one on the side of the head.  :facepalm:

The most bonkers sport at the moment. Association Football and the new Handball rule! MADNESS which will lead to riots/refs being attacked.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Kim on 26 June, 2019, 01:57:30 pm
Badmington's for people who are too uncoordinated to hit tennis balls.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Greenbank on 26 June, 2019, 02:08:47 pm
Badmington's for people who are too uncoordinated to hit tennis balls.

Tennis is for people who aren't fast/nimble/supple enough to play badminton.

[EDIT] I've split open an eyebrow and cracked a couple of ribs playing badminton. When I helped run the badminton club at University we had a couple of ambulances called for a broken wrist and a broken ankle.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Ben T on 26 June, 2019, 02:15:27 pm
Real tennis is pretty mental - see if you can understand the rules: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_tennis
I can't make out whether it has to bounce off the wall in every shot but in some of the youtube videos of it interestingly they seem to have a fairly 'slicey' action rather than trying to put top spin on it like in lawn tennis.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: spesh on 26 June, 2019, 02:17:13 pm
Football, obviously.

There is a theory which states that if ever anyone manages to fully understand the Offside Rule, our universe will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
And there is another theory which states that this has already happened, hence the offside rules of Rugby.

That, or this:

The most bonkers sport at the moment. Association Football and the new Handball rule! MADNESS which will lead to riots/refs being attacked.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: DuncanM on 26 June, 2019, 03:59:55 pm
Pelota is pretty strange. Like squash, but with an enormous court and no racquet.
However, I vote for lacrosse. As far as I can tell, you put a net on the end of a stick, and then just whack anything that moves with it. :)
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Kim on 26 June, 2019, 04:01:52 pm
However, I vote for lacrosse. As far as I can tell, you put a net on the end of a stick, and then just whack anything that moves with it. :)

I think the idea is to give the posh girls something slightly less lethal to bully you with than a hockey stick.  It failed.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 26 June, 2019, 04:06:59 pm
Lacrosse is rumoured to have originally been played with a scalped head serving as a ball. Which reminds me, there is a game played in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, etc, in which players on horseback have to grab a dead goat off each other.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: andrew_s on 26 June, 2019, 11:30:03 pm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzkashi

Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Pingu on 27 June, 2019, 12:51:08 am
Hockey 'played' by teeenaged girls.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Wowbagger on 27 June, 2019, 09:07:29 am
Pelota is pretty strange. Like squash, but with an enormous court and no racquet.
However, I vote for lacrosse. As far as I can tell, you put a net on the end of a stick, and then just whack anything that moves with it. :)

I recall, many moons ago, a definition of football as "If it moves, kick it. If it doesn't move, kick it until it does." I am sorry that I cannot remember who it was who was responsible for that little gem.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Greenbank on 27 June, 2019, 10:09:40 am
Google says Phil Woosnam.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: spesh on 27 June, 2019, 11:27:34 am
Pelota is pretty strange. Like squash, but with an enormous court and no racquet.
However, I vote for lacrosse. As far as I can tell, you put a net on the end of a stick, and then just whack anything that moves with it. :)

I recall, many moons ago, a definition of football as "If it moves, kick it. If it doesn't move, kick it until it does." I am sorry that I cannot remember who it was who was responsible for that little gem.

That sounds rather like what the Welsh rugby union captain Watcyn Thomas was alleged to have said before the 1933 match with England:

'If you see a dark object on the ground, kick it, it might be the ball; or tread on it, and if it squeals, say "Sorry, old chap" and carry on.'
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Torslanda on 31 October, 2019, 07:54:55 pm
What about THIS (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORYNsVca608)?
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Wowbagger on 31 October, 2019, 10:20:16 pm
That's just ridiculous. I mean, how can you tell which team to support when they both wear red?
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Nuncio on 01 November, 2019, 07:38:33 am
Helmet colour, obvs.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 01 November, 2019, 07:58:52 am
That's just ridiculous. I mean, how can you tell which team to support when they both wear red?
The Blues!

I was rather disappointed/surprised to discover the bath was just water. Had expected the losing player to dissolve in a vat of acid.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Vince on 01 November, 2019, 08:48:23 am
Bog snorkelling
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Torslanda on 01 November, 2019, 09:50:37 am
Wife carrying (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVV9pd5BYKg)? Mind you, it's dark 6 months of the year so you need to make allowances
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: bludger on 01 November, 2019, 10:06:37 am
Once a year Battle of the Nations comes on and I tune in. It's a hoot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A4-TIvKCNw
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 01 November, 2019, 02:56:13 pm
Once a year Battle of the Nations comes on and I tune in. It's a hoot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A4-TIvKCNw
Larp, I'm told.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: andrew_s on 01 November, 2019, 08:17:47 pm
The bank holiday cheese chasing race (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtvG9XDtjv4)
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Kim on 01 November, 2019, 08:20:28 pm
Hang on, why has nobody mentioned cyclocross?
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Steph on 02 November, 2019, 05:20:32 pm
Speaking as a former extreme-grade rock-climber, and having known participants in this event, I can certify that they are clinically insane.

My worst nightmare.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zgxf3W0aQo
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: rr on 02 November, 2019, 05:31:20 pm
Speaking as a former extreme-grade rock-climber, and having known participants in this event, I can certify that they are clinically insane.

My worst nightmare.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zgxf3W0aQo
Speaking as someone who did new extremes on North Devon culm, I agree - utterly bonkers.

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Steph on 02 November, 2019, 06:08:16 pm
 ;D
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Efrogwr on 03 November, 2019, 10:56:45 am
Speaking as a former extreme-grade rock-climber, and having known participants in this event, I can certify that they are clinically insane.

My worst nightmare.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zgxf3W0aQo
Speaking as someone who did new extremes on North Devon culm, I agree - utterly bonkers.

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

Ithought of that, too. It makes BASE jumping look sensible.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Steph on 03 November, 2019, 11:02:47 am
There's always Mick Fowler, chalk, mud and ice tools...
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Efrogwr on 03 November, 2019, 11:26:49 am
There's always Mick Fowler, chalk, mud and ice tools...

Christ, I'd forgotten him!

In the eighties he And Victor Saunders were threatened with arrest when a copper saw them climbing a GBFO icicle that extended from the roof of St Pancras station to the street.

Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Efrogwr on 03 November, 2019, 11:29:07 am
Cave diving is still utterly bonkers, thobut.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Mr Larrington on 03 November, 2019, 01:13:54 pm
And yet the utterly unbonkers TV's Nice C Boardman is into cave diving.

(Scratches head)
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: rr on 03 November, 2019, 01:45:42 pm
There's always Mick Fowler, chalk, mud and ice tools...
Tenous claim to fame: the then not yet Mrs R and I shared a table in the Hayfield cafe with Mr Fowler and family.
And don't forget the joys to Henna cliff, the culm serac field, that he developed XS 5b.

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Steph on 03 November, 2019, 03:55:13 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NywlLx491MA
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Wowbagger on 23 November, 2019, 06:34:25 pm
And yet the utterly unbonkers TV's Nice C Boardman is into cave diving.

(Scratches head)

Does he wear a helmet?
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Mr Larrington on 24 November, 2019, 12:27:27 pm
I expect he does since they are useful for attaching torches to, and for protecting the noggin from the kind of low-speed knocks you tend to get when umop-ap!sdn in a narrow pitch-dark hole full of ice-cold water.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Salvatore on 05 December, 2019, 09:36:12 pm
Competitive high-speed telegraphy. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csym79) No spectators allowed.

The BBC says it died out with the end of the cold war, but according to this wikipedia article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_telegraphy#IARU_world_records) it's still going strong. Belarus were the 2016 world champions.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: ElyDave on 11 December, 2019, 03:23:14 pm
competetive pipe smoking anyone?

https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-pipe-smoking-contest-1963-online (https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-pipe-smoking-contest-1963-online)
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: T42 on 11 December, 2019, 03:55:15 pm
Not only the cancer risk from the tobacco but also of lip cancer from the clay churchwardens. Yetch.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: rogerzilla on 15 December, 2019, 08:07:41 pm
Tractor pulling.  Chevy big block V8s or ex-Soviet helicopter turbines, and lots of them.

https://youtu.be/MOTGOGLHLHs
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 15 December, 2019, 08:25:10 pm
I'm sure that one makes sense in the American Mid-West, given sufficient beer and pizzas. Other than that, what exactly is going on? Maybe it needs fireworks.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: rogerzilla on 15 December, 2019, 09:02:31 pm
The Danes are very keen on it.  It's basically drag racing but with more power, trading speed for torque.  As much power as a main line electric railway locomotive.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Mr Larrington on 15 December, 2019, 09:10:13 pm
Unlimited Hydroplane racing is pretty bonkers.  Flimsy boat + T58 gas turbine out of a Huey helichopter = 200+ mph on water and an almost cast-iron certainty of the driver being killed utterly to DETH if it goes umop-ap!sdn.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Kim on 15 December, 2019, 11:49:03 pm
I'm sure that one makes sense in the American Mid-West, given sufficient beer and pizzas. Other than that, what exactly is going on? Maybe it needs fireworks.

I looked this up last time it came up: The 'sled' vehicle behind the tractor has a bulldozer style blade on the front, and a large mass that can move from front to back.  This is driven by the wheels, so as it moves along the track, the weight shifts forward, causing the blade to progressively dig further into the ground.  Therefore the distance the tractor pulls the sled down the track is an indication of how much pulling power it has.

No doubt at some point a bunch of hipsters from California will come along with a contraption based on a lead-acid submarine battery and the drivetrain from a several of crashed Teslas, win outright, and be hounded across state lines with pitchforks and pump-action shotguns for being homosexual commie vegetarians.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Jaded on 16 December, 2019, 12:26:27 am
Tractor pulling.  Chevy big block V8s or ex-Soviet helicopter turbines, and lots of them.

https://youtu.be/MOTGOGLHLHs

How long before those are on the school run from Cheyne Walk?
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: mattc on 27 December, 2019, 09:44:51 am
Unlimited Hydroplane racing is pretty bonkers.  Flimsy boat + T58 gas turbine out of a Huey helichopter = 200+ mph on water and an almost cast-iron certainty of the driver being killed utterly to DETH if it goes umop-ap!sdn.

There's been a pedal-powered hydrofoil race video-clip all over Facebook this month, but I can't find it off-FB now :(

Not properly "bonkers", but a bit different and very impressive in its own way  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: LittleWheelsandBig on 27 December, 2019, 10:30:35 am
https://youtu.be/RvE6Xd6tgPA might be it.

Link from http://flyingfishhydrofoil.com/
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Mr Larrington on 27 December, 2019, 10:53:13 am
Unlimited Hydroplane racing is pretty bonkers.  Flimsy boat + T58 gas turbine out of a Huey helichopter = 200+ mph on water and an almost cast-iron certainty of the driver being killed utterly to DETH if it goes umop-ap!sdn.

There's been a pedal-powered hydrofoil race video-clip all over Facebook this month, but I can't find it off-FB now :(

Not properly "bonkers", but a bit different and very impressive in its own way  :thumbsup:

Ar, saw that last week.  Something of a contrast with that farce with TV's Guy Martin a few years back.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: pcolbeck on 14 January, 2020, 05:13:00 pm
Motorbike road racing (e.g North West 200 or the Isle of Man TT) is completely bonkers. Over 200mph between dry stone walls on roads complete with manhole covers and lampposts etc.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: andrew_s on 17 January, 2020, 10:15:18 pm
This is the most bonkers sport I've come across
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_solo_climbing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leCAy1v1fnI
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: sg37409 on 27 January, 2020, 12:18:03 pm
A Swedish pal said he used to play underwater rugby !  Hadn't heard of it, he said its "quite" popular in Scandinavia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_rugby
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Legs on 31 January, 2020, 09:16:18 am
I give you sidecar motocross (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk05VuvqW5w).
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 31 January, 2020, 02:53:20 pm
Dunno about that, I reckon road sidecar racing looks more bonkers or at least more scary for the copilot.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Steph on 01 February, 2020, 04:34:22 pm
This is the most bonkers sport I've come across
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_solo_climbing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leCAy1v1fnI

I have done quite a lot of that, on routes up to 300 feet in length. The sane climbers tend to drop quite a few grades, though, when unroped…

That said, my hardest ever lead was Sundowner at Froggatt, E2 5a, and that is really a solo. No gear placements on the line.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: ElyDave on 02 February, 2020, 06:08:56 am
Dunno about that, I reckon road sidecar racing looks more bonkers or at least more scary for the copilot.

I remember flicking the TV onto coverage of a sidecar racing round the TT course. The driver just got a bit too close to the right going round a corner with the second man hanging out. He caught himself on a set of garden railings and was unseated. The rider carried on, the second guy got up and walked off shaking his head.

Utterly bonkers
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: pcolbeck on 27 February, 2020, 01:54:48 pm
Dunno about that, I reckon road sidecar racing looks more bonkers or at least more scary for the copilot.
I remember flicking the TV onto coverage of a sidecar racing round the TT course. The driver just got a bit too close to the right going round a corner with the second man hanging out. He caught himself on a set of garden railings and was unseated. The rider carried on, the second guy got up and walked off shaking his head.

A few years ago the trainer on an IT course I was on was a ex F1 sidecar driver (had been on TV when they used to show it alongside the motorbike GPs - no money in sidecars though hence his new career). He told me that they used to have to use a different outfit for the TT as the ones designed for racetracks had too long a wheelbase and grounded on the hump back bridges on the TT course. And yes he was a nutter.
I don't think they allow F1 class sidecars at the TT any more, they are too fast and scary even for the TT barmpots.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Mr Larrington on 27 February, 2020, 02:45:01 pm
Yep, the current TT sidecar outfits are 600cc F2 jobs, hence the frequent engine failures from having the nuts thrashed off them.
Title: Re: Which is the most bonkers sport?
Post by: Asterix, the former Gaul. on 07 May, 2020, 04:11:30 am
The Eton Wall Game.