Reasons why I can't get into the Olympics anymore

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Reed

Does she get a pass because of her gender??? What if Tom Brady or Labron skip a playoff game citing mental stress. Would we be quick to condemn them? Many would I think. Personally, I can't make that call for someone else.

One other thing that I thought of since I made that post: What about her teammates? Their chances of medaling have been significantly compromised, I would think.

[dkgo]

Brady/Lebron skipping a playoff game for "mental stress" would be absolutely eviscerated. People already love to throw out that a player is "mentally weak" as a huge negative.

It isn't her being a woman, it's that almost no one cares about the olympics at the same level people care about the NFL.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by dkgo

Brady/Lebron skipping a playoff game for "mental stress" would be absolutely eviscerated. People already love to throw out that a player is "mentally weak" as a huge negative.

It isn't her being a woman, it's that almost no one cares about the olympics at the same level people care about the NFL.

Look at Scottie Pippen and the migraine. Now I despise Pippen with every bone in my body, so I'm glad folks still hold it against him, but deep down, I know it's probably not right.

[pilight]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Well, not forever. And as far as recent history, it's a matter of degree.

Over commercialization of the Olympics was trope enough for SNL to parody it in the early 70's.

Nothing in these games has been close to being as political a statement as Tommie Smith and John Carlos in 1968.

How far back are we expected to look for the imagined ideal games you think you remember? 1952, called out in the European press as “competitions for disgusting traders”? 1948 with the Czech defections? 1936?

[pilight]

Originally Posted by dkgo

Brady/Lebron skipping a playoff game for "mental stress" would be absolutely eviscerated. People already love to throw out that a player is "mentally weak" as a huge negative.

If one of those guys was isolated in a foreign country, separated from all friends and family, not allowed to leave their hotel room when not competing, then had to compete in an empty arena with no fans allowed, as the Olympics is requiring this year, they'd quit within the first week. Even the NBA bubble allowed family visits.

[dkgo]

Originally Posted by pilight

If one of those guys was isolated in a foreign country, separated from all friends and family, not allowed to leave their hotel room when not competing, then had to compete in an empty arena with no fans allowed, as the Olympics is requiring this year, they'd quit within the first week. Even the NBA bubble allowed family visits.

There are NBA players playing in the olympics right now so that doesn't seem accurate.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by pilight

Over commercialization of the Olympics was trope enough for SNL to parody it in the early 70's.

Nothing in these games has been close to being as political a statement as Tommie Smith and John Carlos in 1968.

How far back are we expected to look for the imagined ideal games you think you remember? 1952, called out in the European press as “competitions for disgusting traders”? 1948 with the Czech defections? 1936?

It's a matter of degree, everything discussed here.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

It's a matter of degree, everything discussed here.

Besides, I wasn't the one who brought politics into this discussion. If you go back to the OP, I wasn't comparing these Olympics to any other. I believe you were the one who said this stuff has been going on forever. My response is two-fold: If anything, it's gotten progressively worse, all of it, but I really don't care what has happened in the past. I was looking at these Olympics and I found myself fed up with current commercialism and hype, the contrived backstories, and the American jingoism. Maybe my tastes, maybe my standards have changed as I have gotten older, but I have finally had enough of the Olympics.

[thehef]

On one hand, it's pretty easy to see that if it were Brady or James, the word "choke" would be in play. OTOH, according to Nastia Liuken, nearly every gymnast goes thru this, and if you're in a position to be able to launch yourself umpteen feet in the air, twisting and turning, etc., and have any hopes of actually landing safely, and you are then experiencing bouts of not feeling like you can finish the moves, you're probably being pretty smart to quit rather than a) inflict very poor scores on your team, and, more importantly, b) expose yourself to very serious injury, or worse. Still, that you are in that position exposes you to the charge of having choked. I mean, it's the biggest event - by far - of these gymnasts' lives, and she's not mentally up for it?

If you're down one, game seven, no time on the clock, and you normally shoot 95% from the line, but you mentally freeze and you clank the free throws, you choked. Harsh, but it's reality.

As for the (over-)commercialism, I suppose that a case can made for it, including re the past several Olympics. I'm not a fan of the commercialism in sports, in general, though I accept it as what it is. That said, I watch most of the Olympics (the sports that I care about) on DVR, and I whizz thru most of the chatter, commercials, and backstories (the 30-second backstories are fine; the 5-minutes ones get my fast-forward button...).

IMO, NBC's coverage doesn't seem overly pro-American beyond that fact that they are, uhh... an American-based company broadcasting to (mostly) Americans. In events (heats, finals, whatever) where Americans are not contenders, they seem to put an earnest effort into covering the non-Americans who are contenders... I suppose that in this day & age, where it's sort of hip for Americans to be decidedly anti-American, those in that group would prefer a more-balanced, neutral, global-perspective style of coverage. That view is probably well-represented here, but not so much across the country, and wouldn't be a ratings winner for NBC (else they would be doing it).

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by thehef

I suppose that in this day & age, where it's sort of hip for Americans to be decidedly anti-American, those in that group would prefer a more-balanced, neutral, global-perspective style of coverage. That view is probably well-represented here, but not so much across the country, and wouldn't be a ratings winner for NBC (else they would be doing it).

Yeah, I understand it of course. NBC is providing the service as demanded by most viewers. But I don't think it's necessarily being "hip" and "anti-American" for some Americans to want "a more-balanced, neutral, global-perspective style of coverage." Go back to those ESPN headlines about the U.S. losing to France in the OP. It's not anti-American to be a bit repulsed by the selfishness and babyness of that hysterical reaction.

[Déjà Bru]

But it's not just America; not by a long shot. Here is a headline in the news today:

The Chinese Sports Machine’s Single Goal: The Most Golds, at Any Cost

China relies on a system that puts tens of thousands of children in government-run training schools. Many of the young athletes are funneled into less prominent sports that Beijing hopes to dominate.

Knowing this makes it difficult to watch these puppets perform their trained acts.

[Jason Moyer]

Like we don't do the same thing in America and call it high school and college.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Jason Moyer

Like we don't do the same thing in America and call it high school and college.

The state is not an actor in America's student/athlete factory though.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Westheim

The state is not an actor in America's student/athlete factory though.

Oh, without a doubt, American children (and their parents) volunteer for this life, dedicate themselves to it, strive for it, for the riches that are in store. Also the allure of fame, of course. But it is voluntary. In China, Russia, and elsewhere, these people are told what to do, and they do it.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Oh, without a doubt, American children (and their parents) volunteer for this life, dedicate themselves to it, strive for it, for the riches that are in store. Also the allure of fame, of course. But it is voluntary. In China, Russia, and elsewhere, these people are told what to do, and they do it.

In China/Russia, a decent living can be made out of being the world's best ... I don't know, pole vaulter; authoritarian governments like to parade their heroes around and compensate them handsomely for it, when the alternative is slaving away in a dust factory for a penny a day. Since your pension plan in that type of country is usually your child(ren) (please consult the One Child Policy regarding China), parents are motivated to maximize their child(ren)'s "market value" (for lack of a better word at 8am).

In the US (but also other western countries), the government is usually not directly involved, your compensation comes from your deal with Nike and Pepsi, and whatever amount of followers you can rake up on Insta and Tiktok. However, athletic pursuits are entirely optional, especially if you have at least decent looks; you can become a "social media star" with a whole lot less effort, talent, and brain mass, so there is an easier way to a Porsche in your driveway... There's even something in it for the parents, who can be easily integrated into fun Youtube pranks that end up with them having pie in the face and a herd of screaming 23-year-olds hopping around them.

I do sound unreasonably bitter even for 8am, so this post better ends now.

[Déjà Bru]

Capitalism works, even if we are disgusted by it at times!

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by dkgo

Brady/Lebron skipping a playoff game for "mental stress" would be absolutely eviscerated. People already love to throw out that a player is "mentally weak" as a huge negative.

It isn't her being a woman, it's that almost no one cares about the olympics at the same level people care about the NFL.

No, in American men's sports we expect the people who are experiencing mental issues to fall apart on the field. Imagine if Ben Simmons had taken a couple of games off in the second round of the NBA playoffs instead of shooting 35% from the free throw line and refusing to shoot the ball in the 4th quarter because he was just straight up not in the right headspace. I'm sure he'd have been ripped to shreds, but then, he's being ripped to shreds anyway. Or... remember Mark Wohlers and before him Steve Blass? Or, hell, on the Olympic stage remember Dan Jansen, the speed skater who kept falling down over and over again? It's like we want to want an athlete completely falling apart in front of everyone...

I mean, honestly, yes, it probably *is* because Simone Biles is a woman that people are treating her differently, but hopefully this becomes a thing that people wake up to for men as well. Your mental health is as important as your physical health, and if you have the yips or the twisties or whatever your sport calls it, perhaps it's better if you check out for a bit instead of attempting to power through it and potentially ruin your future as well as your present.

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by Westheim

The state is not an actor in America's student/athlete factory though.

High schools and many colleges are literally arms of the state.

[Bub13]

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

No, in American men's sports we expect the people who are experiencing mental issues to fall apart on the field. Imagine if Ben Simmons had taken a couple of games off in the second round of the NBA playoffs instead of shooting 35% from the free throw line and refusing to shoot the ball in the 4th quarter because he was just straight up not in the right headspace. I'm sure he'd have been ripped to shreds, but then, he's being ripped to shreds anyway. Or... remember Mark Wohlers and before him Steve Blass? Or, hell, on the Olympic stage remember Dan Jansen, the speed skater who kept falling down over and over again? It's like we want to want an athlete completely falling apart in front of everyone...

Or Kevin Saucier, who retired because he feared his sudden loss of control might kill someone one day.

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

I mean, honestly, yes, it probably *is* because Simone Biles is a woman that people are treating her differently, but hopefully this becomes a thing that people wake up to for men as well. Your mental health is as important as your physical health, and if you have the yips or the twisties or whatever your sport calls it, perhaps it's better if you check out for a bit instead of attempting to power through it and potentially ruin your future as well as your present.

And getting the yips while tumbling through the air is a bit more dangerous than missing free throws. Best comparable is probably racing drivers: if you start thinking about how dangerous it is to do what you're doing, you'd best stop.

[swoboda]

I almost cannot imagine how someone could watch a swimming relay or a track relay and not get caught up in the excitement of the moment. IMO they are not good events to watch, they are great events to watch.
For all sports I hate everything that takes place "outside the white lines" but I still enjoy what happens on the field.
I prefer my sports without politics no matter what the politics are, but there isn't much I can do about it.

I still like the Olympics and respect the effort the athletes put in for years just to get there.