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Summer Olympics

Paulie Walnuts

Well-known member
I mainly watch track and swimming . Not going to waste time watching BB where the US wins 110-42.

Since Rio is just an hour ahead NBC won't have to pretend events are live when they were actually taped 8 hours ago. (yes I know in the past events were live online if you wanted to see them live) They are showing around 6000 hours on various channels and online. Don't know what percent of that is online only.

They really need to get rid of sports like golf, tennis, soccer etc. where other events are bigger. If you missed it for 2020 they added baseball/softball, skateboarding , karate, surfing and sport climbing. Stoners are happy.
 
They really need to get rid of sports like golf, tennis, soccer etc. where other events are bigger. If you missed it for 2020 they added baseball/softball, skateboarding , karate, surfing and sport climbing. Stoners are happy.

Stoners are happy because somebody at the IOC finally woke up and started looking at their ratings back a few Games ago. X Games events are pretty much the only events actually gaining viewership these days. Even the most popular events like gymnastics and figure skating have pretty static numbers from Games to Games. And, I'd add that if you don't like an event being included, just don't watch. Lack of viewership and ticket sales have actually killed off several events in recent times.
 
I agree with you, but I am curious. Do you feel the same way about hockey in the Winter Olympics?

I think there is a difference between individual and team sports. Golf and tennis have the 4 major championships that are far more prestigious than the Olympics, IMO. But not everyone who plays basketball or hockey at a high level play in the NBA or NHL. And really, the inclusion of those sports in the Olympics predates the modern version of those leagues. Basketball became an Olympic sport in 1936, 10 years before the NBA existed. Hockey has been at every Winter Olympics since the first one in 1924 and was played at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The NHL started play in 1917, but was Canadian teams only until the Boston Bruins joined for the 1924-25 season. And the first season with what we consider the "Original 6" wasn't until 1942-43.
 
Beach volleyball is just for dirty old men to watch. :thumbup: Funny how the men in that sport don't wear speedos or skimpy outfits.

Since hockey now has the world cup I say take it out of the olympics. And that way you don't shut down the NHL for 2 weeks.
 
have no problem with the new spots. They are better than golf or soccer or tennis.

But where is hacky sack?

Curious as to your disdain for Olympic soccer. One could argue that for the women, the Olympic tournament is as important as the World Cup ... both having been inclusive of women for pretty much the same time frame. The US team weighs it approximately the same, as I think do most of the other teams. And for the men, the IOC has that interesting twist where the tournament is essentially and Under 23 tournament so it's not the same old war horses we see in the World Cup, Copa and Euros ... it's the young guys. And they do play with a bit more freedom than their more cautious elders. To me it's a very fun tournament to watch even if it's not THE most important international tourney on the calendar.

I get the objection to golf and tennis though. I follow both sports but probably haven't invested more than five minutes in them as Olympic events. Ditto cycling. All three of those are individual sports with MANY more prestigious championships. There just aren't any stakes to Gold/Failure for those athletes other than what they bring personally to the table.
 
soccer has the world cup. No need to reinvent the wheel

Which is why they age restricted the men's tournament to U-23 teams. FIFA conducts World Cups at U-17 and U-20, so this is primarily for guys who have aged out of the youth teams but aren't necessarily on senior national team rosters yet. And soccer in the Olympics predates the World Cup, played every Olympics except 1896 and 1932. The first World Cup was 1930.
 
Which started first is not relevant. World cup is very popular even if it started later. It's even dumber that the olympic rules for men vs. women players are not the same. Any other olympic sport have 2 different sets of rules for who can compete, men vs. women?
 
Which started first is not relevant. World cup is very popular even if it started later. It's even dumber that the olympic rules for men vs. women players are not the same. Any other olympic sport have 2 different sets of rules for who can compete, men vs. women?

So the IOC is supposed to drop a sport that they have a longer history in than the world governing body? As for different rules, there are barely enough qualified teams to organize a proper women's tournament, in either the World Cup or Olympics (see CONCACAF qualifying for proof of that). Organizing an age restricted women's tournament doesn't make sense yet.
 
If dropping a sport is such a bad idea, why did they drop the men down to U-23? They have dropped a lot of sports over the years.

And besides, the IOC is probably on the of the few groups more corrupt than FIFA. Just ask the people in Utah about that. Watch the HBO show on the IOC this month if you can. Nothing has really changed since the "reforms" passed after 2002 mess. 3rd world guys still have their hands out for bribes they are just a little bit less open about it.
 
If dropping a sport is such a bad idea, why did they drop the men down to U-23? They have dropped a lot of sports over the years.

And besides, the IOC is probably on the of the few groups more corrupt than FIFA. Just ask the people in Utah about that. Watch the HBO show on the IOC this month if you can. Nothing has really changed since the "reforms" passed after 2002 mess. 3rd world guys still have their hands out for bribes they are just a little bit less open about it.

They didn't drop soccer entirely did they?

You're right about the IOC and FIFA. The 2 most corrupt organizations on Earth.
 
One more IOC note. They punted back to the individual sports governing bodies when confronted with Russian state sponsored doping. The International Paralympic Committe was having none of it. The entire Russian team was banned.
 
NC State gets on the board with Ryan Held getting a gold as the 3rd leg in the US 4x100 meter freestyle relay.
 
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