Bob Randisi opines:
<< Hard-boiled sport #1: Boxing
Hard-boiled sport #2: Horse-racing
That's all. >> But don't forget WWF. Stone Cold
Steve Austin! Bob Randisi
ANY sport is HB (well, maybe not tennis). The preparation and
the conditioning that go into staying in shape to be
competitive would probably classify as torture, surely
HB.
Anyway, the discussion seems to be headed into the "what are
the most HB SPECTATOR sports," which strikes me as kind of
silly. There's nothing HB about watching ANYTHING. It's
passive. Voyeurism.
HB characters (PERIOD characters would be a more apt
description) like watching boxing and racing. Or at least did
when those activities were defining of a lifestyle or
character type.
The sport, or ENTERTAINMENT, itself is not hardboiled, except
by osmosis.
"Hey, that guy, there, watching looks pretty tough, so this
must be . . ."
In fact, in the history of HB characters who have actually
PLAYED a sport, it would be almost a coin toss between
football and baseball, neither of which are currently in the
R-A Top Ten.
But what the hell, I'll join the party:
Most hardboiled sport/entertainment - cock fighting (cf
Charles Willeford and Nathanial West) Close second - dog
fighting (because I've watched one, to my eternal regret, and
know) PB
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