OT: 2024 Olympics (non basketball)

[The Yakk]

I have been enjoying volleyball the past few days as well.

It reminds me of a vacation that I had in the mid-80s in Southern California. I went to Will Roger's State Beach in Santa Monica to watch professional beach volleyball. I set up my beach chair a few rows from the action with a few beers and beautiful ladies all around.

Among the players were Karch Kiraly and the Kings of the Beach, Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos. Sinjin and Randy were like Greek Gods. At the time, Sinjin's other career was modeling. It was a great time and I believe this was before beach volleyball was part of the Olympics. Great memory.

Smith, Stoklos, Kiraly, and Kent Steffes are the reason beach volleyball is in the Olympics. That generation of players had a massive positive impact on the sport's popularity, and NBC stepped in at the right time to cash in and push it further.

That sport should have become even more popular than it did. But it kind of stalled out and there is irony in that.

Around the time TV made its big investment, both the beach and indoor versions moved from side-out scoring to rally scoring. The TV money wanted the sports to fit into fixed time slots, and the sports' governing bodies--eager for that TV exposure--went along with the rule changes.

But that change took a lot of the pleasure out of the sport. One of the great things about the beach game were those long side-out battles--they were battles of attrition, where the tension grew as the players melted in the sun and we waited to see who would make the first mistake.

That is lost now, and the sport is worse for it. Probably the TV suits are too stupid to see the irony, but this is on them.

 

[Waquoit]

I'm pretty sure the change in scoring had nothing to do with it's downfall. It was simply a fad that faded. Like X-games.

 

[HCCForever]

Smith, Stoklos, Kiraly, and Kent Steffes are the reason beach volleyball is in the Olympics. That generation of players had a massive positive impact on the sport's popularity, and NBC stepped in at the right time to cash in and push it further.

That sport should have become even more popular than it did. But it kind of stalled out and there is irony in that.

Around the time TV made its big investment, both the beach and indoor versions moved from side-out scoring to rally scoring. The TV money wanted the sports to fit into fixed time slots, and the sports' governing bodies--eager for that TV exposure--went along with the rule changes.

But that change took a lot of the pleasure out of the sport. One of the great things about the beach game were those long side-out battles--they were battles of attrition, where the tension grew as the players melted in the sun and we waited to see who would make the first mistake.

That is lost now, and the sport is worse for it. Probably the TV suits are too stupid to see the irony, but this is on them.

Thanks. I was wondering about the side-out change. Stoklos and Smith did not play in the inaugural Olympics in 1996. They would have been late 30s by then. Steffes and Kiraly won the gold.

 

[aceboon]

every Olympics I watch volleyball and surprised it never caught on as a bigger pro sport in the states, seems to be gaining momentum at the college level with some of the crowds they've been attracting and a new pro league started last year, but still just a blip here.

 

[superjohn]

Smith, Stoklos, Kiraly, and Kent Steffes are the reason beach volleyball is in the Olympics. That generation of players had a massive positive impact on the sport's popularity, and NBC stepped in at the right time to cash in and push it further.

That sport should have become even more popular than it did. But it kind of stalled out and there is irony in that.

Around the time TV made its big investment, both the beach and indoor versions moved from side-out scoring to rally scoring. The TV money wanted the sports to fit into fixed time slots, and the sports' governing bodies--eager for that TV exposure--went along with the rule changes.

But that change took a lot of the pleasure out of the sport. One of the great things about the beach game were those long side-out battles--they were battles of attrition, where the tension grew as the players melted in the sun and we waited to see who would make the first mistake.

That is lost now, and the sport is worse for it. Probably the TV suits are too stupid to see the irony, but this is on them.

Correct, it's a shame because it's really an excellent sport. Rally scoring is really bad for the game, it eliminated so much of the drama and the comebacks.

 

[HCCForever]

every Olympics I watch volleyball and surprised it never caught on as a bigger pro sport in the states, seems to be gaining momentum at the college level with some of the crowds they've been attracting and a new pro league started last year, but still just a blip here.

I was checking out the number of men's college volleyball teams. There are not that many compared to women's teams which is probably due to Title IX. There are 334 D1 Women's teams and only 26 D1 for men. I live in Florida and even UF only has a club team for men.

 

[The Yakk]

I'm pretty sure the change in scoring had nothing to do with it's downfall. It was simply a fad that faded. Like X-games.

Possibly some truth in that.

I know I personally enjoyed the sport a lot less after the change, and so did many of the hardcore fans.

 

[The Yakk]

Thanks. I was wondering about the side-out change. Stoklos and Smith did not play in the inaugural Olympics in 1996. They would have been late 30s by then. Steffes and Kiraly won the gold.

Sinjin Smith played in Atlanta with a different partner! Stoklos actually dumped Smith when Smith got older--"I can't win with this guy anymore"--and Smith ended up leaving the AVP tour and accumulated enough points on a different tour to qualify for the U.S. team.

And Smith and his new partner--can't remember his name--played an amazing match against Kiraly and Steffes, and almost pulled out the win as massive underdogs.

Man, the sport was really great back then.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

every Olympics I watch volleyball and surprised it never caught on as a bigger pro sport in the states, seems to be gaining momentum at the college level with some of the crowds they've been attracting and a new pro league started last year, but still just a blip here.

Volleyball was my second favorite sport, and beach volleyball is incredibly fun. Unfortunately when I was in school it was in the same season as Soccer, my favorite sport. Would’ve loved to have continued to play.

 

[The Yakk]

For HCCForever:

Duel Helps Beach Volleyball Find Its Place in the Sun

Early rounds: Kiraly-Steffes beat Smith-Henkel in overtime. Top-seeded Reno-McPeak ousted.

www.latimes.com

 

[The Yakk]

And if you want to go way, way back, Kiraly and Smith were unbeatable partners in the early 80's when the beach sport was just gaining traction. But Kiraly left for a while to focus on the indoor game, and that's how Smith ended up with Stoklos. The LA Times article would have been even better if they mentioned that.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

This US-Brazil match was amazing.

 

[storrsroars]

My wife lives and dies every day with the gold medal table. It kills her when China wins one to pull ahead. But when the U.S. wins one she gets a double dose of joy--both for the athlete and the U.S.'s medal standings.

Same for a bunch of our friends.

Since I can't tell my wife this is a sad and stupid obsession, I will come here to vent:

A country's gold medal haul is straight-up purchased. The U.S. spent a ton of money to send a massive contingent of athletes to Paris; so did China, and so did the other medal leaders. She is basically rooting for money.

Here are the stats I would like to see:

• Medal counts as a rate based on population
• Medal counts as a rate based on the size of the Olympic contingent
• Medal counts as a rate based on money spent

I would like to root for the countries that perform far in excess of their resources. Go St. Lucia!

There was only one time in the history of the Olympics that medal counts actually mattered: that was 1984.

Older members will remember this. MacDonalds ran a promotion where you would get a scratch-off card with an Olympic event. If the U.S. won gold then the card got you a Big Mac; silver got small fries; and bronze got a coke. And you could win multiple items on the same card if the U.S. won more than one medal. MacDonalds probably has a good idea what the promotion would cost them.

Then the USSR and its satellite countries pulled out of the Olympics.

The U.S. ended up winning everything. I was in college then, and my roommates and I basically ate free MacDonalds for an entire summer. It was glorious. And it must have cost MacDonalds tens of $millions.

Good times!

The Athletic/NYT has you (at least partially) covered.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5681592/2024/08/06/olympic-medal-table-most-per-athlete/

 

[husky429]

My wife lives and dies every day with the gold medal table. It kills her when China wins one to pull ahead. But when the U.S. wins one she gets a double dose of joy--both for the athlete and the U.S.'s medal standings.

Same for a bunch of our friends.

Since I can't tell my wife this is a sad and stupid obsession, I will come here to vent:

A country's gold medal haul is straight-up purchased. The U.S. spent a ton of money to send a massive contingent of athletes to Paris; so did China, and so did the other medal leaders. She is basically rooting for money.

Here are the stats I would like to see:

• Medal counts as a rate based on population
• Medal counts as a rate based on the size of the Olympic contingent
• Medal counts as a rate based on money spent

I would like to root for the countries that perform far in excess of their resources. Go St. Lucia!

There was only one time in the history of the Olympics that medal counts actually mattered: that was 1984.

Older members will remember this. MacDonalds ran a promotion where you would get a scratch-off card with an Olympic event. If the U.S. won gold then the card got you a Big Mac; silver got small fries; and bronze got a coke. And you could win multiple items on the same card if the U.S. won more than one medal. MacDonalds probably has a good idea what the promotion would cost them.

Then the USSR and its satellite countries pulled out of the Olympics.

The U.S. ended up winning everything. I was in college then, and my roommates and I basically ate free MacDonalds for an entire summer. It was glorious. And it must have cost MacDonalds tens of $millions.

Good times!

Is it about how much a country is willing to spend on sending athletes to Paris? Or is it about overall spending on athletic training?

I kind of doubt there's some potential record-holder swimmer in Cambodia bummed out because they couldn't afford to fly her to Paris.

Doesn't it have more to do with wealth and overall investment in athletics as well as population? The USA and China spend an absurd amount on training athletes compared to other countries.

 

[HCCForever]

Is it about how much a country is willing to spend on sending athletes to Paris? Or is it about overall spending on athletic training?

I kind of doubt there's some potential record-holder swimmer in Cambodia bummed out because they couldn't afford to fly her to Paris.

Doesn't it have more to do with wealth and overall investment in athletics as well as population? The USA and China spend an absurd amount on training athletes compared to other countries.

How do you explain the fact that India has a population equal to China but only has 4 bronze medals to date? That must be due to country wealth.

 

[aceboon]

everyone assumed Lyles would get gold in the 200 since it's best event, he was laboring there

 

[husky429]

How do you explain the fact that India has a population equal to China but only has 4 bronze medals to date? That must be due to country wealth.

I am hardly an expert on international athletics. I would imagine it has to do with China investing insane amounts of money into developing athletes. It's cultural. I would imagine India will have a good shot of medaling in Cricket when it comes back to the Olympics in LA, though.

 

[gsmooth]

Whoever bet on Tebogo from Botswana on the 200M Men's final I am sure made a good chunk of money.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Lyles ran .4 off his PB. Weird. Tebogo looked as if he wasn’t even trying and got 4th best time ever. Good for him, only 21, too.

 

[superjohn]

How do you explain the fact that India has a population equal to China but only has 4 bronze medals to date? That must be due to country wealth.

India= skinny/fat

Just kidding, well kind of

 

[gsmooth]

How do you explain the fact that India has a population equal to China but only has 4 bronze medals to date? That must be due to country wealth.

Sure India has about 1/6 the per capita GDP and has less money than China for sure. But I think it also supports husky429's statement:

Doesn't it have more to do with wealth and overall investment in athletics as well as population? The USA and China spend an absurd amount on training athletes compared to other countries.

It's about what sports and competitions countries prioritize. I can tell you most Indians on a nationalistic sports level really only care about cricket and field hockey is a distant second. They will watch other sports, such as the Olympics and the World Cup, but cricket is the one and everything in terms of what they want to win and what means the most to them.

 

[ctbro1999]

Not a great last 15 minutes for Team USA. Lyles and Kung Kenny can't win gold in the 200, then the women's water polo team goes down in a shootout to the Aussies in the semifinals.

 

[Chin Diesel]

There was only one time in the history of the Olympics that medal counts actually mattered: that was 1984.

Older members will remember this. MacDonalds ran a promotion where you would get a scratch-off card with an Olympic event. If the U.S. won gold then the card got you a Big Mac; silver got small fries; and bronze got a coke. And you could win multiple items on the same card if the U.S. won more than one medal. MacDonalds probably has a good idea what the promotion would cost them.

Then the USSR and its satellite countries pulled out of the Olympics.

The U.S. ended up winning everything. I was in college then, and my roommates and I basically ate free MacDonalds for an entire summer. It was glorious. And it must have cost MacDonalds tens of $millions.

Good times!

The Simpson's put this in one of their episodes as a flashback where it was Krusty Burgers that nearly went bankrupt because of how the US crushed everyone without the Soviet block participating.

 

[ctbro1999]

They just reported that Lyles has COVID.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Apparently Lyles has Covid, that’s crazy.