The Olympics (1 Viewer)

[joesgis]

All,

I also wanted to say that the US Mens National Team is not in the Olympics because they couldn't even qualify and the USWNT is still in court trying to earn equal pay...

...cause like they are like World Cup and Olympic champions and all. Y'know, as in the best in the World and have the trophies and Gold Medals to prove it.

Imagine your the 1/35 Scale Diorama Champion of the World with all the adulation and Medals to prove it and the cardboard box diorama kid gets paid more prize money than you...just cause.

Not cool man,


John from Texas

I hear what you're saying John, but at the same time let's not pretend that the USWNT has little more than a handful of teams who can actually compete with them. The support apparatus for women's soccer worldwide is sadly lacking, while the men's team has to deal with a much deeper field of well established soccer programs with rich traditions in countries of all sizes around the globe.

Joe

 

[jazzeum]

You have to remember that for Women’s soccer, the Olympics is more important than for the men. Many of the men’s teams are not sending their best players; it doesn’t have the same significance. Moreover, having just gone through a grueling regular season (which starts again in August) and the Euros, most players are resting up. In addition, although club teams are required to release players for national duty, they don’t have to do that for the Olympics.

 

[joesgis]

You have to remember that for Women’s soccer, the Olympics is more important than for the men. Many of the men’s teams are not sending their best players; it doesn’t have the same significance. Moreover, having just gone through a grueling regular season (which starts again in August) and the Euros, most players are resting up. In addition, although club teams are required to release players for national duty, they don’t have to do that for the Olympics.

Brad,

I agree. These are excellent points.

Joe

 

[Combat]

All I needed to read about these Olympics is that the broadcasters are trying to avoid "oversexualizing" the female athletes. Imagine the woke checklist to implement this objective. I wonder if that same lofty standard will apply after the Olympics? Like in the commercials and movies run by these folks. And the athletes themselves will not be accepting money because they look good to appear in commercials and social media. They will take the high road and not accept money for their physical appearance but be applying for one of the many vacant jobs in the fast food industry to make an honest living.

 

[Desertkiwi]

Speaking of sexism at the Olympics, I thought the refusal by the female Norwegian Beach Handball team to have wear bikini bottoms was pretty gutsy, especially given the men's teams only have to wear shorts.

No enforced 'budgie smugglers' for the boys.{eek3}

How's that for hypocrisy in sport.

 

[The Military Workshop]

Phillipines won their first ever gold. In women's weight lifting. Gets a house and chunk of money from the Government. Normally one you think an Eastern European going to win.

Seems this year has quite a high proportion of Americans supporting the opposition in certain sports.

Australia playing USA women's soccer in a few hours.

Who knew France even played Basketball^&grin

 

[The Military Workshop]

Well just watched my first ever women's soccer game. Oz v USA 0 - 0 with both teams going through to next round. USA came 2nd in the group but Oz go through as one of the best 3rd placers.

Just watched the medal presentation for the Women's 100m backstroke which Aussie swimmer (Mckewen) won. Very unfortunate that winners have to wear masks for highlight of their careers. Then just cut to somewhere inside where athletes warming up and most much closer to each other and not wearing masks.

Next event on my list is Oz v Fiji in Rugby 7's. Rugby 7's would have to be the national sport of Fiji.

 

[Combat]

Speaking of sexism at the Olympics, I thought the refusal by the female Norwegian Beach Handball team to have wear bikini bottoms was pretty gutsy, especially given the men's teams only have to wear shorts.

No enforced 'budgie smugglers' for the boys.{eek3}

How's that for hypocrisy in sport.

Imagine playing a sport on the beach for your entire life then suddenly at the Olympics deciding it is objectionable to wear swimwear. There was a story recently that some women volleyball players were prohibited from wearing bikini bottoms at a volleyball tournament in an Arab country. And the media made a big deal about how heroic they were in objecting to that prohibition and forcing the authorities to allow them to do so. What a world.

 

[Desertkiwi]

Imagine playing a sport on the beach for your entire life then suddenly at the Olympics deciding it is objectionable to wear swimwear. There was a story recently that some women volleyball players were prohibited from wearing bikini bottoms at a volleyball tournament in an Arab country. And the media made a big deal about how heroic they were in objecting to that prohibition and forcing the authorities to allow them to do so. What a world.

I know its nuts out there. I guess maybe they got sick of getting 'sand in their undies'? ^&grin

To be fair the the Norwegians ladies just wanted a 'choice,' opposed to having to wear skimpy bikini bottoms all the time, unlike the men who only have to wear shorts. I see some female gymnasts are also moving away from the 'skimpy shorts' and preferring the full body suits.......I think they're called 'unitards' or similar.

As for me I love bikinis, but so pleased I don't have to wear one. {eek3}^&grin

 

[bradleyl30]

I know its nuts out there. I guess maybe they got sick of getting 'sand in their undies'? ^&grin

To be fair the the Norwegians ladies just wanted a 'choice,' opposed to having to wear skimpy bikini bottoms all the time, unlike the men who only have to wear shorts. I see some female gymnasts are also moving away from the 'skimpy shorts' and preferring the full body suits.......I think they're called 'unitards' or similar.

As for me I love bikinis, but so pleased I don't have to wear one. {eek3}^&grin

Yeah, why is it so horrifically woke to give them a choice. I think breaking the stranglehold some of these bureaucratic sports organizations is fine.

The players should have a choice

 

[tdubel]

Yawn.....................oh the Olympics are on..........................who cares. From what I read early on between the flag and other such nonsense, not wasting my time on this shiite. Life is too short to waste time on such nothingness. Sorry, and I don't mean it flippant or crass, but the Olympics long ago lost a lot of their appeal. I think 84 was the last one I really watched and enjoyed, then the bs and nonsense took over.

I think I can gain more from counting the blades of grass in my yard............WORD.......WOKE..........WHAT"FN"EVER

TD

 

[Combat]

Yeah, why is it so horrifically woke to give them a choice. I think breaking the stranglehold some of these bureaucratic sports organizations is fine.

The players should have a choice

Doesn't it seem a little odd that they don't make the choice until they reach the Olympics? After playing the sport their entire life. Suddenly they decide it is objectionable. This all about getting attention and money. No one else cares if they play in bikinis or parkas.

 

[tdubel]

Doesn't it seem a little odd that they don't make the choice until they reach the Olympics? After playing the sport their entire life. Suddenly they decide it is objectionable. This all about getting attention and money. No one else cares if they play in bikinis or parkas.

We may disagree on a number of things, but again you are spot on here, could not agree more.

PS this thread is more entertaining than the Olympics!

Tom

 

[Combat]

So Simone Biles decided to quit because she was having a poor performance. And blame it on mental health. The media is eating it up. She is courageous. I guess the days of "coffee's for closers" are over. Meanwhile the USA basketball team is playing Iran. Yes Iran. U-S-A.

 

[Desertkiwi]

Yeah, why is it so horrifically woke to give them a choice. I think breaking the stranglehold some of these bureaucratic sports organizations is fine.

The players should have a choice

I agree they should have a choice and good on them for making a stand, but as 'Combat' quite rightly points out why wait until you're about to kick off your Olympics campaign to suddenly have issues with your uniform.

Shouldn't this have been resolved earlier?

 

[nysoldiers]

So Simone Biles decided to quit because she was having a poor performance. And blame it on mental health. The media is eating it up. She is courageous. I guess the days of "coffee's for closers" are over. Meanwhile the USA basketball team is playing Iran. Yes Iran. U-S-A.

I'm not a psychologist and I still believe Biles is a great athlete but I am disappointed in her decision to walk away. Although not apples to apples I was a very competitive athlete in High School and College and often felt a lot of pressure or stress to perform at my best. I went to college on an athletic scholarship and endured hours of practices and training each day which compromised my academic performance and social life. After two years I decided to transfer to another university and I gave up my scholarship and took out student loans. I didn't quit after a poor performance or in the middle of the season.

Biles earned her praise and rewards but not only does she owe her teammates but she is reaping millions of dollars in endorsements which will set her up for life. So tough it out and finish what you started. Every athlete has good and bad days and every serious athlete has pressure from their families, coaches, teammates and supporters.
If you lose or don't play your best you can still walk away with pride of trying your best when the competition is over.

Again I don't take away what she has accomplished and I know the pressure of representing your country and being on a world stage is daunting but she knew this before the games and could have resigned with dignity before going to Japan.
If you are going to compete at the highest levels and get the adulations and financial rewards that come with it then accepting the pressures and stress is to be expected.
I will not condemn her but I am disappointed in her decision.

 

[Warrior]

I'm not a psychologist and I still believe Biles is a great athlete but I am disappointed in her decision to walk away. Although not apples to apples I was a very competitive athlete in High School and College and often felt a lot of pressure or stress to perform at my best. I went to college on an athletic scholarship and endured hours of practices and training each day which compromised my academic performance and social life. After two years I decided to transfer to another university and I gave up my scholarship and took out student loans. I didn't quit after a poor performance or in the middle of the season.

Biles earned her praise and rewards but not only does she owe her teammates but she is reaping millions of dollars in endorsements which will set her up for life. So tough it out and finish what you started. Every athlete has good and bad days and every serious athlete has pressure from their families, coaches, teammates and supporters.
If you lose or don't play your best you can still walk away with pride of trying your best when the competition is over.

Again I don't take away what she has accomplished and I know the pressure of representing your country and being on a world stage is daunting but she knew this before the games and could have resigned with dignity before going to Japan.
If you are going to compete at the highest levels and get the adulations and financial rewards that come with it then accepting the pressures and stress is to be expected.
I will not condemn her but I am disappointed in her decision.

She's pulling out altogether now.

She's being mostly praised on social media and other platforms for her decision.

It's really a fine line; she hasn't looked right the entire process, from the trials to the preliminaries to yesterday, she's the worlds greatest gymnast, not sure what happened with her, only she knows.

Some will praise her, others will always remember her as the person who walked away from the olympics.

Somewhere there is a gymnast eating cold cereal in a one bedroom dump of an apartment who got left off the team asking why did this happen.

Such is sports.

 

[jazzeum]

Not everyone can handle stress or repeated stress and perhaps after undergoing stress all these years it became too much. As you get older (not that she’s old but perhaps old in terms of competing) she couldn’t handle it anymore. It’s not up to me second guess another person’s mental state.

Years ago when I was doing a lot of big deals (and also dealing with the pressures that come with them), our CFO told me “stress is how you know your alive.” It got a lot of laughs but sometimes stress can be too much.

 

[Combat]

I'm not a psychologist and I still believe Biles is a great athlete but I am disappointed in her decision to walk away. Although not apples to apples I was a very competitive athlete in High School and College and often felt a lot of pressure or stress to perform at my best. I went to college on an athletic scholarship and endured hours of practices and training each day which compromised my academic performance and social life. After two years I decided to transfer to another university and I gave up my scholarship and took out student loans. I didn't quit after a poor performance or in the middle of the season.

Biles earned her praise and rewards but not only does she owe her teammates but she is reaping millions of dollars in endorsements which will set her up for life. So tough it out and finish what you started. Every athlete has good and bad days and every serious athlete has pressure from their families, coaches, teammates and supporters.
If you lose or don't play your best you can still walk away with pride of trying your best when the competition is over.

Again I don't take away what she has accomplished and I know the pressure of representing your country and being on a world stage is daunting but she knew this before the games and could have resigned with dignity before going to Japan.
If you are going to compete at the highest levels and get the adulations and financial rewards that come with it then accepting the pressures and stress is to be expected.
I will not condemn her but I am disappointed in her decision.

I agree entirely but take issue with the media fawning over the decision to quit as heroic. Someone who rises to her level of expertise has basically spent their entire life training and preparing for these events. It is not an easy life that requires enormous dedication and sacrifice at an early age. That often results in dysfunction. But no one forces them to take this road and when they succeed to her level they are compensated in way that most people never achieve in a lifetime. So while I can admire her talent and dedication when she and her family decided to enter the public arena they must accept the criticism along with the praise. She was having a bad performance and simply decided to quit. There is nothing admirable about that in my opinion. And there is nothing wrong with the media criticizing her but in these woke times it is no longer acceptable to pass judgment on that type of conduct. It is deemed insensitive to "mental illness." As a result, the lesson to younger folks is increasingly not to persevere through difficult times but to give up in the face of adversity.

 

[jazzeum]

Spain has made it to the Men’s Soccer Quarters, the only European team to make it there and the only one taking the Olympics half seriously. Japan eliminated France 4-0 and they have to be favored. Spain faces Ivory Coast at 4am this Saturday so I will tape the match.

On the tennis side, the women’s draw is always unpredictable while Djokovic seems on his way to winning Gold, keeping his hopes up to win the Golden Slam. The only person to have ever done that is Steffi Graf, “Fraulein Forehand.”

The amazing Joker.