The sound of a basketball ricocheting off a hardwood floor or the silence from the intensity of a poker game both elicit adrenaline responses from the players involved, but are part of two very different sports.Adrenaline and the drive to win are what, I think, make a sport. It doesn’t matter if you are in a spelling bee, a golf tournament, chess match, ping pong game or an NFL playoff game.

It’s easy to say that a true sport requires physical strength and ability when mental preparation is the true mark of an athlete. Assuming that a sport simply requires physical ability is completely narrow-minded. Any athlete knows that a game or meet requires complete concentration and emotional control, which can be the most exhausting part.

When I was growing up I always laughed at ‘mathletes’ (people that participate in math competitions), because it seemed so contradictory that math could be a sport. Looking back now, it would be a lot more stressful to answer f(x) = -x3- 3×2+ 70x than to run a 400-meter sprint because I would have to rely on just my mental strength to win a competition.

In high school, I was a hurdler. The hardest part of any race was approaching the blocks and feeling the tar beneath my fingertips. As the adrenaline rushed through my body, the sounding of the gun gave me more of a rush than the actual race. The same feeling I had, waiting in the blocks, can be equated to a game that requires no uniform or physical exertion.

I used to watch my friends play poker. As they picked up their cards after the deal, all conversation stopped. Players studied their hand and also the faces of the players around them.

There is a reason that ESPN shows everything from poker and spelling bees to baseball, football or playoffs.

The feeling of cold sweat on your back and a single-minded focus are two sensations that any athlete, from all-star and champion shortstop Derek Jeter to a world champion poker player like Phil Ivey, would understand.

A sport is about a common interest and goal. Each player, regardless of the sport, has the desire to win. Competition is what fuels adrenaline and the concept of competition is completely mental. Some sports require physical fitness, but that is not what constitutes a sport.