2024 Paris Olympics

Priller said:
I don't have an issue with the backgrounds of the athletes, monied or not. They're doing what they love at an incredible level for little to no monetary return. Naturally that's going to lend itself to people whose backgrounds permit that. I watched highlights of archer Eric Peters from Kitchener in a shoot-off tie break in an early round, and they were having so much fun and enjoying the moment. Every four years, these athletes get people appreciating the thing they dedicate their lives to, and as surreal as that is, it's also pretty powerful.

The problem I do have is with the IOC and the various national sports federations, most of whom are as corrupt as they come, and have built a huge industry of grift on the backs of the above amateur athletes. I also have a problem with the cost of the games being borne by citizens of the cities where they're held, often at huge financial loss.

As for the trans thing, while I'm theoretically opposed in terms of the thought experiment, I'm going to reserve my manufactured outrage for when it actually becomes an issue...
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I read an essay yesterday about luge athletes in the US. The premise was that there are some of the more obscure sports in some countries that allow the wealthy to compete at a high level. These are most likely not the best at their sport, just the best at their sport that can afford to participate. Granted, the issue is much much bigger for the Winter Olympics than for the summer Olympics.

I like the better/stronger/faster element of the Olympics and the breathtaking skill involved (I watched a clip of that archery). I have zero interest in watching rich wankers get their jollies off though. One of the issues with British tennis for example is that the barrier to participating in the sport is a huge class system that exists for players at the club level. The result? Youngsters get turned off and do something else and thus we are pretty crap at the game on a global level.

As for the horse sports, unless the horse actually gets the medal and is on the podium the whole thing is just daft. Trinny the inbred debutante from Cheltenham Ladies College with a IQ of 6 was just the passenger.

Now rant time…I don’t know why certain sports found their way from the X Games to the Olympics. I think the two were a good complement to each other. I don’t want to watch some 13 year old on a BMX bike do a trick with a name I’ll instantly forget or a pothead from Colorado do something weird on a snowboard.

Also while we are on a controversial topic…since everyone’s talking about genetics. Can we discuss why we even have basketball as a sport since it’s really only dominated by genetic mutants and, for the US in particular, seems to make a mockery of the Olympic ideal in terms of who participates.

I’d like to thank a very nice half bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon for the above screed.

Burp.
 
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The irony about all of this is that while they are used to support anti-trans talking points, neither athlete in question was born a man. Despite what the outrage profiteers are insinuating, they are not men who have 'self-identified' as women, nor are they women who have taken male hormones to gain an advantage. Both are as they were born, though neither fits cleanly into the markers we typically look towards to identify whether a person is male or female. In some ways, this actually backs up the pro-trans argument that gender is fluid, and that seeing it as binary is more cultural than biological. Of course, for most, the binary concept of gender still fits the vast majority of people born, so it seems excessive to reject gender altogether based on a small percentage of people who aren't as neatly categorised. But as usual, our online outrage discourse is dominated by all-or-nothing extremes.

Ilona Maher, the US rugby player, is all over my Insta feed for some reason. She's clearly a woman, but is built like a brick sh*thouse and has obvious physical advantages for rugby that a more traditionally feminine woman doesn't have. Yao Ming wasn't going to make the NBA if he was 5'9". Michael Phelps doesn't win 200 medals if he doesn't have freakishly long arms and legs. East African long-distance runners have dominated the sport for so long that it's obvious they have a massive genetic advantage. Sports isn't a purely equal playing field at any level, regardless of gender assignment.

I'm not saying there shouldn't be barriers to participation, just as there are for doping etc. But these athletes are being cast as sinister villains, out to rob poor innocent ladies of their rightful success when they're just trying to find a place to compete. Jeez, one is from Algeria, hardly a hotbed of trans rights...

jc100 said:
I like the bigger/stronger/faster element of the Olympics and the breathtaking skill involved (I watched a clip of that archery). I have zero interest in watching rich wankers get their jollies off though. One of the issues with British tennis for example is that the barrier to participating in the sport is a huge class system that exists for players at the club level. The result? Youngsters get turned off and do something else and thus we are pretty crap at the game on a global level.
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Or anyone with athletic ability gravitates to football and flourishes there instead? It's also very regional. In England, rugby is for public school wanks, in Wales it's for coal miners sons.

I'm not going to be asking for anyone's working class membership card before I cheer for them, though. I have a buddy whose daughter competes in show jumping. He's a construction foreman. I follow a very non-posh comedian on Twitter who is passionate about dressage because her mum is a horse trainer, she did this video a few years ago:


jc100 said:
As for the horse sports, unless the horse actually gets the medal and is on the podium the whole thing is just daft. Trinny the inbred debutante from Cheltenham Ladies College with a IQ of 6 was just the passenger.

Now rant time…I don’t know why certain sports found their way from the X Games to the Olympics. I think the two were a good complement to each other. I don’t want to watch some 13 year old on a BMX bike do a trick with a name I’ll instantly forget or a pothead from Colorado do something weird on a snowboard.
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I'd take it further and ditch all sports that have judging, especially ones that factor artistic merit. And yes, that includes figure skating and all gymnastics. If the winner can't be empirically measured, it's not a true win.

(Naturally, I'm sure there are many examples with judging where I'd disagree with myself and say it's a real sport and should be included.)
 
Priller said:
The irony about all of this is that while they are used to support anti-trans talking points, neither athlete in question was born a man. Despite what the outrage profiteers are insinuating, they are not men who have 'self-identified' as women, nor are they women who have taken male hormones to gain an advantage. Both are as they were born, though neither fits cleanly into the markers we typically look towards to identify whether a person is male or female. In some ways, this actually backs up the pro-trans argument that gender is fluid, and that seeing it as binary is more cultural than biological. Of course, for most, the binary concept of gender still fits the vast majority of people born, so it seems excessive to reject gender altogether based on a small percentage of people who aren't as neatly categorised. But as usual, our online outrage discourse is dominated by all-or-nothing extremes.

Ilona Maher, the US rugby player, is all over my Insta feed for some reason. She's clearly a woman, but is built like a brick sh*thouse and has obvious physical advantages for rugby that a more traditionally feminine woman doesn't have. Yao Ming wasn't going to make the NBA if he was 5'9". Michael Phelps doesn't win 200 medals if he doesn't have freakishly long arms and legs. East African long-distance runners have dominated the sport for so long that it's obvious they have a massive genetic advantage. Sports isn't a purely equal playing field at any level, regardless of gender assignment.

I'm not saying there shouldn't be barriers to participation, just as there are for doping etc. But these athletes are being cast as sinister villains, out to rob poor innocent ladies of their rightful success when they're just trying to find a place to compete. Jeez, one is from Algeria, hardly a hotbed of trans rights...


Or anyone with athletic ability gravitates to football and flourishes there instead? It's also very regional. In England, rugby is for public school wanks, in Wales it's for coal miners sons.

I'm not going to be asking for anyone's working class membership card before I cheer for them, though. I have a buddy whose daughter competes in show jumping. He's a construction foreman. I follow a very non-posh comedian on Twitter who is passionate about dressage because her mum is a horse trainer, she did this video a few years ago:



I'd take it further and ditch all sports that have judging, especially ones that factor artistic merit. And yes, that includes figure skating and all gymnastics. If the winner can't be empirically measured, it's not a true win.

(Naturally, I'm sure there are many examples with judging where I'd disagree with myself and say it's a real sport and should be included.)
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Funny you should mention the dressage and show jumping here as a similar thing was mentioned in the essay I read. Ie It’s not the same in all countries, Germany has some kind of national luge program for example such that there’s more widespread talent available. I’m sure there’s some countries that have made national programs for some obscure sports so they can win on the stage somewhere.

A friend of mine was an Olympic synchronized swimmer. Great athlete, good friend and I admired her. I still couldn’t get my head around the “sport” though or get rid of the mental image of someone chucking sardines at a bunch of smiling dolphins every time it was on tv.

Rhythmic gymnastics…there’s another one. Twirling a ribbon on a stick, wtf? If you have these sports then you should have ballroom dancing. Break dancing isn’t a sport, it’s a pastime for disaffected youth, you might as well add foosball or non-contact meth smoking.

Judging gets a bit difficult when it’s the contact sports though. I don’t know if there’s been any huge controversies with the judging of these events at the Olympics though.

God I hate getting old and curmudgeonly.
 
jc100 said:
you might as well add foosball or non-contact meth smoking.
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I would watch full contact meth smoking.

And there's always baked.......

5f22fd0d0e0d0.image.jpg
 
jc100 said:
. Can we discuss why we even have basketball as a sport since it’s really only dominated by genetic mutants and…
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Howard Cosell knew.
 
I have a freinds kid at the Olympics now , Jones in sailing , and Paul Henderson former Olympic sailor is a peer group aquaintance , past president of world sailing and the Canadian Olyimpic rep that demanded redress when the figure skating French judge was exposed for rigging the results that took Cdn pairs out of the gold medal.
And they will both tell you , the olympics is ALL about money , the organizers , the event , the atheletes . Yes its a spectacle and you often see special moments where athletes will pull out increadible performances. oh yeah , its also ALL about the millions of dollars involved.
They offer exhibition sports , like break dancing, to try and stay relavent , because you need an audience , to keep the money flowing
 
jc100 said:
Yes boxing I think.

Edit: this one is actually quite complex.
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yeah.. I was just being cheeky... with Canadian women's powerlifting record holder Avi Silverberg in mind when I asked.
I didn't expect to end up down that rabbit hole.
 
TK4 said:
www.thebeaverton.com

Embarrassed FIFA announces that Canadians can only use their left feet during quarter-finals

PARIS - After Canada overcame their 6 point deduction during the group stage by going 3-0, Fifa officials have announced that the Canadian women's soccer team will only be allowed to kick the ball with their left feet during their elimination match against Germany.
www.thebeaverton.com www.thebeaverton.com
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Half of the FIFA officials would be arrested on fraud charges at customs if they flew up into Paris for the Olympics.
 
... yeah...BUT... there should be a "best acting" category at the Oscars just for soccer players
I wanna see the Olympic champion soccer players take on the New Zealand woman's rugby team... the soccer team can put their whole bench out on the field at once if they want.

... and how come we only see trans athletes in "barbarian" sports... I wanna see a 6'3", 300lb guy doing that thing with the ribbon on a stick... a lot of back hair would add to the experience....
 
bitzz said:
... yeah...BUT... there should be a "best acting" category at the Oscars just for soccer players
I wanna see the Olympic champion soccer players take on the New Zealand woman's rugby team... the soccer team can put their whole bench out on the field at once if they want.

... and how come we only see trans athletes in "barbarian" sports... I wanna see a 6'3", 300lb guy doing that thing with the ribbon on a stick... a lot of back hair would add to the experience....
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My young kid watched the last Canadian womens soccer game. He asked why Columbian players kept falling down and rolling around when nobody touched them. It is an embarrassment and for whatever reason, sanctioning bodies refuse to snuff it out. Cards for dives should happen 100% of the time.
 
I played soccer my entire childhood and into college (albeit 20+ years ago), but can't stand to watch "professional" soccer at all these days. Dive, cry, delay, carry on, dive, cry, delay, carry on..... @GreyGhost is spot on, snuff that crap out and make it a real sport again!
 
Don't think it is just soccer.
meanwhile
Nother gold for Aus in BMX.
We're in third !!!!! for a little country. (y)
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Team GoldSilver BronzeTotal

1 China 13 8 9 30

2 France 11 12 13 36

3 Australia 10 6 5 21
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ahead of UK and US!!! and the BMX winner had covid !!! Up against a phenomenal bunch of competitors.
 
One of the problems is there are far too many sports. Some have been around for a long time, others are new to the Olympics as they attempt to draw in viewers. Then there are others with ageism, etc.

Take swimming for a classic one that has been around for a long time. While swimmers will disagree...why do we need all these different strokes? Do we have the 100m, 200m, 400m silly run, backwards run or skipping in track? Fastest in the water, who cares how you swing your arms. A pet peeve when they keep calling xyz the most decorated athlete in history, I am sure Bolt would have cleaned up on the silly run, etc.

Three on three basketball as another redundant example. These are not the best basketball players on the earth, I am sure that three mid skill level main league pros would just cleanup. So why have it?

Men's soccer has an age limit (under 23?) so it does not compete with the World Cup. If there is an age limit, it should not be an Olympic sport.

X Sports, break dancing, why?

Some have their history in military past. Like many horse and shooting sports, do we still need them?

The list goes on, pair things down, eliminate redundancy, ageism, only have sports with only the best athletes, make it cheaper to host.
 
Cheaper to host Bhhaaaaaa. Pair down sports , break dancing, x sports . Did you miss the post where its ALL about money
 
backmarkerducati said:
Some have their history in military past. Like many horse and shooting sports, do we still need them?
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The original olympics, the greek ones, were ALL military stuff, as sport was practice for war.
They kinda lost their way in the early 1900s, with competition in poetry (they never explain if it was a competition of quality, or speed), stenography, picture painting (quality or speed?... Heat races? A room full of people painting the same scene? I'd watch that), tug of war, motor boating (the kind with a boat), and MY favorite: solo synchronized swimming (details, again, are sketchy)
 
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