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OT: Pointless Olympic Sports

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They're not just committing their lives to these "pointless" sports, they're committing their lives to being the best in the world at something. They're some of the most driven people on the planet, whether they chose basketball or rowing or curling or table tennis.
 
I have to say that I always thought beach volleyball was kind of bogus...I mean they don't even allow beers between points. to me they have added a whole bunch of quasi-sports over the last few years...synchonized swimming? Seriously? Pretty much anything where the decisions are based on judges as opposed to most points/first over the finish line type events are questionable, too. I'm inclined to also include sports where only one country really has a chance to win, too...If the USA basketball team ends up blowing everyone else out, one wonders whether that is a meaningful undertaking, for example. I guess other than the ability to tell your grandchildren about the time you guarded Michael Jordan or Larry Bird, I'm not sure what benefit Turkmenistan or somebody gains from playing a team of NBA all stars and getting blown out by 20 or 30...I twas almost like they added sports to fill tv time as opposed to because anyone cared.
 
Butchy said:
It is pointless to attend UMass. Unless you live in Mass and want to save money on a college education.
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If they really wanted to save money, they could have spent 15 minutes ....
 
IMind said:
All I can really tell you from watching it is that Al Trautwig is the dumbest human being on the planet. I'd rather watch 8 hours of Duke's best flops narrated by Dick Vitale than 15 minutes of Trautwig.
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I agree. I remember reading one of those Olympic Preview's years ago (TV Guide, I think). It listed all the sports and who was doing the announcing with a comment or two. It said:

Al Trautwig - Small Bore Rifle: How apropo
 
freescooter said:
I have to say that I always thought beach volleyball was kind of bogus.
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I disagree. It's a legit sport and competition. The result is based on head-to-head performance without judges doing the scoring. Did you ever try playing it? It's pretty tiring.
 
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husky99 said:
Any of the shooting should be a out.... another sport out is badminton
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Did you ever play real badminton? I mean indoors with regulation lines and a net that doesn't droop? It's a lot of fun, another good sport.
 
Waquoit said:
I disagree. It's a legit sport and competition. The result is based on head-to-head performance without judges doing the scoring. Did you ever try playing it? It's pretty tiring.
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Yeah, I agree with all those points, but in the Olympics? Maybe on the beach in San Diego or someplace...I always put it in a catagory with men's over 50 slow pitch softball or maybe bocce...has that been added yet?
 
My problem is not that most of those sports are in the Olympics (although equestrian, archery, and synchronized swimming and diving are a duck*ing joke).

My problem is that those sports are in the Olympics, but the likes of baseball, softball, rugby (to be added in 2016 I believe), and cricket aren't. That right there indefensible.

Also, while I don't give a rats a** about gymnastics, the rule that only two people from each country are allowed to qualify for the all-around competition is one of the biggest jokes in the history of sports.
 
I have no problem with the equestrian stuff or archery or shooting - you can at least see where those sports have their origins. Synchronized anything has to go - two people doing the same thing at the same time is indefensible as a competition.

I get why baseball and softball are no longer included. There really is no international baseball competition going on a regular basis, so you almost have to re-form the sport every four year - there is no infrastructure that exists to put players on teams, offer preliminary competitions to qualify teams for the Olympics, etc. You can do that in soccer, but not baseball - logistics are a nightmare, the costs are high and interest around the world is marginal.

Another one...BMX race. Meh.
 
Badmitton is fine with me, not dissimilar to paddle tennis or squash or raquetball even volleyball really when talking about multiple riffs on the same basic concept. Basically as Americans with Football as our most popular sport we've got no right complaining about random rules or excessively contrived competition. Except for anything synchonized and rhythmic gymnastics and even there since dancing with the stars is one of the highest rated US TV shows we've got little to stand on.

I thought dapriest made some cogent points albeit in a manner harking back to early GOUCONN rants, particularly about all the swimming events. It is a bit ridiculous that they have medals for 4 different strokes each at varying distances and then combos. Just swim as fast as you can and whoever gets there first wins even if they do that weird underwater Man from Atlantis thing the entire length of the pool*.

* PS for anyone who decides to take up swimming all recreational pools are 25 meters or yards long and not 50, a rude awakening after you watch how fast the olympians swim. Their swimming is more than twice as fast as an average athletic person can swim. In contrast Usain Bolt is really fast at under 9.7 seconds, but most athletic people can finish 100 meters in 13 or 14 seconds.
 
freescooter said:
Yeah, I agree with all those points, but in the Olympics? Maybe on the beach in San Diego or someplace...I always put it in a catagory with men's over 50 slow pitch softball or maybe bocce...has that been added yet?
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Not a good comparison. Beach volleyball is a workout, unlike bocce.

But I get your point about questioning if it's an Olympic sport. It was put in a few years bach when it riding a wave of popularity. I have my problems with all of the X-game type sports. They were added solely to appeal to the desired "demographic". I find them incredibly boring. If the godfather of your "sport" is Evel Knievel, is it really a sport? Never mind the fact that most of them are "judged", a sign of a bogus sport IMO. The way they have taken over the Winter Games is a crime.
 
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If the 'average athletic' person needs two minutes to swim 100 meters, they're not an average athletic person. At least not by my definition.

On the really rare occasions back in the day that we had a meet at a 50m pool, times were always much faster than usual - half the turns.
 
Man some of you guys just sound like grumpy old men who complain any time something changes.
 
babysheep said:
Man some of you guys just sound like grumpy old men who complain any time something changes.
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Every time you post your post counts changes. Stop it. It's very annoying.;)
 
No Mens synch diving. I have discovered the secret though when the men borrow Misty May's bikini bottom and try and stuff everything in they make way too big a splash.
 
Badminton, Handball and a few other sports mentioned are actually very popular and competitive in different parts of the world. I do think a few events like Steeplechase and sports like Modern Pentathlon could easily be axed from the Olympic program as could events which are very similar to one another and normally won by the same athlete (e.g. 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle).
 
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rw005 said:
I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, water polo.
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As you should. Water Polo probably variances more versions of what considered an athlete than most any sport.

World Class Cardio- Check
Physical Strength- Check
Endurance-Check
Hand Eye Coordination- Check
Creativity- Check
Excitement/Scoring- Check
Easy to follow on the tube- Check
Nice looking chicks- Check
Dudes wearing banana hammocks that are obscured because they're under water all game- check.
 
I definitely consider myself an average athletic person and I'm sure I couldn't swim 100 meters in 2 minutes. I hate swimming, always have, I know many people that are very good in some sports and not good in others it's all about what you like and have some experience in.
 
While many of these sports are "pointless", I will admit that I watched badminton the other day and was thoroughly entertained. Like, it was one of the more entertaining things I had seen in quite awhile.

I would in no way watch most of these sports on a regular basis, but seeing them once every four years isn't too bad.
 
Badminton is huge in Denmark, Malaysia, Indonesia, China and India - that's 3 Billion fans of the sport right there. No way it will get cut from the Olympics. When I lived in Malaysia and India, I went to a bunch of tournaments, found it more entertaining than tennis.

Obviously every sport has its fans and athletes that bust their butt to excel in them - but I feel there are a few that are "contrived" like the steeplechase. Do we really need to award a medal for people running and jumping over a puddle of water? There already are plenty of running and hurdling events.

As to my point about similar events. If the same athletes compete and win in two distance events (in sports like Rowing, Track, Swimming), then would't it make sense to get rid of one of the events?
 
The ultimate example is in the winter olympics - the biathlon. You ski for a while, then shoot stuff with a rifle. I feel that if the biathlon is a sport, then you can combine any two activities into one. Have Phelps and Lochte pick up ping-pong paddles in the middle of the pool. Instead of free throws, tell LeBron he has to cross a balance beam. Have the jockeys on the prancing horses shoot a bow and arrow.

The possible combinations are infinite.

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Equestrian shouldn't be in there - the horse is doing all the work.

The handball is entertaining with Mike Gorman doing PBP, although he seems lost about the rules sometimes (understandably so). Kind of a combo basketball, hockey, soccer, lacrosse, you name it.

The women's beach volleyball just isn't the same with the players wearing extra layers over their bikinis. Stupid cold weather.
 
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I didn't want to start a whole new Olympic related thread for this:

Our old friend Ike Diogu is playing for Nigeria vs Lithuania right now.
 
Fishy said:
If the 'average athletic' person needs two minutes to swim 100 meters, they're not an average athletic person. At least not by my definition.

On the really rare occasions back in the day that we had a meet at a 50m pool, times were always much faster than usual - half the turns.
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Next time you are at the pool pick one average athletic person, if they are not a previous member of any swim team they are eligible for this wager. Then have them swim 4 lengths as fast as they can. The world record on 25M* pools has been under 50 seconds since the 80's so they gotta finish in 1:40. If you do this to even 5 people you are going to average 2 mins + and no one is going to get 1:40 especially since a lot of them won't even finish without stopping or going into something besides freestyle.

* I'm surprised but for pros the times are actually quicker in 25M pools, I assume its because of the speed of the Man from Atlantis.

 
All of the dudes competing in the Air Rifle event look like fatter versions of Buster from "Arrested Development".
 
Badminton is awesome! I'm not talking about the backyard rallies that involve a 5 second hangtime. I'm talking powershots and ankle breakers.
One other sport popular in Southeast Asia that is fun to watch and should be an olympic event is Sepak Takraw. You won't see any love handles in this sport.
 
Edward Sargent said:
No Mens synch diving. I have discovered the secret though when the men borrow Misty May's bikini bottom and try and stuff everything in they make way too big a splash.
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Each team certainly appeared to have an "Alpha Male".
 
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