One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

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rubato
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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

Post by rubato »

Nothing says "high functioning" like visible tats. Nothing says Ii have the judgement of a sailor on shore leave. It is tragic when you see a beautiful young woman with a 'sleeve' that looks she got her arm caught in a machine.

We had an in-house council who got a tongue stud, a shiny brass tongue stud. Really repellant feature which was plainly visible during meetings. I think someone got to him because it disappeared after 6 mos.

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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

Post by rubato »

Another thing visible tats say is "slavish conformist with delusions of brave individualism".

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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

Post by Bicycle Bill »

You know, my original post was to decry the professionalism in the Olympics.  The image I used showed, in an unmistakable manner, the fact that this person was one of those "professional jocks" (or in her case, 'jockess').  It used to be the exception when someone competed in TWO different Olympiads – or they were competing in two distinctly different sports (more than once an Olympic cyclist could be found at the Winter Games as a speed skater).  Now it's the norm.

And it's all across the Olympic spectrum.  Just about every athlete on the roster somehow makes a living because they are a professional basketball player, or cyclist, or golfer, or swimmer. or boxer, or hockey player, or skier.  You can find a virgin working in a brothel easier than you can find a true amateur competing at the Olympics.

But four pages later, it has devolved into a discussion of tattoos.  I've got some feelings and opinions about those too, but I'll save them for a different thread.
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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

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And I repeat the response I proffered earlier - nobody is getting rich as a gymnast; she would be making more money if she had hung up her leotard and sat back collecting endorsement checks. So remind me again what the problem is supposed to be.
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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

Post by Bicycle Bill »

Scooter wrote:
Thu Aug 05, 2021 8:56 am
And I repeat the response I proffered earlier - nobody is getting rich as a gymnast; she would be making more money if she had hung up her leotard and sat back collecting endorsement checks. So remind me again what the problem is supposed to be.
If you're defining rich as Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk-level wealthy, then no ... she's probably not getting rich.  But I don't think she's likely to be shopping for her clothes at the Goodwill or buying $1.00 canned goods to eat from the Family Dollar, either.  I'm certain that her annual income is on a far higher level than most workers who do a thankless, repetitive task for a forty-hour week, fifty-two weeks a year and still never see the far side of $100K per year (for the record, I'm not including double-income households here) ... and I'm equally sure that both you and I are likely to fall into that this category.

I mean, let's face it.  If it wasn't paying the bills and then some, would she still be doing it through four Olympiads now?  Or would she had indeed 'retired' and started a new career doing whatever else it is that she might be qualified for ... although it sounds like that would be nothing more than being a coach or trainer to the next crop of professional gymnasts.
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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

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Bicycle Bill wrote:
Thu Aug 05, 2021 10:09 am
If it wasn't paying the bills and then some, would she still be doing it through four Olympiads now?
Perhaps she just loves it that much and can't imagine doing anything else. I wouldn't expect a practical, dollars and cents guy like you to be able to conceive of someone living out their passion for its own sake.
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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

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Scooter wrote:
Thu Aug 05, 2021 10:56 am
Perhaps she just loves it that much and can't imagine doing anything else.
No doubt this is true for almost all Olympians and those who sought to be. However, the big names make big money, including Simone Biles. Unlike our standard pro sports, though, there is very little sharing of the wealth. There is modest support for athletes in many Olympic sports (or less than that) for those who are good enough to be there but not making it to stardom.

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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

Post by Bicycle Bill »

Incidentally, I see that the 4th time was a charm, as she finally won an Olympic medal (silver) in the floor event in  ⃥O⃥r⃥c⃥h⃥e⃥s⃥i⃥s⃥ ⃥D⃥a⃥n⃥c⃥e⃥  Artistic Gymnastics, a new event this year.
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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

Post by Bicycle Bill »

Scooter wrote:
Thu Aug 05, 2021 10:56 am
Perhaps she just loves it that much and can't imagine doing anything else. I wouldn't expect a practical, dollars and cents guy like you to be able to conceive of someone living out their passion for its own sake.
You mean like me and my 40-year-plus love affair with cycling?  The one that I fund and support out of my own pocket when something breaks or wears out, or I need to pay an entry fee or buy gas to travel to an event, or rent a hotel room to stay overnight, because I DON'T have sponsorships from Trek or Michelin or Shimano?
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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

Post by Big RR »

Artistic gymnastics is not new; it has been part of the modern aolympics from the outset, and is what most would just call gymnastics (Beam, Floor, Uneven Bars, Vault); it is called "artistic" to distinguish it from "rythmic" gymnastics.

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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

Post by Bicycle Bill »

Big RR wrote:
Thu Aug 05, 2021 2:57 pm
Artistic gymnastics is not new; it has been part of the modern Olympics from the outset, and is what most would just call gymnastics (Beam, Floor, Uneven Bars, Vault); it is called "artistic" to distinguish it from "rythmic" gymnastics.
The Olympic Games features dozens of sports in its competitive lineup, including multiple disciplines of singular sports.  For some of these disciplines, the differences between them are easy to spot — cycling road is obviously different from cycling track in the arena where the competitions are held.  But some Olympic sports are so similar to each other that it’s hard to tell the difference, even from the name.  While most people think of gymnastics as a sport of agility and balance, what is the difference between the rhythmic and the artistic competitions?

At its core, rhythmic gymnastics is all about presentation and style:  rhythmic gymnasts perform routines of leaps, contortions, and dance that flow in time to music.  Artistic gymnastics, on the other hand, is more technical, rewarding precise movements and athletic strength.  Only women compete at the Olympic level in rhythmic gymnastics, while both genders compete in separate competitions in artistic gymnastics.
(more here from britannica.com)
This makes it sound like they've separated them into two separate fields now... although I don't seem to remember vaulting, uneven parallel bars, or the beam routines ever being done to music.  So I'm STILL not sure just what the difference is — or where that stuff with the ribbons, hoops, and balls fits in.  Personally, I think it was just another way to get to see nearly-naked women in tight leotards.
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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

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Bicycle Bill wrote:
Thu Aug 05, 2021 2:53 pm
Scooter wrote:
Thu Aug 05, 2021 10:56 am
Perhaps she just loves it that much and can't imagine doing anything else. I wouldn't expect a practical, dollars and cents guy like you to be able to conceive of someone living out their passion for its own sake.
You mean like me and my 40-year-plus love affair with cycling?  The one that I fund and support out of my own pocket when something breaks or wears out, or I need to pay an entry fee or buy gas to travel to an event, or rent a hotel room to stay overnight, because I DON'T have sponsorships from Trek or Michelin or Shimano?
And you got good enough to compete among the world's elite cyclists that way, did you? I didn't realize that we had a self-made cycling superstar in our midst.
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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

Post by Bicycle Bill »

Scooter wrote:
Thu Aug 05, 2021 6:12 pm
And you got good enough to compete among the world's elite cyclists that way, did you? I didn't realize that we had a self-made cycling superstar in our midst.
Not to brag, but I did win or placed well in a few of what were called 'citizen's races' back in the day.  

However, I also was not delusional enough to realize that I would be able to achieve the upper level while still trying to hold down a 40-hour week job on the night shift, so instead of competition, I transitioned to a form of 'randonneuring' — distance touring — and kept myself in good enough shape that I could do multiple days of 60-75 miles per day, uphill and down, rain or shine, self-supported, at an average road speed of 16-18 mph, into my early fifties.

And even so, I could still crank up the juice and hold my own with some of the hotshots for a short time when circumstances warranted it.  In fact, while in my forties, I even rode my bike 30 miles to a near-by community festival where I took part in — and won — a pedal-powered tractor pull while dragging a weight-transfer sled full of about 750-850 pounds of tractor weights and scrap metal (and not against 12-year-old kids but against other adults, some of whom were fifteen or twenty years my junior, thank you very much), then got back onto my own bicycle and rode another 30 miles or so back home

Can you top — or even match — that?
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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

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Never claimed that I could. Nor would I presume to judge how much time and effort you put into your sport. Not sure what you think makes you qualified to judge that for someone more dedicated than you.
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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

Post by Big RR »

The ribbons, hoop, and ball and other props are part of rythmic gymnastics which is done to music. In artistic gymnastics womens' floor is done to music and without props, but the others (beam, bars, vault) are not. Men's floor is not done to music, but I recall it being done to music for a short time--it didn't catch on. From what I recall, rythmic gymnastics became an Olympic sport in the 1984 Olympics.

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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

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rubato wrote:
Thu Aug 05, 2021 3:39 am
Nothing says "high functioning" like visible tats. Nothing says Ii have the judgement of a sailor on shore leave. It is tragic when you see a beautiful young woman with a 'sleeve' that looks she got her arm caught in a machine.

We had an in-house council who got a tongue stud, a shiny brass tongue stud. Really repellant feature which was plainly visible during meetings. I think someone got to him because it disappeared after 6 mos.

yrs,
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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

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Something was not right with the Olympics as viewership was down 51%. A number of factors contributed to this. The Olympics have struggled with western viewers when the event is in east Asia causing time zone issues. The alternative streaming options siphoned off viewers. All sports viewing has been down significantly during the pandemic. At least in the U.S., there are many who have stopped watching in political protest to the "message athletes". But to lose half the audience of one of television's marquee events is stunning and a major story in its own right.

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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

Post by BoSoxGal »

I watched very little and what I did watch was mostly on demand via the Peacock app - they put out edited versions of events without commercials so I watched some of the gymnastics that way. One night I dialed up the ‘live’ coverage and watched some diving.

I can’t say it’s the least I’ve seen of the Olympics - I used to be a big time viewer but haven’t watched much in years. Definitely weird having no fans in the stands for events, and I’m sure that put some others off as well. It might have been better had they postponed another year but it was what it was.
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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

Post by Gob »

Too many daft events, like twin diving, horse disco, and those silly cycling on wood things.
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Re: One Picture to explain "What's Wrong with the Olympics"

Post by ex-khobar Andy »

Same here. I was irritated by the NBC coverage. Obviously and expectedly US-centric - I understand that - but I wish they had been better at scheduling. For example I wanted to watch the men's marathon and according to the handy dandy Guide they were doing at 8PM. Like an idiot I tuned in and watched 2 hours of softball and the men's basketball and god knows what else (ribbon twirling? seriously??? rhythmic swimming?????? WTF?????? - yes I can appreciate the skill and the time and effort but they leave me cold) and no men's marathon. Well there was no US guy going to medal so I suppose they gave up on the idea.

I have some dim memories of the Rome 1960 Olympics but the first one I followed avidly was the 1964 Tokyo games. My Olympic hopes in those days were pretty much around the long jump. Britons Mary Rand and Lynn Davies won the women's and men's gold medals respectively and I had hopes that I might follow them in say 1972. One memory of 1964 was the closing ceremony where they flashed up SAYONARA which was the first I had ever heard the word but which is now almost part of the English language.

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