OT: Olympics Rant

bomba said:

tcmedara said:

Quoted message said:

Exactly. Sat on your [censored] in your chair, you feel the need to
ignorantly criticise a sport of which you have no idea.

Jeez, a bit testy there bomba. I was only about 50% serious. I
didn't know you were such a fan of ballroom dancing and synchronized
swimming!

Actually, I don't like synchro (or ballroom dancing), but I do have an
idea of the amount of effort and skill that goes in to it. The
Olympics is their one international showcase, and I don't begrudge
them their opportunity to compete on the Olympic stage.

I guess I'm more of a traditionalist in that regard.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You can add ice dancing, rhythmic gymnastics, and synchronized
diving to the list as well -- though the female divers are pretty
hot.

I don't doubt the difficulty, skill, or talent needed. I just don't
see them as competitive activities, that's all.

Why exactly? Because they're subjectively marked?

I see it more as a matter of degree. When the showmanship (or "artistic
impression"😉 is more evident than the athletic skill involved, then I think
it needs to go. The beauty of my system is that its completly subjective
and based on my own opinion. Regular gymnastics, diving, and ice skating
are on the borderline. They need to get the namby-pamby stuff outta there
quickly or they're going on the list.

Tom (future IOC commissioner)

Monique Y. Mudama said:

On 2004-08-30, Stephen Baker penned:

Quoted message said:

Monique says:

Quoted message said:

I have friends who are into ballroom dancing. The amount of sweat
they produce suggests to me that it's a real workout.

So is riding a stationary bike..... ;-)

True. And far be it from me to figure out what counts as an olympic
sport and what doesn't. Are there official criteria?

I'm sure there is, probably something akin to approval by the IOC. Whether
something *should* be approved, however, is entirely up to me.

Tom

Monique Y. Mudama said:

On 2004-08-29, bomba penned:

Quoted message said:

With the exception of ballroom dancing, you've listed activities that
require little to no physical effort. Synchronised swimming requires
athleticism, strength, skill and grace. It is officially recognised as a
sport - why should it not be in the Olympic Games?

Oh, and people are lobbying for ballroom dancing to become an Olympic
sport
too.

I have friends who are into ballroom dancing. The amount of sweat they
produce suggests to me that it's a real workout.

So is climbing a flight of stairs if you look like
http://users.forthnet.gr/ath/kkamaras/fat_people.jpg

--
Slacker
"Riding up hill is like masterbating with a sandpaper glove...You knew it
was a bad idea the instant you heard about it." bikecowboy69

Slacker said:

Monique Y. Mudama said:

On 2004-08-29, bomba penned:

Quoted message said:

With the exception of ballroom dancing, you've listed activities
that require little to no physical effort. Synchronised swimming
requires athleticism, strength, skill and grace. It is officially
recognised as a sport - why should it not be in the Olympic Games?

Oh, and people are lobbying for ballroom dancing to become an
Olympic sport
too.

I have friends who are into ballroom dancing. The amount of sweat
they produce suggests to me that it's a real workout.

So is climbing a flight of stairs if you look like
http://users.forthnet.gr/ath/kkamaras/fat_people.jpg

Someone try and tell me that's not Mikey V on the far right!

Tom

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I have friends who are into ballroom dancing. The amount of sweat they
produce suggests to me that it's a real workout.

So is riding a stationary bike..... ;-)

True. And far be it from me to figure out what counts as an olympic sport and
what doesn't. Are there official criteria?

I believe it has to be cool, popular and backed by a major advertiser.

Put a swoosh (maybe a hooker) on it and the IOC will back it.

The olympics haven't been about sports since the boycott of 1980 (maybe
previously, but King Reagan brought it to my awareness at that time in
my mental development).

Thankfully, the USA wasn't hosting the olympics this year or it would
have been further politicized. History repeating itself is sometimes
not a a pretty sight.

Pass the cycnism this way please, I need a refill.

nk

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I have friends who are into ballroom dancing. The amount of sweat they
produce suggests to me that it's a real workout.

So is riding a stationary bike..... ;-)

True. And far be it from me to figure out what counts as an olympic sport and
what doesn't. Are there official criteria?

I believe it has to be cool, popular and backed by a major advertiser.

Put a swoosh (maybe a hooker) on it and the IOC will back it.

The olympics haven't been about sports since the boycott of 1980 (maybe
previously, but King Reagan brought it to my awareness at that time in
my mental development).

Thankfully, the USA wasn't hosting the olympics this year or it would
have been further politicized. History repeating itself is sometimes
not a a pretty sight.

Pass the cycnism this way please, I need a refill.

nk

"tcmedara" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<sVNYc.117098$Lj.87712@fed1read03>...

Quoted message said:

bomba said:

tcmedara said:

> Exactly. Sat on your [censored] in your chair, you feel the need to
> ignorantly criticise a sport of which you have no idea.

Jeez, a bit testy there bomba. I was only about 50% serious. I
didn't know you were such a fan of ballroom dancing and synchronized
swimming!

Actually, I don't like synchro (or ballroom dancing), but I do have an
idea of the amount of effort and skill that goes in to it. The
Olympics is their one international showcase, and I don't begrudge
them their opportunity to compete on the Olympic stage.

I guess I'm more of a traditionalist in that regard.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You can add ice dancing, rhythmic gymnastics, and synchronized
diving to the list as well -- though the female divers are pretty
hot.

I don't doubt the difficulty, skill, or talent needed. I just don't
see them as competitive activities, that's all.

Why exactly? Because they're subjectively marked?

I see it more as a matter of degree. When the showmanship (or "artistic
impression"😉 is more evident than the athletic skill involved, then I think
it needs to go. The beauty of my system is that its completly subjective
and based on my own opinion. Regular gymnastics, diving, and ice skating
are on the borderline. They need to get the namby-pamby stuff outta there
quickly or they're going on the list.

Tom (future IOC commissioner)

Dude, did you WATCH the rhythmic gymnastics?

/s

NotaKnob said:

Quoted message said:

The olympics haven't been about sports since the boycott of 1980
(maybe previously, but King Reagan brought it to my awareness at that
time in my mental development).

Psst, minor historical note.....

Ronnie Reagan didn't take office until Jan of 1981. The boycott of the 1980
Moscow Olympics was orchestrated by Jimmy Carter in response to the Russian
invasion of Afghanistan.

The Eastern Bloc countries returned the favor under some pretext during the
LA Olympics of 1984 when RR was prez. Perhaps that's what you meant and I
misunderstood.

Tom

In article <Q09Zc.122819$Lj.27518@fed1read03>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Ronnie Reagan didn't take office until Jan of 1981. The boycott of the 1980
Moscow Olympics was orchestrated by Jimmy Carter in response to the Russian
invasion of Afghanistan.

The Eastern Bloc countries returned the favor under some pretext during the
LA Olympics of 1984 when RR was prez. Perhaps that's what you meant and I
misunderstood.

Don't believe that [censored] you read on the Internet. It's all Ron's fault.

I got my facts mixed up.

Bruce