Olympics are crap--about to get crappier

[lg325]

Wrestling gets reinstated for 2020 Olympics

Wrestling has been reinstated for the 2020 Olympics, seven months after losing its spot.

www.espn.com

..that's kind of easy to judge the winner, isn't it?

Win by fall, technical fall, or who has the most points at the end.

The Olympics should adopt the Professional rules in regards to wrestling. Makes the sport a lot more interesting.

I watched a high school wrestling meet a number of years ago, the one boy left him self open for an RKO, but my nephew told me it wasn't allowed in High School.

I read where they have loosend up the rules for freestyle .So we might see some exciting matches.

 

[citygator]

Most watched Olympic sports are judged events. Gymnastics women in summer and figure skating in winter. But I get the criticism. I’d like to see a wing eating event.

 

[harmonica]

...the other thing is foreigners can play for other countries!!!!!!! =bullshit
...because they can't make their countries' teams!!!

Why Some Olympians Compete Against Their Home Country

Is switching nationalities just to compete in the games in the Olympic spirit?

www.theatlantic.com

Not necessarily.

During the 1980 olympics, a number of western athletes had to as their own nations were boycotting the Moscow games.

it doesn't matter---there is the link and it is fkn stupid no matter what

 

[candycorn]

Adults on skateboards look ridiculous

The Olympics mainly celebrate sports that no one gives a shit about. None of us would pay to see people cross country ski and shoot at targets.

Why isn’t there a pro bobsled league? Because no one cares.

And then the olympics got rid of wrestling? Something people actually are interested in. It’s crazy.

I do like to see who the fastest 100 yard dash person is though.

I probably like 10% of the olymp

The core Olympic sports are...
Track and Field, Swimming, Boxing, Wrestling, Gymnastics...
Anything else is fluff

There should be no team sports in the Olympics
Basketball, Soccer, Hockey....All have there own championships

Yeah but these are amateur athletes in the Olympics.

......right? I couldn't say it with a straight face either.

 

[candycorn]

Adults on skateboards look ridiculous

The Olympics mainly celebrate sports that no one gives a shit about. None of us would pay to see people cross country ski and shoot at targets.

Why isn’t there a pro bobsled league? Because no one cares.

And then the olympics got rid of wrestling? Something people actually are interested in. It’s crazy.

I do like to see who the fastest 100 yard dash person is though.

I probably like 10% of the olymp

The core Olympic sports are...
Track and Field, Swimming, Boxing, Wrestling, Gymnastics...
Anything else is fluff

There should be no team sports in the Olympics
Basketball, Soccer, Hockey....All have there own championships

And can you believe they took wrestling out? Insane.

I wish the olympics were all the greatest athletes assembled every 4 years. Who’s the greatest karate person in the world? Who can bench, squat, clean and jerk and deadlift the most? Who’s the fastest? Who’s the best gymnast? Figure skater.

whats that show where contestants run through that obstacle? That would be a great olympic event. American gladiators? Only have people from all over the world compete.

I like the idea.

The big problem I have with ANW is that the course is different in different cities for the sake of television. Some of the obstacles are harder than others as a result.

Hide and Go Seek is a demonstration event for 2028. Not really. But would it shock you?

 

[Pilot1]

I gave up on the Olympics in the late 80's when NBC started with all that Up Close and Personal CRAP. I don't care, I just want to see amateurs compete. NOT PRO's! Totally irrelevant now,

 

[candycorn]

I know they have the Decathlon in track and field--10 events. And they have the modern pentathlon....five events. Female athletes have the heptathlon. It sort of makes me wonder if there is something they could do spanning both the Winter and Summer Olympics.

Like have an event that combines:

Winter Olympic Events (one day):

Speed Skating
Biathlon
Ski Jump
Downhill Skiing
Freestyle Skiing

Summer Olympic Events--as they currently are in the Pentathlon (one day):

Pistols (see below)
Fencing
Equestrian (Show Jumping--draw horse)
800m Swim (its currently 200M)
2 mile run (stopping to shoot pistols four times)

The "catch" is that the athletes need to make their country's team as either a speed skater, biathlete, ski jumper, skier, freestyle skier, fencer, horseman/horsewoman, swimmer or runner. Meaning that the person who competes above is doing extra duty. They have to be world class in at least one of the disciplines and not just be moderately good at the ten events.

One would think that someone who wins the gold in this event could claim to be the greatest athlete on earth I would suppose.

 

[sealybobo]

Adults on skateboards look ridiculous

The Olympics mainly celebrate sports that no one gives a shit about. None of us would pay to see people cross country ski and shoot at targets.

Why isn’t there a pro bobsled league? Because no one cares.

And then the olympics got rid of wrestling? Something people actually are interested in. It’s crazy.

I do like to see who the fastest 100 yard dash person is though.

I probably like 10% of the olymp

The core Olympic sports are...
Track and Field, Swimming, Boxing, Wrestling, Gymnastics...
Anything else is fluff

There should be no team sports in the Olympics
Basketball, Soccer, Hockey....All have there own championships

And can you believe they took wrestling out? Insane.

I wish the olympics were all the greatest athletes assembled every 4 years. Who’s the greatest karate person in the world? Who can bench, squat, clean and jerk and deadlift the most? Who’s the fastest? Who’s the best gymnast? Figure skater.

whats that show where contestants run through that obstacle? That would be a great olympic event. American gladiators? Only have people from all over the world compete.

I like the idea.

The big problem I have with ANW is that the course is different in different cities for the sake of television. Some of the obstacles are harder than others as a result.

Hide and Go Seek is a demonstration event for 2028. Not really. But would it shock you?

What about tennis? I would like to see amateur tennis.

But make it a tournament. If you lose once you fall into the losers bracket where you can still win a bronze.

basketball too.

Hell, even the 100 yard dash. One run. Whoever wins gets gold.

 

[rightwinger]

Adults on skateboards look ridiculous

The Olympics mainly celebrate sports that no one gives a shit about. None of us would pay to see people cross country ski and shoot at targets.

Why isn’t there a pro bobsled league? Because no one cares.

And then the olympics got rid of wrestling? Something people actually are interested in. It’s crazy.

I do like to see who the fastest 100 yard dash person is though.

I probably like 10% of the olymp

The core Olympic sports are...
Track and Field, Swimming, Boxing, Wrestling, Gymnastics...
Anything else is fluff

There should be no team sports in the Olympics
Basketball, Soccer, Hockey....All have there own championships

And can you believe they took wrestling out? Insane.

I wish the olympics were all the greatest athletes assembled every 4 years. Who’s the greatest karate person in the world? Who can bench, squat, clean and jerk and deadlift the most? Who’s the fastest? Who’s the best gymnast? Figure skater.

whats that show where contestants run through that obstacle? That would be a great olympic event. American gladiators? Only have people from all over the world compete.

I like the idea.

The big problem I have with ANW is that the course is different in different cities for the sake of television. Some of the obstacles are harder than others as a result.

Hide and Go Seek is a demonstration event for 2028. Not really. But would it shock you?

What about tennis? I would like to see amateur tennis.

But make it a tournament. If you lose once you fall into the losers bracket where you can still win a bronze.

basketball too.

Hell, even the 100 yard dash. One run. Whoever wins gets gold.

They have Tennis in the Olympics
Same players on the Pro Circuit

No different than Wimbledon, US, French or Australian Open
only less prestige

 

[22lcidw]

Always amazes me the time people waste posting about things they claim they don't care about.

As far as the topic of the posts go, the Olympics are faltering. The public cares more about team events than it used to. The Olympics are still "stuck" on the individual sports. I don't know if it's still the case or not but I remember hearing once that Ice Hockey was the only team sport in the Winter Olympics. You see the expansion of the NFL, the NBA, the expansion of the EPL, rise of soccer in the US. The Olympics are still very heavy with individualized sports such as Figure Skating, Gymnastics, Track and Field, Swimming, etc... There are team events but by "team" I mean multiple athletes on the field taking part at one time...forwards, centers, defensemen, etc... Not just a track and field 4X100M team.

There aren't any easy solutions to the issue from a commercial standpoint. Expanding the roster of "sports" is likely not the answer if you're still talking about the Olympics as being a sports festival. The only obvious solution is to re-brand it as a recreational festival instead. And in the early days of the modern Olympics--the organizers did have an entire arts component that went by the wayside. That ended in 1948. The feeling back then was to have it be a cultural event as opposed to just a sporting one.

It looks as though it may be getting back toward that in some way.

One thing they should do, in my view, is shift sports from the Summer to the Winter games.

Summer Olympics:
View attachment 426528

Winter Olympics:
View attachment 426529

You probably don't want to do yatching or beach volleyball in the winter but certainly the boxing, fencing, and wrestling, judo, taekwondo events could be shifted to the winter. As could basketball.

Something else they should do is do what the NFL used to do with the Super Bowl. Have it rotate between three cities and a fourth to be named later. The Olympics should be held in a few cities only...cities that don't have to break the budget to host it and more importantly, can host it. I'm sure Lake Placid was great but hundreds of thouands of people coming to upstate New York strains the infrastructure. That some hundred thousand going to Denver...not so much.

Anyway, good to see the Olympics being discussed. I say expand the roster as much as you want. You want to put poker in the Olympics? Do it. But you've got much bigger problems than that IOC.

Agree

Billions of dollars have been wasted on Olympic infrastructure that is abandoned once the games are over.

They should have set locations that host non major events every four years. Events held in Olympic style stadiums can be rotated.

in the past there was a return on what was built. Olympics became to big for its britches. Commercials galore and events that are not what it was in the past. The product for what is paid and what it costs does not equal the entertainment expected. The athletes however, put a lot of time into their sport and deserve some recognition for it.

 

[rightwinger]

Always amazes me the time people waste posting about things they claim they don't care about.

As far as the topic of the posts go, the Olympics are faltering. The public cares more about team events than it used to. The Olympics are still "stuck" on the individual sports. I don't know if it's still the case or not but I remember hearing once that Ice Hockey was the only team sport in the Winter Olympics. You see the expansion of the NFL, the NBA, the expansion of the EPL, rise of soccer in the US. The Olympics are still very heavy with individualized sports such as Figure Skating, Gymnastics, Track and Field, Swimming, etc... There are team events but by "team" I mean multiple athletes on the field taking part at one time...forwards, centers, defensemen, etc... Not just a track and field 4X100M team.

There aren't any easy solutions to the issue from a commercial standpoint. Expanding the roster of "sports" is likely not the answer if you're still talking about the Olympics as being a sports festival. The only obvious solution is to re-brand it as a recreational festival instead. And in the early days of the modern Olympics--the organizers did have an entire arts component that went by the wayside. That ended in 1948. The feeling back then was to have it be a cultural event as opposed to just a sporting one.

It looks as though it may be getting back toward that in some way.

One thing they should do, in my view, is shift sports from the Summer to the Winter games.

Summer Olympics:
View attachment 426528

Winter Olympics:
View attachment 426529

You probably don't want to do yatching or beach volleyball in the winter but certainly the boxing, fencing, and wrestling, judo, taekwondo events could be shifted to the winter. As could basketball.

Something else they should do is do what the NFL used to do with the Super Bowl. Have it rotate between three cities and a fourth to be named later. The Olympics should be held in a few cities only...cities that don't have to break the budget to host it and more importantly, can host it. I'm sure Lake Placid was great but hundreds of thouands of people coming to upstate New York strains the infrastructure. That some hundred thousand going to Denver...not so much.

Anyway, good to see the Olympics being discussed. I say expand the roster as much as you want. You want to put poker in the Olympics? Do it. But you've got much bigger problems than that IOC.

Agree

Billions of dollars have been wasted on Olympic infrastructure that is abandoned once the games are over.

They should have set locations that host non major events every four years. Events held in Olympic style stadiums can be rotated.

in the past there was a return on what was built. Olympics became to big for its britches. Commercials galore and events that are not what it was in the past. The product for what is paid and what it costs does not equal the entertainment expected. The athletes however, put a lot of time into their sport and deserve some recognition for it.

I was in Athens in 2011, seven years after the 2004 Olympics. The Olympic Village was in shambles, overgrown, graffiti over everything, venues sitting unused. It bankrupted the country.

 

[Unkotare]

Always amazes me the time people waste posting about things they claim they don't care about.

As far as the topic of the posts go, the Olympics are faltering. The public cares more about team events than it used to. The Olympics are still "stuck" on the individual sports. I don't know if it's still the case or not but I remember hearing once that Ice Hockey was the only team sport in the Winter Olympics. You see the expansion of the NFL, the NBA, the expansion of the EPL, rise of soccer in the US. The Olympics are still very heavy with individualized sports such as Figure Skating, Gymnastics, Track and Field, Swimming, etc... There are team events but by "team" I mean multiple athletes on the field taking part at one time...forwards, centers, defensemen, etc... Not just a track and field 4X100M team.

There aren't any easy solutions to the issue from a commercial standpoint. Expanding the roster of "sports" is likely not the answer if you're still talking about the Olympics as being a sports festival. The only obvious solution is to re-brand it as a recreational festival instead. And in the early days of the modern Olympics--the organizers did have an entire arts component that went by the wayside. That ended in 1948. The feeling back then was to have it be a cultural event as opposed to just a sporting one.

It looks as though it may be getting back toward that in some way.

One thing they should do, in my view, is shift sports from the Summer to the Winter games.

Summer Olympics:
View attachment 426528

Winter Olympics:
View attachment 426529

You probably don't want to do yatching or beach volleyball in the winter but certainly the boxing, fencing, and wrestling, judo, taekwondo events could be shifted to the winter. As could basketball.

Something else they should do is do what the NFL used to do with the Super Bowl. Have it rotate between three cities and a fourth to be named later. The Olympics should be held in a few cities only...cities that don't have to break the budget to host it and more importantly, can host it. I'm sure Lake Placid was great but hundreds of thouands of people coming to upstate New York strains the infrastructure. That some hundred thousand going to Denver...not so much.

Anyway, good to see the Olympics being discussed. I say expand the roster as much as you want. You want to put poker in the Olympics? Do it. But you've got much bigger problems than that IOC.

Agree

Billions of dollars have been wasted on Olympic infrastructure that is abandoned once the games are over.

They should have set locations that host non major events every four years. Events held in Olympic style stadiums can be rotated.

in the past there was a return on what was built. Olympics became to big for its britches. Commercials galore and events that are not what it was in the past. The product for what is paid and what it costs does not equal the entertainment expected. The athletes however, put a lot of time into their sport and deserve some recognition for it.

I was in Athens in 2011, seven years after the 2004 Olympics. The Olympic Village was in shambles, overgrown, graffiti over everything, venues sitting unused. It bankrupted the country.

No, misadventures in socialism bankrupted the country.

 

[candycorn]

Adults on skateboards look ridiculous

The Olympics mainly celebrate sports that no one gives a shit about. None of us would pay to see people cross country ski and shoot at targets.

Why isn’t there a pro bobsled league? Because no one cares.

And then the olympics got rid of wrestling? Something people actually are interested in. It’s crazy.

I do like to see who the fastest 100 yard dash person is though.

I probably like 10% of the olymp

The core Olympic sports are...
Track and Field, Swimming, Boxing, Wrestling, Gymnastics...
Anything else is fluff

There should be no team sports in the Olympics
Basketball, Soccer, Hockey....All have there own championships

And can you believe they took wrestling out? Insane.

I wish the olympics were all the greatest athletes assembled every 4 years. Who’s the greatest karate person in the world? Who can bench, squat, clean and jerk and deadlift the most? Who’s the fastest? Who’s the best gymnast? Figure skater.

whats that show where contestants run through that obstacle? That would be a great olympic event. American gladiators? Only have people from all over the world compete.

I like the idea.

The big problem I have with ANW is that the course is different in different cities for the sake of television. Some of the obstacles are harder than others as a result.

Hide and Go Seek is a demonstration event for 2028. Not really. But would it shock you?

What about tennis? I would like to see amateur tennis.

But make it a tournament. If you lose once you fall into the losers bracket where you can still win a bronze.

basketball too.

Hell, even the 100 yard dash. One run. Whoever wins gets gold.

It would probably dilute the already diminished product further and blow the budget outward on some fronts but why not have a professional round and an amateur round? Like Spain's entry into the Pro round is Rafael Nadal for men's singles. He plays the Federers and Jocovich (sp?) of the world. Spains top amateur male tennis player plays other amateurs in a completely separate round. There is a gold medal for professional winner and a gold medal for the amateur winner.

 

[candycorn]

Always amazes me the time people waste posting about things they claim they don't care about.

As far as the topic of the posts go, the Olympics are faltering. The public cares more about team events than it used to. The Olympics are still "stuck" on the individual sports. I don't know if it's still the case or not but I remember hearing once that Ice Hockey was the only team sport in the Winter Olympics. You see the expansion of the NFL, the NBA, the expansion of the EPL, rise of soccer in the US. The Olympics are still very heavy with individualized sports such as Figure Skating, Gymnastics, Track and Field, Swimming, etc... There are team events but by "team" I mean multiple athletes on the field taking part at one time...forwards, centers, defensemen, etc... Not just a track and field 4X100M team.

There aren't any easy solutions to the issue from a commercial standpoint. Expanding the roster of "sports" is likely not the answer if you're still talking about the Olympics as being a sports festival. The only obvious solution is to re-brand it as a recreational festival instead. And in the early days of the modern Olympics--the organizers did have an entire arts component that went by the wayside. That ended in 1948. The feeling back then was to have it be a cultural event as opposed to just a sporting one.

It looks as though it may be getting back toward that in some way.

One thing they should do, in my view, is shift sports from the Summer to the Winter games.

Summer Olympics:
View attachment 426528

Winter Olympics:
View attachment 426529

You probably don't want to do yatching or beach volleyball in the winter but certainly the boxing, fencing, and wrestling, judo, taekwondo events could be shifted to the winter. As could basketball.

Something else they should do is do what the NFL used to do with the Super Bowl. Have it rotate between three cities and a fourth to be named later. The Olympics should be held in a few cities only...cities that don't have to break the budget to host it and more importantly, can host it. I'm sure Lake Placid was great but hundreds of thouands of people coming to upstate New York strains the infrastructure. That some hundred thousand going to Denver...not so much.

Anyway, good to see the Olympics being discussed. I say expand the roster as much as you want. You want to put poker in the Olympics? Do it. But you've got much bigger problems than that IOC.

Agree

Billions of dollars have been wasted on Olympic infrastructure that is abandoned once the games are over.

They should have set locations that host non major events every four years. Events held in Olympic style stadiums can be rotated.

in the past there was a return on what was built. Olympics became to big for its britches. Commercials galore and events that are not what it was in the past. The product for what is paid and what it costs does not equal the entertainment expected. The athletes however, put a lot of time into their sport and deserve some recognition for it.

I was in Athens in 2011, seven years after the 2004 Olympics. The Olympic Village was in shambles, overgrown, graffiti over everything, venues sitting unused. It bankrupted the country.

I hear the Beijing stadium was essentially being looted in 2010--2 years after it's use. The Brazil games were a prime example of what we shouldn't do with them. Have it in LA, Paris, Tokyo and every fourth games, let there be a bid for a wild card from Africa, South America or Oceana based on portability....Maybe if you're going to have it in Oceana... have events in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Jakarta, or Rio, Buenos Aires, Sao Palo, Santiago, Maricabo. Home cities still host the opening/closing ceremonies but the major expenses are shared across a lot of nations instead of just one.

 

[Canon Shooter]

Breakdancing?

Really?

Does anyone actually still do that? I can't wait to see Daquan Tyrone Jefferson III up on the podium!

Let's make "Drinking Dirty Vodka Martinis" an Olympic sport. Shit, I'll end up on a fuckin' Wheaties box.

For me, the allure of the Olympics has waned, as it probably has for most people. Women's gymnastics is still fun to watch. When you see the accomplishments of Kerri Strug in 1996, or the 1980 Men's hockey team, it's difficult not to enjoy the Olympics.

My favorite sports tend to be from the Winter Games. I love the downhill, luge and bobsled...

 

[sealybobo]

Always amazes me the time people waste posting about things they claim they don't care about.

As far as the topic of the posts go, the Olympics are faltering. The public cares more about team events than it used to. The Olympics are still "stuck" on the individual sports. I don't know if it's still the case or not but I remember hearing once that Ice Hockey was the only team sport in the Winter Olympics. You see the expansion of the NFL, the NBA, the expansion of the EPL, rise of soccer in the US. The Olympics are still very heavy with individualized sports such as Figure Skating, Gymnastics, Track and Field, Swimming, etc... There are team events but by "team" I mean multiple athletes on the field taking part at one time...forwards, centers, defensemen, etc... Not just a track and field 4X100M team.

There aren't any easy solutions to the issue from a commercial standpoint. Expanding the roster of "sports" is likely not the answer if you're still talking about the Olympics as being a sports festival. The only obvious solution is to re-brand it as a recreational festival instead. And in the early days of the modern Olympics--the organizers did have an entire arts component that went by the wayside. That ended in 1948. The feeling back then was to have it be a cultural event as opposed to just a sporting one.

It looks as though it may be getting back toward that in some way.

One thing they should do, in my view, is shift sports from the Summer to the Winter games.

Summer Olympics:
View attachment 426528

Winter Olympics:
View attachment 426529

You probably don't want to do yatching or beach volleyball in the winter but certainly the boxing, fencing, and wrestling, judo, taekwondo events could be shifted to the winter. As could basketball.

Something else they should do is do what the NFL used to do with the Super Bowl. Have it rotate between three cities and a fourth to be named later. The Olympics should be held in a few cities only...cities that don't have to break the budget to host it and more importantly, can host it. I'm sure Lake Placid was great but hundreds of thouands of people coming to upstate New York strains the infrastructure. That some hundred thousand going to Denver...not so much.

Anyway, good to see the Olympics being discussed. I say expand the roster as much as you want. You want to put poker in the Olympics? Do it. But you've got much bigger problems than that IOC.

Agree

Billions of dollars have been wasted on Olympic infrastructure that is abandoned once the games are over.

They should have set locations that host non major events every four years. Events held in Olympic style stadiums can be rotated.

in the past there was a return on what was built. Olympics became to big for its britches. Commercials galore and events that are not what it was in the past. The product for what is paid and what it costs does not equal the entertainment expected. The athletes however, put a lot of time into their sport and deserve some recognition for it.

I was in Athens in 2011, seven years after the 2004 Olympics. The Olympic Village was in shambles, overgrown, graffiti over everything, venues sitting unused. It bankrupted the country.

No, misadventures in socialism bankrupted the country.

The Beijing olympics generated 3.6 billion but the cost was $40 billion. London generated 5.2 billion and the cost was $18 billion.

 

[sealybobo]

Adults on skateboards look ridiculous

The Olympics mainly celebrate sports that no one gives a shit about. None of us would pay to see people cross country ski and shoot at targets.

Why isn’t there a pro bobsled league? Because no one cares.

And then the olympics got rid of wrestling? Something people actually are interested in. It’s crazy.

I do like to see who the fastest 100 yard dash person is though.

I probably like 10% of the olymp

The core Olympic sports are...
Track and Field, Swimming, Boxing, Wrestling, Gymnastics...
Anything else is fluff

There should be no team sports in the Olympics
Basketball, Soccer, Hockey....All have there own championships

And can you believe they took wrestling out? Insane.

I wish the olympics were all the greatest athletes assembled every 4 years. Who’s the greatest karate person in the world? Who can bench, squat, clean and jerk and deadlift the most? Who’s the fastest? Who’s the best gymnast? Figure skater.

whats that show where contestants run through that obstacle? That would be a great olympic event. American gladiators? Only have people from all over the world compete.

I like the idea.

The big problem I have with ANW is that the course is different in different cities for the sake of television. Some of the obstacles are harder than others as a result.

Hide and Go Seek is a demonstration event for 2028. Not really. But would it shock you?

What about tennis? I would like to see amateur tennis.

But make it a tournament. If you lose once you fall into the losers bracket where you can still win a bronze.

basketball too.

Hell, even the 100 yard dash. One run. Whoever wins gets gold.

It would probably dilute the already diminished product further and blow the budget outward on some fronts but why not have a professional round and an amateur round? Like Spain's entry into the Pro round is Rafael Nadal for men's singles. He plays the Federers and Jocovich (sp?) of the world. Spains top amateur male tennis player plays other amateurs in a completely separate round. There is a gold medal for professional winner and a gold medal for the amateur winner.

So the profession basketball players in europ3 can’t compete in the Olympics? I’m ok with that. If they are making a living playing the sport they can’t be in the Olympics.

Otherwise dirk nowitski goes to Germany to play with the Germans and yianni atootocombo plays for Greece but lebron can’t play?

 

[rightwinger]

Always amazes me the time people waste posting about things they claim they don't care about.

As far as the topic of the posts go, the Olympics are faltering. The public cares more about team events than it used to. The Olympics are still "stuck" on the individual sports. I don't know if it's still the case or not but I remember hearing once that Ice Hockey was the only team sport in the Winter Olympics. You see the expansion of the NFL, the NBA, the expansion of the EPL, rise of soccer in the US. The Olympics are still very heavy with individualized sports such as Figure Skating, Gymnastics, Track and Field, Swimming, etc... There are team events but by "team" I mean multiple athletes on the field taking part at one time...forwards, centers, defensemen, etc... Not just a track and field 4X100M team.

There aren't any easy solutions to the issue from a commercial standpoint. Expanding the roster of "sports" is likely not the answer if you're still talking about the Olympics as being a sports festival. The only obvious solution is to re-brand it as a recreational festival instead. And in the early days of the modern Olympics--the organizers did have an entire arts component that went by the wayside. That ended in 1948. The feeling back then was to have it be a cultural event as opposed to just a sporting one.

It looks as though it may be getting back toward that in some way.

One thing they should do, in my view, is shift sports from the Summer to the Winter games.

Summer Olympics:
View attachment 426528

Winter Olympics:
View attachment 426529

You probably don't want to do yatching or beach volleyball in the winter but certainly the boxing, fencing, and wrestling, judo, taekwondo events could be shifted to the winter. As could basketball.

Something else they should do is do what the NFL used to do with the Super Bowl. Have it rotate between three cities and a fourth to be named later. The Olympics should be held in a few cities only...cities that don't have to break the budget to host it and more importantly, can host it. I'm sure Lake Placid was great but hundreds of thouands of people coming to upstate New York strains the infrastructure. That some hundred thousand going to Denver...not so much.

Anyway, good to see the Olympics being discussed. I say expand the roster as much as you want. You want to put poker in the Olympics? Do it. But you've got much bigger problems than that IOC.

Agree

Billions of dollars have been wasted on Olympic infrastructure that is abandoned once the games are over.

They should have set locations that host non major events every four years. Events held in Olympic style stadiums can be rotated.

in the past there was a return on what was built. Olympics became to big for its britches. Commercials galore and events that are not what it was in the past. The product for what is paid and what it costs does not equal the entertainment expected. The athletes however, put a lot of time into their sport and deserve some recognition for it.

I was in Athens in 2011, seven years after the 2004 Olympics. The Olympic Village was in shambles, overgrown, graffiti over everything, venues sitting unused. It bankrupted the country.

I hear the Beijing stadium was essentially being looted in 2010--2 years after it's use. The Brazil games were a prime example of what we shouldn't do with them. Have it in LA, Paris, Tokyo and every fourth games, let there be a bid for a wild card from Africa, South America or Oceana based on portability....Maybe if you're going to have it in Oceana... have events in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Jakarta, or Rio, Buenos Aires, Sao Palo, Santiago, Maricabo. Home cities still host the opening/closing ceremonies but the major expenses are shared across a lot of nations instead of just one.

I’d agree
Rotate the hosting to include Open/Closing and events that can be conducted in the Olympic Stadium/arenas

Move other sports to the six continents and have a permanent venue for bicycling, swimming, kayaking, equestrian......

 

[22lcidw]

Always amazes me the time people waste posting about things they claim they don't care about.

As far as the topic of the posts go, the Olympics are faltering. The public cares more about team events than it used to. The Olympics are still "stuck" on the individual sports. I don't know if it's still the case or not but I remember hearing once that Ice Hockey was the only team sport in the Winter Olympics. You see the expansion of the NFL, the NBA, the expansion of the EPL, rise of soccer in the US. The Olympics are still very heavy with individualized sports such as Figure Skating, Gymnastics, Track and Field, Swimming, etc... There are team events but by "team" I mean multiple athletes on the field taking part at one time...forwards, centers, defensemen, etc... Not just a track and field 4X100M team.

There aren't any easy solutions to the issue from a commercial standpoint. Expanding the roster of "sports" is likely not the answer if you're still talking about the Olympics as being a sports festival. The only obvious solution is to re-brand it as a recreational festival instead. And in the early days of the modern Olympics--the organizers did have an entire arts component that went by the wayside. That ended in 1948. The feeling back then was to have it be a cultural event as opposed to just a sporting one.

It looks as though it may be getting back toward that in some way.

One thing they should do, in my view, is shift sports from the Summer to the Winter games.

Summer Olympics:
View attachment 426528

Winter Olympics:
View attachment 426529

You probably don't want to do yatching or beach volleyball in the winter but certainly the boxing, fencing, and wrestling, judo, taekwondo events could be shifted to the winter. As could basketball.

Something else they should do is do what the NFL used to do with the Super Bowl. Have it rotate between three cities and a fourth to be named later. The Olympics should be held in a few cities only...cities that don't have to break the budget to host it and more importantly, can host it. I'm sure Lake Placid was great but hundreds of thouands of people coming to upstate New York strains the infrastructure. That some hundred thousand going to Denver...not so much.

Anyway, good to see the Olympics being discussed. I say expand the roster as much as you want. You want to put poker in the Olympics? Do it. But you've got much bigger problems than that IOC.

Agree

Billions of dollars have been wasted on Olympic infrastructure that is abandoned once the games are over.

They should have set locations that host non major events every four years. Events held in Olympic style stadiums can be rotated.

in the past there was a return on what was built. Olympics became to big for its britches. Commercials galore and events that are not what it was in the past. The product for what is paid and what it costs does not equal the entertainment expected. The athletes however, put a lot of time into their sport and deserve some recognition for it.

I was in Athens in 2011, seven years after the 2004 Olympics. The Olympic Village was in shambles, overgrown, graffiti over everything, venues sitting unused. It bankrupted the country.

I hear the Beijing stadium was essentially being looted in 2010--2 years after it's use. The Brazil games were a prime example of what we shouldn't do with them. Have it in LA, Paris, Tokyo and every fourth games, let there be a bid for a wild card from Africa, South America or Oceana based on portability....Maybe if you're going to have it in Oceana... have events in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Jakarta, or Rio, Buenos Aires, Sao Palo, Santiago, Maricabo. Home cities still host the opening/closing ceremonies but the major expenses are shared across a lot of nations instead of just one.

The thing is, why should it be that expensive?

 

[rightwinger]

Always amazes me the time people waste posting about things they claim they don't care about.

As far as the topic of the posts go, the Olympics are faltering. The public cares more about team events than it used to. The Olympics are still "stuck" on the individual sports. I don't know if it's still the case or not but I remember hearing once that Ice Hockey was the only team sport in the Winter Olympics. You see the expansion of the NFL, the NBA, the expansion of the EPL, rise of soccer in the US. The Olympics are still very heavy with individualized sports such as Figure Skating, Gymnastics, Track and Field, Swimming, etc... There are team events but by "team" I mean multiple athletes on the field taking part at one time...forwards, centers, defensemen, etc... Not just a track and field 4X100M team.

There aren't any easy solutions to the issue from a commercial standpoint. Expanding the roster of "sports" is likely not the answer if you're still talking about the Olympics as being a sports festival. The only obvious solution is to re-brand it as a recreational festival instead. And in the early days of the modern Olympics--the organizers did have an entire arts component that went by the wayside. That ended in 1948. The feeling back then was to have it be a cultural event as opposed to just a sporting one.

It looks as though it may be getting back toward that in some way.

One thing they should do, in my view, is shift sports from the Summer to the Winter games.

Summer Olympics:
View attachment 426528

Winter Olympics:
View attachment 426529

You probably don't want to do yatching or beach volleyball in the winter but certainly the boxing, fencing, and wrestling, judo, taekwondo events could be shifted to the winter. As could basketball.

Something else they should do is do what the NFL used to do with the Super Bowl. Have it rotate between three cities and a fourth to be named later. The Olympics should be held in a few cities only...cities that don't have to break the budget to host it and more importantly, can host it. I'm sure Lake Placid was great but hundreds of thouands of people coming to upstate New York strains the infrastructure. That some hundred thousand going to Denver...not so much.

Anyway, good to see the Olympics being discussed. I say expand the roster as much as you want. You want to put poker in the Olympics? Do it. But you've got much bigger problems than that IOC.

Agree

Billions of dollars have been wasted on Olympic infrastructure that is abandoned once the games are over.

They should have set locations that host non major events every four years. Events held in Olympic style stadiums can be rotated.

in the past there was a return on what was built. Olympics became to big for its britches. Commercials galore and events that are not what it was in the past. The product for what is paid and what it costs does not equal the entertainment expected. The athletes however, put a lot of time into their sport and deserve some recognition for it.

I was in Athens in 2011, seven years after the 2004 Olympics. The Olympic Village was in shambles, overgrown, graffiti over everything, venues sitting unused. It bankrupted the country.

I hear the Beijing stadium was essentially being looted in 2010--2 years after it's use. The Brazil games were a prime example of what we shouldn't do with them. Have it in LA, Paris, Tokyo and every fourth games, let there be a bid for a wild card from Africa, South America or Oceana based on portability....Maybe if you're going to have it in Oceana... have events in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Jakarta, or Rio, Buenos Aires, Sao Palo, Santiago, Maricabo. Home cities still host the opening/closing ceremonies but the major expenses are shared across a lot of nations instead of just one.

The thing is, why should it be that expensive?

Because they have too many obscure sports/non-sports