The Olympics

[togor]

Was a big fan as a kid, and there are some contests that still captivate me.

But there are too many obscure sports, both new (skateboarding) and old (badminton), where the number of participants exceeds the number of fans worldwide. And China tries to rack up its tally by getting golds in the sports that nobody else cares about.

And worse, the whole site selection process is just an exercise in sending bribes to Geneva.

Best thing IMO would be a year where no county volunteered to host. Then maybe people take a fresh look, see how rotten the IOC has become.

[Art]

The Olympics is dying. It's been dying for almost 50 years. Attempts to revive it have been minimally successful at best.

There will come a day when the number of desirable cities willing to host the Olympics will reach the critical point and that day may only be a few years off.

Sports no one else cares about have a long tradition in the Olympics, that part doesn't bother me, hey, everybody needs their day in the sun. The corruption does.

[dryheat]

Me too. I remember sitting in front of the t.v. with my family and being mesmerized by the Olympics. Curling, not so much. Things get too big to handle. Creeps messing with the girls. Guys who are girls. Terrorists attacks. I don't know how Geneva finds the time to rule the world and get the Olympics underway too.

[bruce]

Re: Geneva. Everybody wants to rule the world. The flavor of the day olympics ... not so much. JMHO. Sincerely. bruce.

[jaie5070]

In some ways the olympics are more professional than pro sports. I no longer care for either.

[Tom Trevor]

Just hold them in Greece or? every four years. All nations put into the pot to cover costs which should lower since everything will be in place already.

[barretcreek]

Not enough excitement; how 'bout adding sharks to synchronized swimming?

[lyman]

Just hold them in Greece or? every four years. All nations put into the pot to cover costs which should lower since everything will be in place already.

and the original games only,

have them all compete as the Greeks did, naked as a jaybird, (supposedly)

then see if attendance and TV viewership goes up

[Art]

and the original games only,

have them all compete as the Greeks did, naked as a jaybird, (supposedly)

then see if attendance and TV viewership goes up

Gymnasium comes from Greek words meaning place for exercising naked.

I think viewership for the nudist Olympics would depend a bit on the event and what the individual competitor looked like . There was an Australian swimmer named Dawn Fraser, a true wild child, who competed at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. She once said times would come down in swimming if the races were swum nude. That was before the current high tech suits of course. During the said '64 Olympics; IIRC Fraser was actually arrested for trespassing on the Imperial Palace grounds. She escaped with a reprimand.

[lyman]

modern tv could blank out or pixelate the naughty bits, so they won't offend anyone,

but it does seem we have Olympic sports that maybe should not be

[Tom Trevor]

I am all in for the Javelin catching event.

[Mark in Ottawa]

Gymnasium comes from Greek words meaning place for exercising naked.

I think viewership for the nudist Olympics would depend a bit on the event and what the individual competitor looked like . There was an Australian swimmer named Dawn Fraser, a true wild child, who competed at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. She once said times would come down in swimming if the races were swum nude. That was before the current high tech suits of course. During the said '64 Olympics; IIRC Fraser was actually arrested for trespassing on the Imperial Palace grounds. She escaped with a reprimand.

Funny thing is that I mentioned Dawn Fraser's idea of competing nude to my wife earlier today while we were watching the swim competition. For some reason she doubted my statement that I would be happy to watch such a race because they would swim faster

[Art]

Dawn Fraser, AC, MBE won gold medals in swimming in three consecutive Olympic Games, 1956, 1960 and 1964. She was born into a large impoverished family in New South Wales. While competing for Australia she developed a reputation for an isubordnate attitude, among other issues she wore an incorrect uniform against instructions in the opening ceremonies of the 1964 Tokyo Games. While in Tokyo she was accused of swimming a moat to steal an Olympic Flag from the Imperial Palace (she denied the moat swimming part.) The Japanese gave her the flag as a souvenier.

After swimming she worked as a Publican (bar manager) was briefly married and had one child She held a seat in the New South Wales Parliment in the 1980s. A few years ago she got into trouble for saying that Australian immigrants who weren't happy with Australia could jolly well go back where they (or their Parents) came from.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFg4jJudtuU

[jon_norstog]

I like Olympic BMX. Aaah, to be young again!

jn

[dryheat]

Just my opinion. BMX and skateboarding is arrested development. Who was the guy that committed suicide a while back? (I'm guessing)He realized; all I'm good at at age 28 is riding a little kids bicycle. Kind of like being a rock star. Seems like it can be kind of a dead end. Now your famous, now your not. Jason Lee seemed to make a smooth transition. The swimmer that won [today] said, "nine yrs of training comes down to, 20 or 40 seconds".