The Olympic Games ...


goscrewyourselves

goscrewyourselves

I'm the one
Hey guys,

I am bored so thought I see what you guys think. Once upon a time (when things were good) the Olympic Games were for Amateurs Only. Personally, I think it should go back that way.
 
Hi Tony, I do not watch any olympics. In fact, I am pretty turned off by sports altogether (you guys probably notice I don't join in any of those discussions).

I was more of a nerd in school, played in the band, although I ran cross country. I was also big in FFA (Future Farmers of America). Never got too interested in throwing balls.

It is a wonder to me how we can all be so different. Although, I think it is a good thing.
 
Dave,

I'm not into the Olympics either, while I think they are a great thing they just don't do much for me either, especially with some of the things they compete for and call "sport".
 
wombat457 said:
Hey guys,

I am bored so thought I see what you guys think. Once upon a time (when things were good) the Olympic Games were for Amateurs Only. Personally, I think it should go back that way.
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I love the Olympics! I have it on all day, unless the Orioles are playing.

To me it should be an example of sportsmanship at the highest level. Amateur or professional I could careless. The old Eastern block of communist nations they were almost all professionals because they were state sponsored. They did not have real jobs for the most part. They was no true amateur Olympics.

I enjoy seeing Americans shake hands with Russians and every other nation. The swimmers have disappointed me somewhat this year. They are doing great in medals, but they need to improve in sportsmanship.

Great thread Tony!

logandsawman said:
Hi Tony, I do not watch any olympics. In fact, I am pretty turned off by sports altogether (you guys probably notice I don't join in any of those discussions).

I was more of a nerd in school, played in the band, although I ran cross country. I was also big in FFA (Future Farmers of America). Never got too interested in throwing balls.

It is a wonder to me how we can all be so different. Although, I think it is a good thing.
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David you and I share much in common, but sports is not one of them. I played 3 sports in school football, wrestling and baseball. I was not popular in school because I was a hard core ball player. Some of my teammates hated me more then my opponents because I was so hard on them to play better.

Sports was my first love as a little kid. Sports is still a big part of my life.

Injuries and illness have changed me. I had to watch my skills diminish even before I was out of high school. I have learned my lesson that physical ability is a gift from God and now I admire effort and sportsmanship more than performance.

I always admired the guys who ran track. I could fly when I was young, but I hated to run with out chasing somebody, running with the ball, running down a fly ball or running the bases. I thought you track guys were super disciplined.

The great thing about this forum is that here we celebrate and embrace the things we have in common and we minimize our differences. It's an example of how we can all get along in society as a whole. Like sports and good sportsmanship can do.
 
Ironic isn't it Louis, you take the "P word" out of international affairs and we can all get on :)

When I was at school I was a tennis player and track athlete. Once I started working (thrown into the real world) my ports came to an end until I realized the need to remain fit. As such I returned to running, mainly the 5 kilometer (3 mile) distance. It was the one thing that I could compete with myself in ... trying to push my times lower and lower. At the peak of my fitness, I was down to running the 5 K in just over 17 minutes and that was when I was 30 something years old and still smoking :) Regrettably, a knee injury put an end to that.

From running I moved to the less physical sport of Lawn Bowls (yeah yeah yeah I know an old mans game). That sport allowed me to compete in the Arafura Games, a mini Olympic Games, held in Australia in which I won a Bronze Medal playing pairs. I also played 2nd for a Welsh International Represent when I lived in Wales. To be honest, that was possibly my greatest honor, being asked to play 2nd for an International Rep. I wish I still had my representative blazer from those days.

Bottom line though is I love sports, I just aren't as enthusiastic about them as an observer as I am as a competitor :)
 
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I always enjoy women's beach volleyball. Haven't seen it yet this year, but I haven't been watching either.

Willie
 
In school I was never into sports. As I got older I got into horseback riding, loved cross-country riding and fox-hunting,wing-shooting and my first love scuba-diving. So the the Olympics were never a draw for me and I got totally turned-off from them when I saw all the corruption and bs not to mention the excessive costs when they were getting ready for them here in Montreal. It's all big money and corruption IMHO. Look at Rio, huge slums and massive poverty....those poor people gain no material benefits from the Olympics and many of them have been forced out of their small jobs and moved out of their areas.
 
There was a report on TV news a couple of days ago that there's a push to include competitive video games to the Olympics. Time to get those thumbs into peak condition :confused::confused::rolleyes:
 
Genetk44 said:
In school I was never into sports. As I got older I got into horseback riding, loved cross-country riding and fox-hunting,wing-shooting and my first love scuba-diving. So the the Olympics were never a draw for me and I got totally turned-off from them when I saw all the corruption and bs not to mention the excessive costs when they were getting ready for them here in Montreal. It's all big money and corruption IMHO. Look at Rio, huge slums and massive poverty....those poor people gain no material benefits from the Olympics and many of them have been forced out of their small jobs and moved out of their areas.
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Gene I couldn't agree with you more.

When Australia hosted the games in Sydney X amount of years ago, the NSW (condoned by the then federal government) rounded up all the homeless in the areas of the games and carted them off to housing that they "found for the occasion". Once the games ended, those people were cast back out into the world to once again fend for themselves. Why was that done? So the world media didn't see what really went on in Sydney. Corruption - you got that right sir.

tootnkumin said:
There was a report on TV news a couple of days ago that there's a push to include competitive video games to the Olympics. Time to get those thumbs into peak condition :confused::confused::rolleyes:
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That is laughable, what will be next - texting competitions?
 
Just been watching bits and pieces of the final of the Women's Soccer, Aus v Brazil. 90mins of game, no score. 30mins extra time, no score. Then that worst of all, a penalty shootout, Brazil 7-6, Aus put one over the bar. I don't care who won, it's a lousy way to decide a match.
 
Toot'n,

Not really any other way of getting a result though Toot barring tossing a coin :( As you said, regardless of who won, for it to come down to one kick ....
 
Wasn't the final as I thought (was told) but in the next game the USA suffered almost the exact same fate at the hands of Sweden, they were 1 all at full time, went into extra, then shootout and lost by a shot over the bar. I know there's got to be a decider, but you feel, well, they might have as just gone to the shootout and saved all that agony.

Actually, of all the games that are called football, soccer seems to be the hardest to get much in the way of a scoreline if the teams are halfway decent.
 
Toot'n,

It isn't often you see a high scoring soccer match, at any level, but then again - Soccer is the only true football when you think about it. I see what you are saying about getting a decision if the scores are tied though and that would save a lot of time and bring about a speedier result.
 
I have an idea; line up 11 premier league soccer players and 11 NFL players. Let them play 30 minutes of American football, then play 30 minutes of soccer. I bet the American football players win both halves, if any of the soccer players are left to play the second half that is :)
 
I tell my grandsons when they fall down on the baseball field "don't lay there and cry like a European soccer player, get up!"
 
Bruette said:
I have an idea; line up 11 premier league soccer players and 11 NFL players. Let them play 30 minutes of American football, then play 30 minutes of soccer. I bet the American football players win both halves, if any of the soccer players are left to play the second half that is :)
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Hey Louis,

Then line them up against a team of Aussie footballers and tell em to take all their padding and protection off ... :)
 
G'day Tony and all....Being extremely careful not to make this political but in China in 2008 there was a story on a highly regarded investigative Australian show you'd know called Four Corners and I do believe it was on Foreign Correspondent too , both ABC shows about whole streets and suburbs moved on that time around..worst part that no real compensation was offered for their demolished properties at that time..Ideally you'd like to think that genuine compensation would occur..On the pure Olympic ideals of fair play and sportsmanship I agree with you. That said I have played amateur cricket , golf , lawn bowls at a reasonable level and to be honest there have been more than the odd example of cheating , bad sportsmanship and so on there too..Sport can do that but it can also bring out great joy , patriotism and respect and a bad day of international sport is still infinitely better than a good day of international conflict...Cheers Rod..
 
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