The Olympics random thoughts thread (may contain spoilers) (Read 1312 times)


Feeling the growl again

    The Olympics are funny in that for two weeks every four years Americans go gaga over some really, really esoteric "sports" that they could care less about, and quite often forget exist, for the other 1,445 days in between. Skeet shooting? Dressage? Trampoline??

     

     

     

    I enjoy the novelty of some of them.  We just won gold in skeet by an American in her 5th Olympics at only age 34.  I guess I'm in a relatively rare position to understand just how impressiver her WR of 99/100 is though (silver only got 93, that is HUGE).

     

    Another one I enjoy is weightlifting.  The sub-117lb woman from Azerbajan (I think?) who set a WR in clean and jerk with just shy of 300lbs...very impressive to watch.

    "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

     

    I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

     


    Lazy idiot

      What is the rationale for this?  Because soccer (football) is so widely played on the pro level that they don't want the Olympics to be 99% international pro athletes?

       

      I was going to say "but they do that in other sports", but then I realized that soccer is pretty unique in how broadly there are pro teams...

       

      1. I have no idea, I just knew why there were "old dudes" in the game.

      2. I've been surprised to learn that there are, among other things, professional indoor volleyball leagues and professional water polo leagues.  I think more of the athletes are professionals (including most of the U23 footballers) than a lot of the viewing public initially realizes.

      Tick tock


      Feeling the growl again

          I think more of the athletes are professionals (including most of the U23 footballers) than a lot of the viewing public initially realizes.

         

        Agreed.  I just thought it odd to see that regulation in soccer and (apparently) nowhere else, so I'm just speculating on the reason.  I'll phone-a-friend who knows the sport better to satiate my curiousity.

        "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

         

        I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

         

        xor


           

          MTA I think that the Libero rule is a way to let shorter players have a chance to play the game.

           

          Ah.  So I missed my calling then.  I could have been the libero, or the little "3 point specialist" on my basketball team.

           

          Thanks for the info, guys.

           

          stadjak


          Interval Junkie --Nobby

            MTA I think that the Libero rule is a way to let shorter players have a chance to play the game.

             

            If that were the case, why the need for the different color shirt?  Wink

            2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do

              What is the rationale for this?  Because soccer (football) is so widely played on the pro level that they don't want the Olympics to be 99% international pro athletes?

               

              I think it has more to do with preserving the World Cup as the premier soccer (football) tournament globally.

              Runners run


              Feeling the growl again

                I think it has more to do with preserving the World Cup as the premier soccer (football) tournament globally.

                 

                That makes a lot of sense.  Since I am completely ignorant on soccer I never thought of that.

                "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                 

                I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                 

                jEfFgObLuE


                I've got a fever...

                  I like swimming and all, but at the same time, it kind of irritates me how many opportunities these folks have to medal, between the various strokes, distances, and relays as compared to track and field.  Phelps won 8 golds because he was awesome in 2008, but also because swimming has a lot of opportunity.

                   

                  It's not like a runner could win gold in the 400, 800, 1500, 5000, 10000, steeplechase, marathon, and 4x400 relay; the differentiation between swimming events (even accounting for different strokes) is far less than the differentiation between running events.

                  On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

                    I like swimming and all, but at the same time, it kind of irritates me how many opportunities these folks have to medal, between the various strokes, distances, and relays as compared to track and field.  Phelps won 8 golds because he was awesome in 2008, but also because swimming has a lot of opportunity.

                     

                    It's not like a runner could win gold in the 400, 800, 1500, 5000, 10000, steeplechase, marathon, and 4x400 relay; the differentiation between swimming events (even accounting for different strokes) is far less than the differentiation between running events.

                     

                    Yeah, had this conversation with my daughter. All the strokes make swimming somewhat goofy--it would be similar to if track & field had a 400 free style (regular running), 400m backwards, 400m skipping and 400m sidestep.

                    Runners run

                      Yeah, had this conversation with my daughter. All the strokes make swimming somewhat goofy--it would be similar to if track & field had a 400 free style (regular running), 400m backwards, 400m skipping and 400m sidestep.

                       

                      I agree with you but I'd contend that even what you're jokingly proposing is still far different than the various swimming strokes.

                      Even at the kids city swim meets around me, its the same kids winning for their age group. The only reason the same kid doesn't win each event for his/her age group is because they limit the number of events to 2 individual events, and one relay. That leaves two other strokes for someone else to win  It just seems to me swimming doesn't have the equivalent of distance events. Everything is short and essentially a sprint. Based on time competing I'd consider the 400m close to the 1600m race, at most. 

                       

                      To be fair, I'm just jealous because i suck at swimming. 


                      Menace to Sobriety

                        I was watching rowing on Saturday at the gym on the treadmill with closed captioning. They were explaining the sport and I don't know what the audio said, but the CC version said that having a tiny cox was a big advantage. Honest. I almost fell off the TM.

                        Janie, today I quit my job. And then I told my boss to go f*** himself, and then I blackmailed him for almost sixty thousand dollars. Pass the asparagus.

                        xor


                          Big cox is a drag.

                           

                            It just seems to me swimming doesn't have the equivalent of distance events. Everything is short and essentially a sprint. Based on time competing I'd consider the 400m close to the 1600m race, at most. 

                             

                            On the men's side the longest event in the pool is the 1500m freestyle which takes the best people over 14 minutes, that's definitely a distance event. The longest women's race in the pool is the 800m freestyle which takes the best women 8+ minutes.

                             

                            But all the goofy strokes only have a 100 and 200 so that's where the opportunity to pile up the medals comes from.

                             

                            Then there is the 10k "marathon" which is in open water.

                            Runners run

                              On the men's side the longest event in the pool is the 1500m freestyle which takes the best people over 14 minutes, that's definitely a distance event. The longest women's race in the pool is the 800m freestyle which takes the best women 8+ minutes.

                               

                              But all the goofy strokes only have a 100 and 200 so that's where the opportunity to pile up the medals comes from.

                               

                              Then there is the 10k "marathon" which is in open water.

                               

                              I learn something new every day!

                              xor


                                6.2 in open water may or may not be a good spectator event (we will see how nbc does; I missed it in 2008), but it does seem super cool.

                                 

                                Everyone knows about Ironman, but on Kona, there's also a much more obscure event called Ultraman.  It goes back to 1983. 

                                 

                                It has a 6.2 swim.  This was actually somewhat random... they weren't looking for a 10k course, not exactly.  6.2 just happens to be how far it is from the pier in Kailua-Kona over to Keauhou Bay.

                                 

                                I'm kind of curious if ultraman is what fed the genesis of a 10k distance open water swim (I mean, the distance, not the concept of open water swimming which goes way way way back)...which then became an olympic sport.

                                 

                                The history section of the 10k swimming site isn't very comprehensive.

                                 

                                Perhaps they are completely unrelated.  Anyway, I still think it is cool.  Even if they borrowed the M word.