At a blazing 200 beats per minute, trying to maintain that driving tempo along with the rest of the band, there is no denying that drumming is a sport.
Having to keep up to a beat that fast, using every limb available to lay down the groove can be a taxing effort on the drummer’s part. Not to mention how some gigs can run for 30 minutes while others can be up to two hours. You’ve got to hold it down the whole time.
You’re the backbone of everything that’s being played alongside you on stage and there’s no stopping. You drop a stick, you keep on going. A cymbal flies off, a stand breaks, you blow out the head on the drum, doesn’t matter. You keep that beat going somehow and there’s no break until the end of the show.
When you’re at the finish line, you’re soaked in sweat and your whole body is exhausted. By the time that last chord is played and the frontperson tells everyone to have a good night, all you can do is give them one more good thwack with a crash and you’re breaking down your equipment immediately to make space for the next act.
That’s right – the set’s over and you’re still going! Carrying a hundred pounds of gear down an unknown flight of stairs, around however many people, your job isn’t done until you’re loaded in your car with all your gear on your way home. Who’s to say that’s not a sport?