Summer Olympics

Some initial thoughts on the marquee Olympic sports so far:

Swimming: It is actually fresh to see different names/countries on the podium and in the long run it will be better for the sport.

Gymnastics: Their is a fight for the soul of the sport and the Russians are pushing hard to keep the "art" in artistic gymnastics. Biles may win but the rules keep changing so that highly athletic difficult routines like her's are actually punished in favor of traditional safe ones.

Combat Sports: While I think there are too many they do have some of the best "Olympic" moments.
 
These are also turning into the Woke Olympics and all countries are getting into the act. My fave so far is the German women's gymnastic team busting out unitards because they think leotards are too sexualized. Someone must not have sent a memo to the uni supplier to not emphasize the crotch area, some of their girls look like they are wearing camel toe cups>
germany-gymnastics.jpg
 
Auggie said:
These are also turning into the Woke Olympics and all countries are getting into the act. My fave so far is the German women's gymnastic team busting out unitards because they think leotards are too sexualized. Someone must not have sent a memo to the uni supplier to not emphasize the crotch area, some of their girls look like they are wearing camel toe cups>
germany-gymnastics.jpg
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Well let's hope the volleyball players don't get in on the act. Only reason I watch that sport tbh
 
Auggie said:
These are also turning into the Woke Olympics and all countries are getting into the act. My fave so far is the German women's gymnastic team busting out unitards because they think leotards are too sexualized. Someone must not have sent a memo to the uni supplier to not emphasize the crotch area, some of their girls look like they are wearing camel toe cups>
germany-gymnastics.jpg
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I'd love to get some TV executives in a room (female exects too) and just ask them about women's sports, the uniforms the TV personalities and how they are dressed. Even woke ESPN has mostly young, athletic good looking females stand in front of the camera with usually form fitting dresses or skirts. They don't sit behind desks, they don't wear T-shirts or business suits. There is so much hypocracy in women's sports. Heck, look at PGA golf? Many women wear mini skirts, tight shorts and it's never been an issue. They KNOW that to get an audience , that's what they have to do.
Largely, women do not watch women's sports. They hope and pray enough guys watch these sports so they can pull some kind of ratings.
 
14Red said:
I'd love to get some TV executives in a room (female exects too) and just ask them about women's sports, the uniforms the TV personalities and how they are dressed. Even woke ESPN has mostly young, athletic good looking females stand in front of the camera with usually form fitting dresses or skirts. They don't sit behind desks, they don't wear T-shirts or business suits. There is so much hypocracy in women's sports. Heck, look at PGA golf? Many women wear mini skirts, tight shorts and it's never been an issue. They KNOW that to get an audience , that's what they have to do.
Largely, women do not watch women's sports. They hope and pray enough guys watch these sports so they can pull some kind of ratings.
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The Olympic angle to draw in female viewership is the up close and personnel stories, seems like it works as they trot these things out every Olympics in 5 to 10 minute blocks right in the middle of the action. Could you see the Masters cut away after the leaders finish up 12 with a story about Phil's sick best friend and how he is going to win this one for him then picking the live action back up at 14?
 
"Woke" would be insisting all OTHER competitors not wear bikini bottoms. This isn't being done. It's not "woke" to make claim to your own personal space.
14Red said:
I'd love to get some TV executives in a room (female exects too) and just ask them about women's sports, the uniforms the TV personalities and how they are dressed. Even woke ESPN has mostly young, athletic good looking females stand in front of the camera with usually form fitting dresses or skirts. They don't sit behind desks, they don't wear T-shirts or business suits. There is so much hypocracy in women's sports. Heck, look at PGA golf? Many women wear mini skirts, tight shorts and it's never been an issue. They KNOW that to get an audience , that's what they have to do.
Largely, women do not watch women's sports. They hope and pray enough guys watch these sports so they can pull some kind of ratings.
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Dictating "bikini" bottoms in handball? That's just silly. Same V-ball or any other sport. If shorts are fine for men, they are fine for women.

Isn't "woke" crying hypocrisy at every chance? What is done by one women's sport isn't required by another or else it hypocritical. More women entering sports is a good enough indication that more women will be entertained by women's sports. Let it grow I say.
 
a couple other non-US first, quite entertaining.

Japanese Mixed ping-pong beat the Chinese for Gold. Aargh, they deleted the vid on youtube. Worth finding the whole match. The Japanese chick with her blue shoes is a rock star. Her expressions throughout are priceless.

Philipines wins their first gold ever. There is NO POINT in this entire match where she looked like she would beat the Chinese woman. Every one of her lifts was a barely and a wobble, where everyone of the Chinese woman's was me lifting marchmallows sober. I don't understand the sport well enough to know how she won. Clip must not show a missed lift by the Chinese women.
 
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Naomi Osaka self destructs and gets bounced in the 3rd round

Still one of the biggest head cases in all of sports
 
did anyone see what the females wear while riding bikes. damn they have to have some serious chaffing.

jtk
()
 
Breaking news: Simone Biles is out of the team comp. Conflicting reports about why too, team says vague "medical" issue while there are reports she is having a mental breakdown while there are other reports that the karma wheel hit her in the head. Where is John McEnroe when you need him?
 
Auggie said:
Breaking news: Simone Biles is out of the team comp. Conflicting reports about why too, team says vague "medical" issue while there are reports she is having a mental breakdown while there are other reports that the karma wheel hit her in the head. Where is John McEnroe when you need him?
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She just saw the bill for her brother's attorneys.
 
And in related news... Olympic flame lighter, Naomi Osaka, loses in an early round 6-1, 6-4 to the 42nd ranked player in the world.

Cue up the liberal sports media stories about how hard it is to have all this pressure on you and these tough women are still winners. Maybe those authoritarian coaches are successful for a reason?
 
The heavily favored US women's gymnastics team falls apart and takes silver in the team comp, Russia is back on top of the gymnastics world. Not many here are familiar with this sport but basically over the past twenty years or so the Russians have been in a tug of war with the US over the rules of the comp. If you recall back in Atlanta there were 7 competitors for the team event with innovation and difficulty was rewarded. This year only 3 scores counted so depth was not as important and there was a cap put on difficulty so as to "not encourage" reckless maneuvers. Basically the Russians put a thumb on the scale. Oh well, the US coaches knew the rules coming in and had to play by them like everyone else.

In the misery loves company category the Chinese ladies also fall apart and fail to medal, Great Britain takes the bronze.
 
And not surprisingly the NY Times is the 1st to weigh in and say Biles doesn't need these Olympics to be the Goat:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/04/opinion/simone-biles-gymnastics.html

Sorry but if your sport is considered an "Olympic" sport results in the Olympics matter a lot, that year off probably did play a part in this but everyone else had to deal with this delay. Many insiders in the sport consider Nadia Comaneci the Goat because of her performance in Montreal and how she basically modernized the sport that year but then again that doesn't fit the current favored narrative.
 
Auggie said:
And in related news... Olympic flame lighter, Naomi Osaka, loses in an early round 6-1, 6-4 to the 42nd ranked player in the world.

Cue up the liberal sports media stories about how hard it is to have all this pressure on you and these tough women are still winners. Maybe those authoritarian coaches are successful for a reason?
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wouldn't it had been much better for her in the long run to just have met with the media, answer a few questions and move on to the next tournament? I don't see the tennis media as being difficult, try being the starting QB in an NFL city. Osaka basically created a much more difficult situation for herself for the next several years.
 
Auggie said:
And not surprisingly the NY Times is the 1st to weigh in and say Biles doesn't need these Olympics to be the Goat:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/04/opinion/simone-biles-gymnastics.html

Sorry but if your sport is considered an "Olympic" sport results in the Olympics matter a lot, that year off probably did play a part in this but everyone else had to deal with this delay. Many insiders in the sport consider Nadia Comaneci the Goat because of her performance in Montreal and how she basically modernized the sport that year but then again that doesn't fit the current favored narrative.
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Agree to disagree. Whether you like her or not, Biles is essentially re-writing the current book on gymnastics. She has four skills named after her on floor, beam and vault. The whole GOAT debate between her and Comaneci is similar to the Jordan/James debate, IMO. It's likely generational, and intensely subjective. But, yes - people will inevitably whine about her withdrawal due to mental health concerns.
 
Men's basketball looking awful, Biles hurt (physically or mentally) and women's gymnastics not taking the gold, Katie Ledecky beaten, women's soccer struggling...not a great start for the USA.
 
utsherman said:
Agree to disagree. Whether you like her or not, Biles is essentially re-writing the current book on gymnastics. She has four skills named after her on floor, beam and vault. The whole GOAT debate between her and Comaneci is similar to the Jordan/James debate, IMO. It's likely generational, and intensely subjective. But, yes - people will inevitably whine about her withdrawal due to mental health concerns.
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Mental toughness is almost as important as physical ability at that level.
 
OldSoulon said:
Mental toughness is almost as important as physical ability at that level.
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Fair enough. I would assume some mental toughness has helped her win a combined 30 Olympic and World Championship medals? If you disagree, then I would submit that your premise is flawed given her success to the contrary. ?‍♂️
 
utsherman said:
Fair enough. I would assume some mental toughness has helped her win a combined 30 Olympic and World Championship medals? If you disagree, then I would submit that your premise is flawed given her success to the contrary. ?‍♂️
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I never said she wasn't mentally tough, don't assume.

She may have lost her mental toughness in this case, however, we don't really know.
 
utsherman said:
Agree to disagree. Whether you like her or not, Biles is essentially re-writing the current book on gymnastics. She has four skills named after her on floor, beam and vault. The whole GOAT debate between her and Comaneci is similar to the Jordan/James debate, IMO. It's likely generational, and intensely subjective. But, yes - people will inevitably whine about her withdrawal due to mental health concerns.
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The debate in gymnastics circles isn't generational but more on direction of the sport. The traditionalists, basically the Russians and Euros, think the US/Chinese version has morphed into a series of tricks with little connection between them. The sport is technically called artistic gymnastics and the traditionalists believe you need to include elegance as part of the routines, what made Nadia unique is she bridged this when going from the sports origins as glorified ballet to a true athletic endeavor. Biles on the other hand is very athletic and have come up with incredible skills but her connecting moves are rough at best. If you get a chance to watch this thing tonight you will see the Russians add these little flourish and stick the landings, Biles goes through the motions during the flourishes and doesn't care if she falls or steps out of bounds because the difficulty is so high so she can just write the deduction off. My daughter, who was in the sport for some time, thinks there needs to be a happy medium between the two. She actually thinks the Olympic version of the sport is now second fiddle to the NCAA which emphasizes bigger deeper teams and more fun during the exercises. No way would those staunch Russians ever allow this type of routine into an Olympics>

 
utsherman said:
Agree to disagree. Whether you like her or not, Biles is essentially re-writing the current book on gymnastics. She has four skills named after her on floor, beam and vault. The whole GOAT debate between her and Comaneci is similar to the Jordan/James debate, IMO. It's likely generational, and intensely subjective. But, yes - people will inevitably whine about her withdrawal due to mental health concerns.
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I must be naive, not ever heard any GOAT discussions in women's gymnastics, or men's gymnastics or basically any Olympic sport. The only GOAT discussions center in the NBA and the NFL.
 
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