Mr_Asa
UberDork
6/27/21 8:07 p.m.
*or team Canada, or team Europe, or wherever you wanna root for.
Was watching qualifying trials off and on today. Seemed like every other event they were breaking world or American records.
Women's gymnastics now, and the track and field events were pushed back to tonight due to a triple digit heat wave
I really find myself rooting for the one I think is the best in each field. Of course, I'm no expert at 95% of sportsings on the planet, so that sometimes translates to "I really like the colors on the Hungarian uniforms, so I hope they win."
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Don't forget rooting for counties with cool flags or people with fun to say names
In reply to superfund :
When I was a horny adolescent, I may or may not have rooted for the gymnast with the cutest butt.
I can't get behind it. It's a showing of economic strength more than anything. Identifying phenoms at a young age and often times allowing them to specialize in something, while not being professional (because of silly amateur status rules) while having them financially supported either by family, community or persons who are profiting off of their potential performance and likeness. And that's before we even delve into the preverse nationalism.
Too many Olympians love their sport and their goal is the Olympics. I wonder how many would push as far as they do if there were no Olympics to reach? It sounds like I'm removing the goal post, but I'm not as the love of the sport and the ability to continually test yourself against others is there and provides a more accurate representation of who is the best within their craft. A single event allows for the opportunity for a significant upset. The US hockey team wasn't the best team on the planet in 1980. The best team wasn't even on the ice the night that they won their gold medals. The best team was in the stands or in the Olympic village as they had defeated them a few nights before. And that team wasn't an enemy. It was just another group of guys from a different corner of the world who loved the same game and had committed a large portion of their lives up to that point at getting as proficient as humanly possible at that game.
j_tso
Reader
6/27/21 8:51 p.m.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
same approach with beach volleyball.
In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :
Sure has become that, hasn't it? Cold war made it worse. I remember as an ignorant kid rooting for anyone who could beat USSR or GDR. I don't think you're removing the goal post, I think you're revealing that the politics have made the goal post... fluid.
I certainly support the athletes, but the Olympic organization is such an s-show I am amazed that any country / city would be stupid enough to agree to one.
Mr_Asa
UberDork
6/27/21 9:36 p.m.
aircooled said:
I certainly support the athletes, but the Olympic organization is such an s-show I am amazed that any country / city would be stupid enough to agree to one.
Completely agree. Japan wasn't allowed to prevent the Olympics from happening because of the contract that was signed. WTF?
Also, they have copyrighted "Olympics" and have sued people to get it removed from stupid stuff. How can you copyright a phrase that is thousands of years old?
ShawnG
UltimaDork
6/27/21 9:52 p.m.
It's hard to watch any of the events and be really impressed due to all the athletes being so close to each other in the level of their performance, because they're all top-level athletes.
They need to put one ordinary person into each event so we can see just how good everyone involved really is.
Having Carl compete in "ribbon onna stick" might actually make it entertaining.
In reply to ShawnG :
It's all fun and games until that 76 year old who's at the local mall at 7:30am every morning wins race walking.
I am totally looking forward to this.
Having lived in Colorado Springs for the last 3 years, I supported both USA wrestling and the USOC overall. Got a chance to meet more than one of the hopefuls pre-covid and see them around town.
These athletes for the most part don't have a lot of money and will never get that from sports save a few sports. It's great to see them on that stage and glad they have a chance to get on the global stage and perform.
Only summer events that really hold my interest are the cycling and skateboarding.
In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :
If you get the chance to watch the weight of gold, it's pretty eye opening to what a person sacrifices to get there.
More info here
I lost much of my interest as I grew up
These days Ive lost almost all with some of the politicized stuff like Gwen Berry this week etc
In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :
Dude!
We are talking about gymnastics, beach volleyball, and cute asses. Don't ruin it!!
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to superfund :
When I was a horny adolescent, I may or may not have rooted for the gymnast with the cutest butt.
...and things are different now?
ShawnG
UltimaDork
6/28/21 8:02 a.m.
There's too many wrist injuries when beach volleyball is on.
A very close friend of mine is going to Tokyo as an alternate--two slots for her sport and she's number three. Very proud of her.
dxman92 said:
Only summer events that really hold my interest are the cycling and skateboarding.
Those are the two I'm probably most interested in. And I'm hoping NBC doesn't mess it up and that I can watch them on Peacock since I'm sure they won't be televised.
After that, I like the Olympics just because you're seeing the best people in their sports compete at the top level. Besides the above, I'm sure I'll also watch some of the track and field (100m sprint for example), swimming, fencing, surfing and rowing. SWMBO watched gymnastics last night. Besides the above, it was interesting to see when they compared Simone to the men on the floor exercise and how much higher she is on jumps. Truely a goat in gymnastics. While I don't generally enjoy gymnastics, I do enjoy/respect someone that good.
-Rob
Mr_Asa said:
Also, they have copyrighted "Olympics" and have sued people to get it removed from stupid stuff. How can you copyright a phrase that is thousands of years old?
Not to defend the IOC (I'm not a fan), but in this case you're confusing copyright and trademarks.
Beer Baron said:
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to superfund :
When I was a horny adolescent, I may or may not have rooted for the gymnast with the cutest butt.
...and things are different now?
Nope, just more politically correct if I frame it from the perspective of an innocent child.
NickD
MegaDork
6/28/21 10:21 a.m.
Mr_Asa said:
Also, they have copyrighted "Olympics" and have sued people to get it removed from stupid stuff. How can you copyright a phrase that is thousands of years old?
That's just asking for Zeus to come and smite the ever-living E36 M3 out of you