Olympics. Good idea, bad idea?
POSTED BY: Wishimay
UPDATED: Thursday, January 30, 2025 21:38
VIEWED: 5107
PAGE 4 of 6
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Originally posted by BYTEMITE:Quote:
Some have referred to it as the Florida of Russia, to which it may be, in relative terms. But for comparisons sake, I remind folks it's more on par w/ Boston than Miami.
If Boston had palm trees.
I think it's important to consider the dramatic differences in altitude available in Sochi. It's just a multi-faceted place.
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People I know who are genuine athletes tell me that the differences in people at the top echelon are virtually zero. So immediate factors are weighted more heavily at any one event. If someone didn't sleep well the night before it could throw their entire effort. That means one-time winner take all competitions aren't really representative of true talent, but more of uncontrollable random factors. So I think that a system that compares people over time is far more representative of who's better. That said there's problems with ranking systems. It depends on what you think is the metric of greatness. Is it wins? Total points? Total time in the top 5? Over a lifetime? A year? Four? In any case, my disinterest in the Olympics remains. I don't find it meaningful.
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Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
People I know who are genuine athletes tell me that the differences in people at the top echelon are virtually zero. So immediate factors are weighted more heavily at any one event. If someone didn't sleep well the night before it could throw their entire effort. That means one-time winner take all competitions aren't really representative of true talent, but more of uncontrollable random factors.
It's called " competition " for a reason. There's no universally neutral or unbiased means by which to gauge 1 athlete or 1 performance to another, but head to head competition is the best means.
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So I think that a system that compares people over time is far more representative of who's better.
One of the great debates in all sport. Most would agree that Peyton Manning is the better QB than his brother Eli, though the latter has 2 Super Bowl rings. Not a fair comparison , as football is a 'team' sport ? What about when a lower ranked athlete comes out of no where to win a competition ? Well then, there's a reason why they're called 'upsets'. All things being equal, on that day, place and time, one was better than the other. That's the very nature of competition. To be the man you have to beat the man.( or woman )
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That said there's problems with ranking systems. It depends on what you think is the metric of greatness. Is it wins? Total points? Total time in the top 5? Over a lifetime? A year? Four? In any case, my disinterest in the Olympics remains. I don't find it meaningful.
Then stop telling us how much you aren't interested, and just let it go.
Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen
I'm just a red pill guy in a room full of blue pill addicts.
" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall
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Quote:
Originally posted by G:
Oh, and there's also the Russian women... paid professionals at this point and playing in their home venue. Come on, that's drama.
Someone says Russian women and I automatically go HERE. Damn you Wendy's...
Damn, it's not working
try
"Wendy's Russian fashion commercial"
It's from the eighties, but it's always stuck with me...
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" Very nice! " ?
* Ha! I figured it out as you were fixing link. 
Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen
I'm just a red pill guy in a room full of blue pill addicts.
" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall
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Geez, gimme two seconds ta fix it Sparky 
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To everyone: here's a concept - the Olympics aren't for us, they're for the athletes.
That's pretty much exactly why I don't like them. They try to involve everyone else via a sense of nationalism and unity, but that sort of propaganda doesn't work on me. So the Olympics fail to pass the "why should I care?" test.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Wishimay:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-lane-the-olympics-shoul
d-be-on-their-way-out/2014/01/20/cb610d62-820b-11e3-bbe5-6a2a3141e3a9_story.html
I admit it. I've come to dislike the Olympics. Besides draining countries of incomes and resources, there are far too many "sports" that aren't really "sports". Not to mention there isn't much to be gained in many of these actual sports because they are at the limits of what humans are capable of (ohh he finished a tenth of a second faster, wow). I agree they used to have a purpose, but where they WERE a uniting forces, I think they are more divisive than anything now and that that is going to get worse.
Also, we have a little thing called the internet now, I don't think traveling to the other side of the world when you can compete just as well in the country you are from and compare scores just as easily on a computer makes sense. But then people generally don't to me....
Interesting post Wish. I never would have thought of the comparing scores thing.
Personally, I think it's all just virtually scripted, but then I think that's the case of every professional sport in America too. WWF mentality in every sport in existence.
Russia was our enemy in the Cold War. We made a movie about that 80's US Hockey team that beat them...... Wasn't that right around the same time Reagan demanded that Gorbachev tear down that wall?
All of the sudden China beats us at virtually everything but any X-Sports that Tony Hawk is affilliated with in some sort of 3-degrees-from-kevin-bacon type way? Kinda funny since we supposedly owe them Trillions after giving them copper, steel and iron for two decades in return for plastic shit we don't make here because, well let's face it, who can afford Union Wages?
Everything is fake and everything is scripted.
I'm okay with that.
I'm in it for the curling.
Goddamned awesome sport, curling. ;)
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Quote:
Originally posted by BYTEMITE:Quote:
To everyone: here's a concept - the Olympics aren't for us, they're for the athletes.
That's pretty much exactly why I don't like them. They try to involve everyone else via a sense of nationalism and unity, but that sort of propaganda doesn't work on me. So the Olympics fail to pass the "why should I care?" test.
It's like Kaylee says, " They've all got stories... ".
Meaning the athletes. Aside from the #'s, stats and gold medal count, it's neat to hear what so many have sacrificed over the years, some of them their entire lives, to finally get a chance just to COMPETE ! Jamaica bobsled team ? Hell yeah, I'm buyin' that!
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