How can I convince my friends that TT is a sport?

GusShnaps said:

Thank you guys for the suggestions haha!
I'll probably just ignore them, but if I really want to prove them wrong, I'm
going to do what you all suggested.

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Why do you feel the need to convince them of anything? What they think is what they think, and you can't control that. Why do you react to what they say? What stops you from being dispassionate about their opinions? Perhaps this says more about your fragile ego than it does about your friends.

All people want acceptance even if consciously you don’t think you do. It’s human nature...psych 101. That includes all of us. So instead of lambasting the guy for his “fragile ego” let’s try to be understanding and simply help.

I think it’s important to spread understanding. People are ignorant of the physical prowess of our sport. Keeping TT a fringe sport and not attempting to open people’s eyes to it is part of the problem.

We need to change the zeitgeist that TT is simply basement ping pong with more training.


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Tell those friends they can jump off the Brooklyn Bridge... inform them it might be fun.

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Der_Echte said:

Tell those friends they can jump off the Brooklyn Bridge... inform them it might be fun.

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Or you can ignore me and do what Der_Echte said. LOL

Point out that the slams of world class players are in excess of 90 miles an hour, and that even those are returned from a mere 15 feet away. Compare that to the leisurely pace of a pitch in baseball, or cricket, or tennis serve, or hockey slapshot.

Or get some new friends?

Don't waste your time thinking about it. They are just that. A waste of time. Rather go train and enjoy the sport.

you don't, ignore them.

Most sports enthusiast in the USA don't understand the nuances of TT due to their experiences with ping pong thus don't consider it a sport, due to the limited media coverage of events.

Just understand their perspective.

IMHO, soccer is a boring sport to watch, due to the large field and little scoring. A lot of people wouldn't agree with me, a different sports culture.

It is fun to see this thread come up again. It has been a few years since the last time someone made a thread with this subject.

There is this: you can show them things that help them understand that table tennis can take athleticism and skill. So many videos including ones already posted would be fine. One video I like for this purpose is this:


Another I like is:


But the ones already posted would be fine too.

However, despite the fact that this sport can be played with an extreme level of skill and athleticism, you can also be in pretty bad shape and still play TT at a very high level:


That is Richard Dewitt playing Adam Hugh. At the time Adam was about 2500. Richard is about 2300 in this video. Despite how badly out of shape Richard is, and despite how little he moves, he still gives a 2500 level player who is in excellent shape a lot of trouble.

So, many people who look at Rich play may think, "that is not a sport."

So, my thoughts on the subject are that TT is both a sport and a game. And it can be played as though it is either one.

Should you show your friends things that help them see the complexity of TT? That is up to you. But it is not hard to show some cool videos. Maybe you show and don't say anything about the reasons you are showing. Let them see or not see.

Nuke Skywalker said:

Or you can ignore me and do what Der_Echte said. LOL

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Option 2 For The Win.

sderyke2002 said:

Point out that the slams of world class players are in excess of 90 miles an hour, and that even those are returned from a mere 15 feet away. Compare that to the leisurely pace of a pitch in baseball, or cricket, or tennis serve, or hockey slapshot.

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Wait a sec: fastball of a good MLB pitcher is ~100 mph, best tennis serves are 150+ mph, and hockey slapshot average speed is 109 mph. Just google the damn things.

If you use this argument, you'll look silly. Don't do that.

pgpg said:

Wait a sec: fastball of a good MLB pitcher is ~100 mph, best tennis serves are 150+ mph, and hockey slapshot average speed is 109 mph. Just google the damn things.

If you use this argument, you'll look silly. Don't do that.

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First make up your mind if you are going to use averages or best speeds since you mixed the two it confuses your point. The average professional tennis serve is around 110 mph not 150 mph (those are out of the ordinary), likewise fastballs are down around 90 mph with 100+ being extremely rare, and though you claim it as an average the number you give for a slap shot is actually slightly above the record for fastest slap shot, the average is down around 80 mph.

I knew all the speeds of those sports AND MY POINT WAS that they are over much greater distances (fastball over 60 feet, tennis serve over 75 feet, hockey slap shots from the blue line over 64 feet) - which I made a specific point of mentioning.

So you need to read the full topic and stop and think. The argument is sound.

Hahaha This is really Awkward.. I Also have face this situation...

You could smash a table tennis ball in your friends' faces. If they say it hurts, it is a sport. q.e.d.