I abhor the Olympics.
- Thread starter Jailbird408
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You don't HAVE to be there to enjoy the game. It just helps you understand where all these fanatic types come from. I've never been at a State of Origin match but my family and I will watch all three games and yell and scream for all we're worth even if it is at a TV. I think what I was trying to put forward to you is that its a purely emotive concept. It's something you can't explain through the wonders of science beyond the usual brain, electrons, endorphins etc. And that really does make things sound boring! No at the end of the day it's an expression of emotion.In Search of Username said:I don't take pride in my uniform or flag or customised gaming computer either, so I guess there's the problem.Dwarfman said:Anyway what's the explanation for people supporting teams that have nothing to do with them personally then? I know plenty of people who support football teams that aren't from places they have any personal attachment to. It just seems like an arbitrary choice. Oh, and if it's all about the excitement of being there watching the game itself, why do people even follow specific teams closely enough to care who won if they weren't there watching? Pah, none of it makes sense to me.
As for people supporting other teams from other places. I'll partly agree with you there. As far as I'm concerned if you can't support your own team don't even bother. That being said there are many different leagues from many different sports. Going back to football the English premier league is considered by many to be the best football league in the world. If that's the case and you have an interest in football then why wouldn't you get into it. That being said I'll watch EPL but I'll happily 'oohh' and 'aaahhh' for both teams playing. They aren't my team but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a good match.
As for pride. I take pride in my chef's uniform as it is a symbol of three and a half years of blood, sweat and burns to get to where I am today. I take pride in the achievements of my family and friends. All of these things listed here and in my previous statement were simple examples of the same emotion. Pride. So what do you have pride in? Your achievements. Your job. Don't tell me nothing cause that would be telling porkys. Everyone has pride in something. Something that ... I dunno helps them get up in the mornings, makes them keep ticking on, makes them themself.
Right there. People are stupid and will watch anything.
I've never watched any of the Olympic events. None of it is interesting. A lot of it is just REALLY stupid pointless human talents (diving? what?!).
What I really hate is when everything looks so completely identical that judges have to tell me why it was special and different from each other.
At least with sports (which I also do not watch because it is boring) you can at least tell who scored and why they're winning.
Play videogames? No, wait...Jailbird408 said:
I personally like watching a sport to see how well it is played - if someone for my country wins then horray for us, but I'm just in it to see people play a sport well.
That doesn't make sense, unless it's brainwashing people.
So is Coke-Cola. Why is this a bad thing?
So could anything, but as human-beings we need some release from productivity and watching other people exercise is perfect for that.
I wouldn't at all of 'struck you down' until you posted how your opinions are, by default, sane and the confrontational attitude you take at the end.
I'm going to have to agree with your mother on this one: take a chill-pill and just learn to accept other people's views. The Olympics wouldn't be so popular if there wasn't some appeal in it but if it's not for you then simply don't watch it and move on.
Now, football- there's something to hate =D
Most people who watch sports have a team/person they favour because they represent something to them. Be it a team/person that represents their hometown, region, or country or whatever, they mean something to them.In Search of Username said:
You don't have that pride in seeing the team that means something to you win because you personally have no team that means anything to you. You have no stake, emotionally or physically in sports, much like a person who doesn't like a particular series doesn't have an emotional stake in that series. It doesn't make them wrong, just that they personally don't like it, thus they don't really care about it.
If you look at the road that the athletes have to take to the olympics... that is development of the highest kind in my own opinion. These guys don't just win because they have always been good, they have taken knocks and gotten back up, to try again and again until they are the best they can be.In Search of Username said:
For example, Usain Bolt had scoliosis, but went on to become the worlds fastest man, despite all the naysayers telling him his attitude and physical attributes mean he shouldn't be a sprinter.
The paralympian Nathan Stephens, the world record holder for the Javelin throw in a paralympic games, was run over by a train aged 9, losing both his legs, and yet he managed to achieve so much. I can't understand how people don't find this and other stories inspirational.
And as for neutral vs. neutral argument, I can see where you are coming from, but seeing evenly matched athletes competing at near superhuman levels in an event they have been preparing for all their lives is something special. Just because it isn't good vs. evil doesn't make it worthless.
You know what else is a waste of time? Writing overly long rants about things you hate, on the internet. Man if we stopped writing useless posts about useless personal opinions we could cure aidscancer.
I know many people who were born during the few years that Cleveland did not have the Browns, our pro-football (American football) team. In order to thoroughly enjoy the sport, because they did love to watch it, they were forced to find another team to root for. Once the Browns were brought back to Cleveland, they didn't just throw the team they had rooted for before out the window though. That team will always be their first.Dwarfman said:
My uncle moved from Cleveland to Boston after college. He is still a Cleveland Indians fan at heart, despite living in Boston where the Red Sox are the hometeam for baseball.
I, at age seven, began loving hockey. Ohio did not have a team in the NHL, so I was given free-reign to choose a team to cheer for. I chose the Pittsburgh Penguins. Years later, the Columbus Blue Jackets were born, giving Ohio their very own NHL team. My team is still the Penguins. I hold no love for the BJs because they were not around when I needed them to be.
Just a few examples of why someone might cheer for a team that is "not theirs".
(Also, during the World Cup I cheer for Brazil because I, as a kid, noticed them before anyone else in the tourney. And in the Winter Olympics, you bet your ass that Canada is taking home the gold in hockey over the US.)
First people would probably listen more if you weren't a right out ass.
Now time for my points, you compare it to reality TV like it's instantly a bad thing, it isn't it's just something you and myself don't like, big difference between don't like and bad. Even further there is a major difference between sports and most reality TV, sports focuses on achievement, reality TV is mostly about making fools of contestants, it's cheering versus ridiculing. Lastly the Olympics are a big deal, I don't care for sports myself I only tend to watch the opening ceremonies because an event that has that many people from all over the world, some of the very important, gathering is a big deal.
Now time for my points, you compare it to reality TV like it's instantly a bad thing, it isn't it's just something you and myself don't like, big difference between don't like and bad. Even further there is a major difference between sports and most reality TV, sports focuses on achievement, reality TV is mostly about making fools of contestants, it's cheering versus ridiculing. Lastly the Olympics are a big deal, I don't care for sports myself I only tend to watch the opening ceremonies because an event that has that many people from all over the world, some of the very important, gathering is a big deal.
You don't want to sit and watch womens beach volleyball? dafuq?
On a serious note your rant was pretty self-absorbed and no, not everyone or most people (even those who dislike sports) can agree. For once this thing is almost 120 years old. The international, not original. So for 120 years almost every country in the world puts their differences aside (publicily) for the spirit of atheletic competition. Sure we may go back to wanting the worst for eachother, but for now it's just a big awesome competition.
Would a month long WoW torney get your rocks off or something? Dude, you play video games. The biggest waste of time I know of. I've wasted years playing them. These people, atheletes, spend years trying to achieve and stay in peak physical shape. You spend days trying to beat a boss and Oxicleaning Cheeto dust outta your shirt. The money you throw at this industry is just as useful for other things as all the money thrown into the Olympics. If that all that wasted money and potential make you that mad do this for me: Stop buying games, stop paying for internet, stop paying for cable, don't buy gas to get to Gamestop and give your money to some medical charity or something.
On a serious note your rant was pretty self-absorbed and no, not everyone or most people (even those who dislike sports) can agree. For once this thing is almost 120 years old. The international, not original. So for 120 years almost every country in the world puts their differences aside (publicily) for the spirit of atheletic competition. Sure we may go back to wanting the worst for eachother, but for now it's just a big awesome competition.
Would a month long WoW torney get your rocks off or something? Dude, you play video games. The biggest waste of time I know of. I've wasted years playing them. These people, atheletes, spend years trying to achieve and stay in peak physical shape. You spend days trying to beat a boss and Oxicleaning Cheeto dust outta your shirt. The money you throw at this industry is just as useful for other things as all the money thrown into the Olympics. If that all that wasted money and potential make you that mad do this for me: Stop buying games, stop paying for internet, stop paying for cable, don't buy gas to get to Gamestop and give your money to some medical charity or something.
Yeah I hate the Olympics as well.
You know what my solution was? I don't watch it.
I don't visit bars that have Olympic coverage, they have live music. I don't turn my television on to channels that cover the Olympics. I don't pay a single jot of attention any news headline with the word 'Olympic' in it, unless it's talking about something going horribly wrong, because I want the Conservatives to be remembered for one of the worst Olympic games in memory. I'm talking 'Jesse Owens winning the Berlin Olympics' level of blow to their regime.
Although I did watch some of the opening ceremony. When I heard the rumour that Mary Poppins would fight Lord Voldemort I had to know if it was true. Then it was and I turned my tv off and hung my head, for the first time ever truly ashamed to be British, because it meant I was counted as a part of that farce.
You know what my solution was? I don't watch it.
I don't visit bars that have Olympic coverage, they have live music. I don't turn my television on to channels that cover the Olympics. I don't pay a single jot of attention any news headline with the word 'Olympic' in it, unless it's talking about something going horribly wrong, because I want the Conservatives to be remembered for one of the worst Olympic games in memory. I'm talking 'Jesse Owens winning the Berlin Olympics' level of blow to their regime.
Although I did watch some of the opening ceremony. When I heard the rumour that Mary Poppins would fight Lord Voldemort I had to know if it was true. Then it was and I turned my tv off and hung my head, for the first time ever truly ashamed to be British, because it meant I was counted as a part of that farce.
I'm sorry but this is a rather silly rant. You might as well be yelling at someone for liking specific music, or food, or tv show, or movie. Sports is entertainment. I love watching hockey and football, and don't mind watching soccer or baseball. I find basketball very boring, and aside from a few winter olympic sports I generally avoid paying attention to any of it.
Many people will have different opinions than I, and that is ok. It's all about entertainment. You don't like sports and that is fine, but questioning why someone else does isn't going to get you anywhere. You might as well argue for why your favorite colour is the best colour out there.
To go with your analogy, instead of typing up your rant you could have done something more productive with your time.
Many people will have different opinions than I, and that is ok. It's all about entertainment. You don't like sports and that is fine, but questioning why someone else does isn't going to get you anywhere. You might as well argue for why your favorite colour is the best colour out there.
To go with your analogy, instead of typing up your rant you could have done something more productive with your time.
The Olympics are one of the few places for athletes to compete at the top of their game. Olympic athletes are not like commercial footballers, hockey players so on, those take skill but olympic athletes are a different league. They train extremely hard to push themselves to the absolute limits of human ability in their respective sports, often for little reward and a short career due to aging. The Olympics give them a place to use these skills to compete against others who are that good.Jailbird408 said:
Also it is just like any part of the entertainment industry, from the perspective of viewers, it is the mother of all sporting events for those who enjoy watching a particular sport and want to see the creme de la crop of that sport.
For example I happen to enjoy watching judo, swimming and gymnastics and also participate casually two of these sports. As a person who understands in these sports I therefore gain an enjoyment of watching people preform extremely well. I mean have you ever watched the gymnastics, what those people do is so fucking insane, they push their bodies to the limit and often they have 90 seconds to decide their fate. If they lose focus for a couple milliseconds they could make a tiny mistake which will put them below the others, these people train their entire lives for those moments and I think it's fair we give them a shot.
As for the productivity of the Olympics. I think it's good for morale, and it also brings taxes and publicity to the hosting country.
In terms of sport I take pride in very little, my home team this Olympics is Great Britain but I take no pride in the fact that the athlete is from my country representing us. I take pride in the skill of the athlete representing his sport. So yeah I support teams that are not my own, depending on the sport and context I either support the winner or both sides. I mean in Olympic games everyone is giving it their all, there rarely is such thing as a bad game and even the loser made such a huge effort it deserves support.Dwarfman said:
So that's an example of someone who does not support the home team, sometimes I even go against them when I see an interesting match, perhaps one where on side is losing but really deserves to win.
Occasionally I found that supporting a team can be a little unfair. I mean I was at the judo finals yesterday and when the British guy lost the crowd boo-ed the victor. Dude won fair and square.
I actually also abhor the Olympics, but for completely different reasons.
I suppose as an amateur classicist, I take umbrage with the manner in which the games were modernized. The Olympics were a sacred series of games to honor Zeus in one of his aspects; they were serious business; priests performed rituals; sacrifices were conducted. Certainly the games did honor athletic virtue, and that was part of their point, but it doesn't seem the same with the way athletics are typically conducted nowadays.
I suppose I merely take offense that an ancient title is being applied to a set of athletic competitions that have really nothing to do with the original. The title is merely used to give it an ancient mystique.
I fear I may seem to be angry that the neighborhood kids are on my lawn.
I suppose as an amateur classicist, I take umbrage with the manner in which the games were modernized. The Olympics were a sacred series of games to honor Zeus in one of his aspects; they were serious business; priests performed rituals; sacrifices were conducted. Certainly the games did honor athletic virtue, and that was part of their point, but it doesn't seem the same with the way athletics are typically conducted nowadays.
I suppose I merely take offense that an ancient title is being applied to a set of athletic competitions that have really nothing to do with the original. The title is merely used to give it an ancient mystique.
I fear I may seem to be angry that the neighborhood kids are on my lawn.
Considering your first point is about all of the things you could be doing instead of watching sport. One could quite easily ask what you could have been doing instead of writing out this rant, hmmm?
Although to be honest it's obvious that you realise that threads like these are sure to get attention, so you made it with the hope of getting it. Most likely with the intention of getting a badge for lot's of replies.
Although to be honest it's obvious that you realise that threads like these are sure to get attention, so you made it with the hope of getting it. Most likely with the intention of getting a badge for lot's of replies.
Actually, Olympic athletes tend to be relative amateurs in many of the competitions described. You should look up the "Dream Team" sometime. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_United_States_men%27s_Olympic_basketball_teamxXGeckoXx said:
When they actually placed active NBA players into the Olympics, the competition never had a chance. It was professionals playing against relative amateurs.
The Olympians are not in a class all their own. Olympians tend to be very young, often younger than 18; as a consequence, they're fairly inexperienced.
My eyes, they burn at the lack of real paragraphs! Seriously though kinda an eyesore but I read it all and I don't agree. I am however, going to agree with another user that said you are coming across kinda Jack Thompson like with your attitude towards Sports though.