If you were forced to play one professional sport as your job until you were 65, which would you pick?

Darts

I think this might be the answer

Magic: the Gathering

It's a sport if it was on ESPN!

Do I have to me good at it or is someone just going to pay me to do it regardless? I guess motorsport

Online Chess is now officially Esport... so that... xD

I'd be the next Hikaru Nakamura, live stream chess stuff and act cool af.

Snooker.

This or marbles
https://youtu.be/53w9E774fGE
This was my first thought. Honourable mentions to golf and darts.

Bowling

Chess

Are we calling chess a sport? In that case why not magic the gathering or black jack
- MtG is pay to win these days (by virtue of the series shifts to crazier or more collectible cards) and blackjack is designed to be RNG hell. Why subject yourself to either of those?
- I read something about how some grandmasters think so hard that they burn as many calories as pro athletes. Their brains are going so wild that it can cause extreme fatigue and the shakes.
- I figure that if you can drink and smoke while you play it without any real impairment of performance, it's not a sport. It's a game.
  I thought that up to annoy golfers, but honestly I think it's a fair yardstick.

Swimming.

Naked twister.

Do people currently get paid to play naked twister? Seems like more of a collegiate level sport
- Depends on the production value, bu most people just use onlyfans these days.
- Just wait for the next Olympic games.

Golf.

The sensible choice.
- When you retire, you go play randomly at courses & clean up on friendly wagers. That way you can stay fluid in retirement.

Ping pong. You might think all the humiliating losses as my reflexes slow down might become hard to take, but if they don't bother me now, why should it bother me later?

Archery

Chess

Yup. I wouldn’t be very good at it, but it’s indoor work with no heavy lifting or cardio, and if it’s my job until I’m 65 that implies that it’ll pay the bills so how good I actually am doesn’t really matter very much

Disc Golf!

Hear hear!

Foxy Boxing

Finally, a person of culture.

Rowing or swimming. As long as I'm not trying to be world record level, I won't be ruining my body. If I'm just training as much as they do, it won't be much worse than a full time job.

I would have picked skydiving, but the lead exposure is a little too much for me to want to do it as a 10 jumps a day type of job.

Swimming for sure
Wait, lead exposure from skydiving?
- As the other fellow said, it's the jet fuel. They still use leaded gas. You can definitely smell the difference between it and normal exhaust fumes.
- Fumes from aviation fuel.
- Probably the chute

If esports count, I'd like to be like this guy and get a contract to play rhythm games professionally

Otherwise... Probably swimming or race walking, not too many professional sports I could think of that one can do into their 60s without wrecking their body

I could totally swim profesionally until 65. Wouldn't be winning anything. Would probably get a lot of "slowest 50m" records, but I could totally lose on a daily basis for a living.

Marion Tinsley died at age 68 while still holding the World Checkers Championship. A number of chess players including Ivanchuk and Anand are in their 50s and still mighty strong, though not WC strength.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Tinsley

Isn't checkers solved? I guess it wasn't back then, but it's not exactly repeatable now.
- At that time it wasn't solved and it was unknown whether Chinook was at Tinsley's level. Now it's solved in the sense that a humongous computer search has proved it to be a draw, but there is still competition between humans. Chess is generally believed to be a draw too. A mathematical or computer proof of that wouldn't change things very much though. The best way to beat another human might involve playing into positions that are lost for you, if you can get into a complex enough position to confuse your opponent into a mistake.

Race car driver

Jerry?

Every last one of you could have chosen drone racing and yet none of you did.

Drone racing.

The wizard who is forcing you to do this said you have to actually be playing, you can't be in a manager or commentator type role

Do esports count? Because that.

Darts

How about E Sports? I'm not competitive good, but I can play video games all day.

Disc Golf

Baseball, easy.

Biking or swimming

Cricket. There are many different roles in the team and you get to hang out outside with your teammates all day. Also, if it rains you go inside and have something to eat.

Chess boxing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_boxing

Hmm... Now that is a sport I think I could watch, at least once or twice!
Years ago we tried Karate-Chess at my Dojo. It was fun as hell.

Major League Baseball Baseball

Quidditch, because it would change the laws of physics and everything would probably explode in a hilarious hellfire

Table Tennis. (A.K.A. Ping Pong, but that's actually a trademark)

or badminton.
- Also good. I can reach over the net in that one. (Doesn't mean I can win, just not lose as bad)

Pretty good Matt and Shane secret podcast bit about forcing NFL players to play to death. If I remember right, when they hit 65 they get put on special teams. That maximizes the chance of being obliterated/turned to dust by a stud running into them full speed.

Kicker with a good line could make it to their fifties if their back holds out.

Esports/mlg. I actually wanted to explore video gaming as a competitive career as a kid, throughout my teens and a bit beyond. Disability and near-death struck at 21 and dashed that, though. I still play rather well for racing games, but fps I struggle competitively due to partial blindness and loss of the use of my right hand. I use an ambidextrous Logitech G903, using both sets of side buttons (both left and right side), if you're wondering; all critical functions and movements go on the mouse, with secondary (like map, equip/use, toss item, inventory/hotbar...) remaining on the keyboard.

Also, while not a sport... ::: spoiler Spoiler I also looked into being a 'working guy'. My sex drive has always been -really- high, and that stupid saying 'find something you love and you'll never work a day in your life'... well, I definitely love pleasing people. Nearly all my relationships failed because of, or directly linked to, my unquenchable needs (it's not my fault you are studying for a full load of courses and I've been at it for 4 hours, okay?), so... :::

Darts.

CS... never was good at it, never will be, but it's somewhat fun at least

Counter-Strike? Cybersex?
- Both

Why not pick the laziest sport and try to become a real world Happy Gilmore ( minus all the rage enduced swearing or childish antics on the field ).

Fencing

Table tennis

chess

Skiing, as I actually enjoy it.

Football kicker

For the non-North Americans, the place kicker specializes in kicking the ball through the goalposts. In a sport where most pros have retired by age 40, the best kickers will often play until they’re nearly 50.

Running or cycling.

Ice skating and/or inline skating. Not sure how safe that is to do for so long, but I like going fast.

Oh powerlifting, and I wouldn't be competitive. Just lift whatever I could, and lose the competition, forever. I guess that's amateur though? Hmm.

I cannot imagine anyone paying me to play any sport at all.

Not the most professional, though there are world cups, but playing pétanque is surely something you can do til 65 and beyond!

Olympic walking. I'll be taking it really really easy. I'll have headphones and an ice cream cone

Penmanship.

43-Man Squamish.

Badminton

Porn

Shogi

Does chess count?

Field hockey

I already know the rules since I played as a kid. There is no physical contact, so it’s safer than some other sports, unless you get hit with the ball or a stick to the shins.

Sumo. I reckon the other wrestlers would just gently push me out of the ring and I’d be ok with that.

Taekwondo

Pie eating, for suresies

Triathlon

Skateboarding. It has enough variety to keep it interesting for that long. Unlike many other sports, there's an infinite number of tricks to learn. Even if you're old.

Volleyball.

if esports counts, I'd go with Minecraft or super smash Bros melee

otherwise I'd prolly do fencing since that's basically like a fighting game (I played back in high school)

Shirling