Of course it seems ridiculous to you...you have no expertise in the matter.
No one else here is an expert on what consitutes or does not constitute a sport either.
First of all, I don't agree with Earl's definitition as I do consider golf to be a sport, which is not a heavily physical sport but in its essence is physical.
That cannot be said about bodybuilding: it is first and foremost about how you LOOK, NOT what you DO.
That said, posing is the means by which BBers display their physique...it's not the sole indicator of whether or not one wins, but contributes greatly....
I've seen many over the years, win, or lose contests because they had an inability to display their physique....and have seen many tank out because they werent properly prepared to do it at the pro level
Ok I have no experience and have little knowledge of how physically demanding posing actually is for extended periods of time. It is clear however that is the bare minimum that you should be able to do to survive in a contest.
But I can say with a fair degree of certainty that this is not what separates the great bodybuilders from the not so great ones. It probably accounts for 5-10% of bodybuilding success.
BB is an art, and a sport...one of the few that is comprised of so many different variables, culminating with the competition.
It is what it is....
I may nto agree that it is a sport but I don't say that to demean the activity or people who partake in it. I highly respect people who are successful at bodybuilding.