[frozenice]

All of the events that I am close-minded about are sports that require specialized facilities that are a burden for the citizens of the city and the country hosting the events that will have to pay for years after the Olympics are over. If the IOC took on the financial risk of the Olympics it wouldn't bother me what events they chose to carry.

 

[marvin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by frozenice /img/forum/go_quote.gif All of the events that I am close-minded about are sports that require specialized facilities that are a burden for the citizens of the city and the country hosting the events that will have to pay for years after the Olympics are over. If the IOC took on the financial risk of the Olympics it wouldn't bother me what events they chose to carry.

If financial are an issue, then that city/state shouldn't host the Olympics. Last time I checked, cities/states aren't entered by lottery. Rather the bidding is a very competitive process that involves huge logistical efforts, massive bribes, and heads of state kowtowing to the IOC. Easy enough for a city/state to stay out of it if they didn't think it was worthwhile.

 

[frozenice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marvin /img/forum/go_quote.gif If financial are an issue, then that city/state shouldn't host the Olympics. Last time I checked, cities/states aren't entered by lottery. Rather the bidding is a very competitive process that involves huge logistical efforts, massive bribes, and heads of state kowtowing to the IOC. Easy enough for a city/state to stay out of it if they didn't think it was worthwhile.

Greece is getting bailed out "to save the Euro". Wouldn't that be something if the Euro got flushed down the toilet because Greece over borrowed to finance the Olympics. Sounds a bit more serious than a city/borrowing a few bucks to host the Olympics.

I don't buy into the idea that only a handful of top tier countries/cities can hold the Olympics and 90% of the countries are excluded. That to me is a gross violation of the Olympic ideals which is where we are at now.

 

[smrtby123]

I don't think they should cancel the luge, but from an engineering standpoint the instant I was what had happened and saw the course I was baffled why the course looked the way it did. I wondered why the IOC didn't say anything in the inspection of the course, and it seems like there needs to be some better safety controls of the courses.

 

[ford2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by frozenice /img/forum/go_quote.gif Greece is getting bailed out "to save the Euro". Wouldn't that be something if the Euro got flushed down the toilet because Greece over borrowed to finance the Olympics. Sounds a bit more serious than a city/borrowing a few bucks to host the Olympics. I don't buy into the idea that only a handful of top tier countries/cities can hold the Olympics and 90% of the countries are excluded. That to me is a gross violation of the Olympic ideals which is where we are at now.

So you advocate holding the next Olympics in Somalia.There are a lot of reasons as to who gets the games,not just if they can finance it.

 

[Primetime1337]

People die every day driving their cars, maybe we should take away all cars, just saying ....

 

[Happy Camper]

Absolutely not.

 

[baka1969]

The Lugers wouldn't have it any other way but to compete. BTW, curling is an ancient sport. It may not be my favorite but it deserves it's place. Frozenice (kind of ironic) stop hatin on the Olympics. It's really a nice tradition and a proud moment for the athletes and host nation.

 

[Sarah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Primetime1337 /img/forum/go_quote.gif People die every day driving their cars, maybe we should take away all cars, just saying ....

What a perfect analogy you've arrived at

Let me make it a little more accurate for this situation:

You built a brand new road, and invited, say, 50 of the best drivers in the world to try it out before a big event... and about 10 of those drivers crashed, several were injured and one died... do you think that road should be closed until it is made safe for people to use? Or should you just cut the ribbon and tell everyone to go ahead and drive on it?

 

[craiglester]

No one's forcing anyone to race. The athletes themselves will make the decisions. As it should be.

 

[DrBenway]

I think the luge should go ahead. This is an incredibly dangerous sport, and everything possible should be done to make it as safe as humanly possible. Once that has been done, the event should go ahead.

I completely agree with the posters who suggest that there are too many sports in the Olympics. The original modern games (as in before the Winter Olympics even existed) focused on events that tested the most basic and pure athletic talent. How fast can you run? How high can you jump? How far can you throw? How well do you wrestle?

The proliferation of sports that have little to do with this really degrades the Games, in my opinion. Ice dancing is a joke. I don't know if ballroom dancing is still included, but that's so far beyond ridiculous as a "sport" that's it's not even a joke. Rhythmic gymnastics? Oh please. Synchronized swimming? Synchronized DIVING?!!! These are silly, contrived non-sports that divert attention from the real thing. They may or may not require talent and ability, but they ain't sports.

There are also too many different events within certain sports. Swimming belongs, but there are approximately twice as many events as there should be. The 100 meter swim? The 101 meter swim? The 102.567 meter swim?

There are also far too many skiing events. The classic three alpine events --slalom, giant slalom, and the downhill -- represent the sport completely. In what exact way is "super g" relevant or different? It isn't.

I also would eliminate all judged sports. Yep, including gymnastics, figure skating, boxing, and dudes doin' tricks on snowboards. Any competition that requires judging is not a sport. It's a beauty contest.

Finally, the sports that have mass exposure in other venues should also go. That means tennis and other events that are ubiquitous around the calendar. These sports simply don't need the additional exposure, and the inclusion of them distracts attention from track and field and other classic Olympic events.

I know I'm gonna get slammed for saying these things, but remember, please, that these are only my opinions.

 

[logwed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrBenway events that tested the most basic and pure athletic talent. How fast can you run? How high can you jump? How far can you throw? How well do you wrestle?

Wrestling requires judging.

If [everything that you suggested] were to happen, it would just be a bunch of running/swimming/falling downhill on pieces of fiberglass. If you want that, watch many of the World Cups and national events that are hosted annually. There isn't an event that isn't physically demanding, much less anything that is a mere beauty contest.

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by logwed /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wrestling requires judging.

True enough, but I consider the judging in that sport to be more in the manner of officiating. Did a competitor execute a move that scores points? That's far more concrete than the watery, subjective nonsense in competitions like figure skating or gymnastics.

My mother was a competitive fencer. She knew it was time to quit when judges who were familiar with her started awarding her touches that she knew she hadn't scored. The adoption of electric scoring (after she retired) completely revolutionized the sport.

 

[Currawong]

They did the sensible thing in the end, which was start the men from the women's start line to slow it down. That way everyone benefits.

I agree that the Olympics has become a showcase for a lot of nonsense, but I wouldn't agree with eliminating as many sports as suggested by DrBenway. However, one could counter-argue that traditional sports aren't representative of people's interests in sports these days and traditional sports should be the first to go.

 

[DrBenway]

- Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...one could counter-argue that traditional sports aren't representative of people's interests in sports these days and traditional sports should be the first to go.

Well I don't agree with that, but it is a novel way of looking at the issue. Either way, as I said in my previous post, i think that the idea should be to test the basics of athleticism -- strength, speed, stamina, jumping ability, etc.