Future of the Olympics

[Blotto 23680]

17 hours ago, DDD Dad said:

When I first read this I thought it said "escorts."  I thought, 

The finish is the trickiest part of Ted's routine. Watch as he transitions from the wheelbarrow,  through a reverse pile driver, finally ending up with both dogs in the bath tub. Magical stuff.

[Nueces River Rat 5597]

3 hours ago, alincoln said:

Beijing 2022 should be a ratings disaster.  

Should be considering the ratings are naturally lower in the US for the Winter Games vs the Summer.  Assume the disaster that way the Tokyo ratings carry over to Beijing in a few months, it will be ugly.

NBC better figure this out before the Paris games in 2024.  Of course by then what are the chances the whole games are streaming  which would eliminate the whole gripe most have about delayed broadcasts of any and all the sports.

The USA Track team needs to get their shit together.   Maybe some of those super human Chinese can declare asylum and we can find a slot for them in the 200m or one of the relays?

Edited August 10, 2021 by Nueces River Rat

[workswithseed 2139]

3 hours ago, BabaYaga said:

Why it's called "point" fighting, and not just "fighting".  I kind of get it.  If you train and anticipate a certain style of fighting, and the other guy goes off script, that's on him.  Like BJJ and the guy grabs your junk.  In a "fight", sure.  But in a tournament, that will get you disqualified.  Or low blows in boxing.  

The problem was they spent most of their lives training in this scripted fighting style to begin with.  My guess is a fairly adept BJJ blue belt would take either one of them down with minimal effort.  

I'm not understanding, is kicking not allowed in karate? I don't get how thatd not allowed?

[Gene Parmesan 4022]

17 hours ago, Helobious said:

If you want to know how uncompetitive the olympics is now, look no further than the karate final. Saudi Arabian disqualified for absolutely fucking murdering his opponent. “Too forceful a kick” my ass. That’s the whole point of combat sports. Dumbass iranian guy ducked into the kick, making it worse than it was. 
 

 

Get him a body bag...yeah!

[BabaYaga 15371]

1 hour ago, workswithseed said:

I'm not understanding, is kicking not allowed in karate? I don't get how thatd not allowed?

Point fighting requires a certain threshold of striking.  It's the martial arts equivalent of fencing.  Get points for "touches" with what "would" have been an actual strike.  

[Nice Guy Eddie 13540]

I've read some complaints that NBC delayed much of the Tokyo Games. Was that true? I assume that most of the NBC basic channel coverage was delayed due to the time difference but I only watched live events in the early morning hours via their streaming app on my Apple TV. I only had to log on with my cable password. I thought everything was live assuming you had a log in.

[DDD Dad 14369]

1 hour ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

I've read some complaints that NBC delayed much of the Tokyo Games. Was that true? I assume that most of the NBC basic channel coverage was delayed due to the time difference but I only watched live events in the early morning hours via their streaming app on my Apple TV. I only had to log on with my cable password. I thought everything was live assuming you had a log in.

Most of the golf was live on the Golf Channel each evening.  There was quite a lot of live coverage in the mornings here for evening events in Japan.  The prime time NBC coverage largely was delayed (but there were some events that had live broadcasts, like volleyball, among others).

[WBT 20735]

20 hours ago, Nueces River Rat said:

Should be considering the ratings are naturally lower in the US for the Winter Games vs the Summer.  Assume the disaster that way the Tokyo ratings carry over to Beijing in a few months, it will be ugly.

NBC better figure this out before the Paris games in 2024.  Of course by then what are the chances the whole games are streaming  which would eliminate the whole gripe most have about delayed broadcasts of any and all the sports.

The USA Track team needs to get their shit together.   Maybe some of those super human Chinese can declare asylum and we can find a slot for them in the 200m or one of the relays?

 

18 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

I've read some complaints that NBC delayed much of the Tokyo Games. Was that true? I assume that most of the NBC basic channel coverage was delayed due to the time difference but I only watched live events in the early morning hours via their streaming app on my Apple TV. I only had to log on with my cable password. I thought everything was live assuming you had a log in.

Yes, everything was live on streaming on nbcolympics.com or the nbc sports app with a cable login.  I think the only exceptions were some stuff they held back for the peacock app only to try to drive subs to that.  Now a lot of those live streams were of international English language feeds that included announcers from England, Australia, NZ, etc. and were without NBC's human-interest segments but I saw that as a bonus.

[Billy Pilgrim 1991]

Anyone watching the Winter Olympics? This seems to be going on without much fanfare.
 

I’m usually a sucker for the Olympics but I’m finding it real hard to get into these. We’re not doing real well and there’s no real compelling personalities or Cinderella stories that I’m interested in. People they’ve been hyping up to dominate like Shiffrin haven’t really shown up (with the exception of Nathan Chen).

I crack up every time Mike Tirico sends us out to the free style ski jumping venue and tells us it’s “breathtaking” when it’s just a big man made ski slope built on the grounds of an old abandoned factory. Also find it hard to get excited for the American born freestyle ski jumper who decided to compete for china instead despite how positive they made her look during the broadcast.

[royiv 9447]

Wife and I have been Olympics junkies for a long time. That said, neither one of us have watched a second of these games and both of us forgot they were even on this past weekend. All of the factors you listed have contributed in addition to the pesky Chinese human rights and IP theft concerns.

[Brisketexan 105569]

Just now, royiv said:

Wife and I have been Olympics junkies for a long time. That said, neither one of us have watched a second of these games and both of us forgot they were even on this past weekend. All of the factors you listed have contributed in addition to the pesky Chinese human rights and IP theft concerns.

Have caught a few minutes here and there.  Honestly, I've gotten to a point where the main thing I miss is watching/listening to Johnny Wier be SUPER gay.  He's awesome.  I don't give 1/10th of a shit about figure skating, but he and Tara are fantastic together.

[Hefeweizen 5357]

I just don’t give a shit.  And, it’s in China so fuck them.

[Billy Pilgrim 1991]

1 minute ago, Brisketexan said:

Have caught a few minutes here and there.  Honestly, I've gotten to a point where the main thing I miss is watching/listening to Johnny Wier be SUPER gay.  He's awesome.  I don't give 1/10th of a shit about figure skating, but he and Tara are fantastic together.

I agree with you 100% about Weir. Say what you want about his personality or skating but he’s a really solid color guy when he does figure skating. They do a really good job of explaining things. He’s got a secure job for years to come.

[Brisketexan 105569]

2 minutes ago, Billy Pilgrim said:

I agree with you 100% about Weir. Say what you want about his personality or skating but he’s a really solid color guy when he does figure skating. They do a really good job of explaining things. He’s got a secure job for years to come.

That's what I kinda love -- he's a complete, over-the-top novelty.....who is also a credible and rational voice about his topic.  He's great.

[royiv 9447]

3 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Have caught a few minutes here and there.  Honestly, I've gotten to a point where the main thing I miss is watching/listening to Johnny Wier be SUPER gay.  He's awesome.  I don't give 1/10th of a shit about figure skating, but he and Tara are fantastic together.

Just flip on Netflix and watch the latest season of Queer Eye filmed in Austin to see awesome super gay guys.

[orange dream 1260]

I'm an Olympic junkie but even I am struggling to spend much time on it.  The delays make it hard to avoid knowing the results for any "popular" event.

The whole, "I'm from country A, but I'm competing for country B" is a bit of a beating for me also. 

I'll watch some for sure but I'm not as into it as normal.

[Brisketexan 105569]

3 minutes ago, royiv said:

Just flip on Netflix and watch the latest season of Queer Eye filmed in Austin to see awesome super gay guys.

Already watched it.  They're pretty great as well.

[royiv 9447]

Seeing multiple Americans competing for Team China is a massive turnoff for me. Say what you will about this country, but China and America could not be any more diametrically opposed when it comes to the two country's core values.

[Billy Pilgrim 1991]

3 minutes ago, orange dream said:

I'm an Olympic junkie but even I am struggling to spend much time on it.  The delays make it hard to avoid knowing the results for any "popular" event.

The whole, "I'm from country A, but I'm competing for country B" is a bit of a beating for me also. 

I'll watch some for sure but I'm not as into it as normal.

 The time difference has been a huge problem for the last few Olympics. Having them in Asia has really made watching them difficult.

 

I agree that NBC needs to do a better job of making it perfectly clear if what we’re watching is live or a replay. I’m not interested in watching an event where I know an American isn’t going to medal. I’d rather watch a live event where we still have a chance.

[ztejas 43741]

Not interested at all. No real hockey players, winter Olympics kind of blows anyway, and fuck China. 

Also - sounds like it's going great. 

https://nypost.com/2022/02/07/olympians-complain-about-food-isolation-rooms-at-winter-games/amp/

[Harrison Bergeron 1798]

Also in the "not watching" category. Primarily because of China's genocide and generally human rights atrocities and our corporations shameless selling their souls to China for profit. Also not helped by the time zone, no in-person broadcast, and I could not name a single U.S. or international Olympian to save my life.

[txduck87 999]

Watching The Olympics is right up there with watching the NBA on my priority list. Which, for the sarcastically challenged , is zero.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Trey3216 15380]

54 minutes ago, Billy Pilgrim said:

I agree with you 100% about Weir. Say what you want about his personality or skating but he’s a really solid color guy when he does figure skating. They do a really good job of explaining things. He’s got a secure job for years to come.

Would you say, he's like, a rainbow???

[TurkeyChew 383]

What is interesting is not that the ratings suck in America because we hate China (host) and Russia (banned but yet again competing as ROC), but that the IOC is coming around realizing they are boned. They essentially awarded the 2032 Olympics to avoid the embarrassment of having nobody bid for it.

[GringoSalado 1652]

IOC is sleazier than FIFA, if that is possible.

[XYZ 2154]

The setting of these winter games is just awful. The “big air” stage is, somehow, right next to what looks to be a power plant or whatever the fuck it is with giant concrete cooling towers. Who the fuck wants to see cooling towers while watching winter games? And the alpine slopes are completely fake, surrounded by barren land with no snow whatsoever. Fuck China. Fuck the IOC. Fuck “ROC”. And fuck calling Taiwan “Chinese Taipei”.

[TurkeyChew 383]

"...on Friday, you had a Uyghur athlete lighting the flame at Opening Ceremonies. To have a Uyghur athlete lighting the flame, and showing that she’s happy and her family is proud — that’s trying to send a message"

[The Dog 44180]

24 minutes ago, TurkeyChew said:

but that the IOC is coming around realizing they are boned. They essentially awarded the 2032 Olympics to avoid the embarrassment of having nobody bid for it.

The bidding process for these games were a joke as it had become only "who can suck the IOC's dicks the most". Only China and Kazakhstan ended up bidding - Oslo was the favorite but withdrew. Here's a bit about it from Wikipedia:

Quote

The Oslo bid, considered the clear frontrunner, was canceled in the wake of a series of revelations about the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) demands for luxury treatment of the IOC committee that strongly turned public opinion and the parliamentary majority against the IOC. The Olympic organisations withdrew their application for government funding after a majority of the Norwegian parliament had stated their intention to decline the application. In the days before the decision Norwegian media had revealed the IOC's "diva-like demands for luxury treatment" for the IOC members themselves, such as special lanes on all roads only to be used by IOC members and cocktail reception at the Royal Palace with drinks paid for by the royal family. The IOC also "demanded control over all advertising space throughout Oslo" to be used exclusively by IOC's sponsors, something that is not possible in Norway because Norway is a liberal democracy where the government doesn't own or control "all advertising space throughout Oslo" and has no authority to give a foreign private organization exclusive use of a city and the private property within it.^[11] Several commentators pointed out that such demands were unheard of in a western democracy; Slate described the IOC as a "notoriously ridiculous organization run by grifters and hereditary aristocrats."^{[12][5][13][14]} Ole Berget, deputy minister in the Finance Ministry, said "the IOC's arrogance was an argument held high by a lot of people."^[6] The country's largest newspaper commented that "Norway is a rich country, but we don't want to spend money on wrong things, like satisfying the crazy demands from IOC apparatchiks. These insane demands that they should be treated like the king of Saudi Arabia just won't fly with the Norwegian public."^[6]

After this fiasco the IOC basically rigged the entire bidding process so that Paris and Los Angeles were the only feasible candidates for the next two summer games (I know we are talking about the Winter Games here, but the process is the same for both). 

[TurkeyChew 383]

3 minutes ago, The Dog said:

The bidding process for these games were a joke as it had become only "who can suck the IOC's dicks the most". Only China and Kazakhstan ended up bidding - Oslo was the favorite but withdrew. Here's a bit about it from Wikipedia:

After this fiasco the IOC basically rigged the entire bidding process so that Paris and Los Angeles were the only feasible candidates for the next two summer games (I know we are talking about the Winter Games here, but the process is the same for both). 

Yes the IOC leak was a big eye-opener for a lot of people, but still, nobody wants the Olympics anymore whether the IOC is corrupt or not. It's a fool's errand:

Quote

 

You have to scroll down ESPN.com to find any mention, and much of the Olympics news last week was about anticipated low viewership.

Furthermore, in recent years, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has increasingly had trouble enticing potential host cities. In public referendums, citizens of prospective host cities have tended to vote against having the Olympics. The number of cities that bid, in turn, has decreased.

Eleven cities bid for the 2004 Summer Games;

10 bid for the 2008 Games;

9 for the 2012 Games;

7 for the 2016 Games;

and 6 for the 2020 Games.

Only two cities — L.A. and Paris — ended up bidding for the 2024 Games, and they both won. Paris got 2024; L.A. got a $180 million advance from the International Olympic Committee as an inducement to take the 2028 Games, which the city hadn’t even bid on.

Suddenly, it seemed like the IOC had to recruit host cities rather than the reverse.

For the 2032 Games, there wasn’t even a typical bidding process; the IOC just chose Brisbane, Australia.

 

 

[TurkeyChew 383]

20 minutes ago, XYZ said:

The setting of these winter games is just awful. The “big air” stage is, somehow, right next to what looks to be a power plant or whatever the fuck it is with giant concrete cooling towers. Who the fuck wants to see cooling towers while watching winter games? And the alpine slopes are completely fake, surrounded by barren land with no snow whatsoever. Fuck China. Fuck the IOC. Fuck “ROC”. And fuck calling Taiwan “Chinese Taipei”.

It seems that the most people (at least those watching) are enjoying the big air scenery which was part of a steel mill:

Quote

While the athletes are undoubtedly impressive, the real star of the Olympics thus far is the remarkable setting of the freestyle skiing big air event. The structure was constructed on the site of the now-closed Shougang Group steel mill, China's first state-owned plant that propelled it to world dominance in steel production, per the AP.

 

[ztejas 43741]

38 minutes ago, GringoSalado said:

IOC is sleazier than FIFA, if that is possible.

The difference is FIFA can be as sleazy and incompetent as it wants and the World Cup without fail will still be the biggest sporting event in the world. 

The IOC is finding out that the Olympics really aren't that dear to many people and they're going to be staring down a shotgun barrel soon if they aren't already. 

I'm not really a fan of the World Cup being in Qatar - but I'm not good enough of a person to boycot watching that. I'm just fine with not paying any attention at all to the winter Olympics. 

[SmokeyTheBear 5569]

2 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Have caught a few minutes here and there.  Honestly, I've gotten to a point where the main thing I miss is watching/listening to Johnny Wier be SUPER gay.  He's awesome.  I don't give 1/10th of a shit about figure skating, but he and Tara are fantastic together.

Like, bro. Did you see the panda look? 

 

[956 Worldwide 34910]

Perfect storm for the IOC.  Insisting the games are non-political IS a political stance. The limp wristed swats at anti-doping are eye rolling.  We know too much about now shitty it is to be an ice skater or gymnast to enjoy it.  And there’s other viewing options. 
 

The smart play here is to downsize, pare back the sports, and be more humble in your aspirations.

I may have posted this before but I’d like to see the Olympics become individual sports only with no national involvement. It’s some stupid dick measuring anyway. The top X numbers of athletes advance to the games, they compete by name.  No medal counts by nation and if a broadcaster or outlet is caught running national medal counts, their rebroadcast rights and accreditation is done on the spot. Make it worthless as a propaganda tool. 

[956 Worldwide 34910]

DP

Edited February 8, 2022 by 956 Worldwide

[Billy Pilgrim 1991]

57 minutes ago, TurkeyChew said:

It seems that the most people (at least those watching) are enjoying the big air scenery which was part of a steel mill:

 

Where are they getting that people are impressed with that setting? It looks like the Olympics are being held in a shitty Detroit neighborhood that people are afraid to be in after dark. No matter how much china or nbc says it, I’m still not going to think that’s a cool venue.

[Billy Pilgrim 1991]

1 hour ago, TurkeyChew said:

"...on Friday, you had a Uyghur athlete lighting the flame at Opening Ceremonies. To have a Uyghur athlete lighting the flame, and showing that she’s happy and her family is proud — that’s trying to send a message"

They’ve also gone out of their way to make sure the missing Chinese tennis star is seen at public events. You know she’s only doing this dog and pony show because the police have her family in jail or under threat of death penalty.

[Hefeweizen 5357]

Oh I forgot why else the Winter Olympics suck.  Way too many clothes on the ladies.  
 

Give me my woman’s beach volleyball and water polo and I’m set.

[Errestaurants 2570]

3 hours ago, royiv said:

Just flip on Netflix and watch the latest season of Queer Eye filmed in Austin to see awesome super gay guys.

Or just hangout here on Surly where 99% of you guys are Super Gay

[Pescado_Rojo 19453]

34 minutes ago, Billy Pilgrim said:

Where are they getting that people are impressed with that setting? It looks like the Olympics are being held in a shitty Detroit neighborhood that people are afraid to be in after dark. No matter how much china or nbc says it, I’m still not going to think that’s a cool venue.

I was flipping channels Sunday and ended up watching a little bit of men's cross country skiing. The announcers mentioned that the entire course was man made and the snow was blown on for the event. The camera pulled out a bit, and there wasn't a hint of snow anywhere except on the course. It was just a brown landscape of rolling hills. It could have been Llano or Fredericksburg or some shit. 

[Skipper 6298]

Aren't the Winter Olympics typically post Super Bowl and pre March Madness when you have a sports dead period in the US?  Or I guess it's really the Super Bowl was pushed back a year so they fucked it up.  In any event, good luck getting any ratings this weekend with Super Bowl coverage nonstop.

[InkaUtexas 26345]

29 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

I was flipping channels Sunday and ended up watching a little bit of men's cross country skiing. The announcers mentioned that the entire course was man made and the snow was blown on for the event. The camera pulled out a bit, and there wasn't a hint of snow anywhere except on the course. It was just a brown landscape of rolling hills. It could have been Llano or Fredericksburg or some shit. 

Please don't give Austin any ideas. 

[Samson's Wig 3195]

2 hours ago, TurkeyChew said:

"...on Friday, you had a Uyghur athlete lighting the flame at Opening Ceremonies. To have a Uyghur athlete lighting the flame, and showing that she’s happy and her family is proud — that’s trying to send a message"

That athlete has gone missing after failing in competition.

[ztejas 43741]

1 hour ago, Billy Pilgrim said:

Where are they getting that people are impressed with that setting? It looks like the Olympics are being held in a shitty Detroit neighborhood that people are afraid to be in after dark. No matter how much china or nbc says it, I’m still not going to think that’s a cool venue.

I'd pay to watch the Detroit Olympics.

"Jerome has 90 minutes to "borrow" his cousin's catalytic converter, fit it onto his Dodge Challenger, and make it to the Palace in time to scalp 8 mezzanine seats for the Pistons game. Complicating things is his cousin getting off of work in 30 minutes."

[royiv 9447]

I can only imagine what kind of water and chemicals they're using to make all that snow. 

[Brisketexan 105569]

I was flipping channels Sunday and ended up watching a little bit of men's cross country skiing. The announcers mentioned that the entire course was man made and the snow was blown on for the event. The camera pulled out a bit, and there wasn't a hint of snow anywhere except on the course. It was just a brown landscape of rolling hills. It could have been Llano or Fredericksburg or some shit. 

Nearly my exact comment. When they pull back, it looks like west Texas, but with even less snow.
Shit, looks like my family’s ranch in northern Mexico, along the divide.

[utee94 15878]

3 minutes ago, royiv said:

I can only imagine what kind of water and chemicals they're using to make all that snow. 

Well, it's China, so it's not any worse than the chemicals already floating around in the air.

[Parliament 14368]

13 minutes ago, ztejas said:

I'd pay to watch the Detroit Olympics.

"Jerome has 90 minutes to "borrow" his cousin's catalytic converter, fit it onto his Dodge Challenger, and make it to the Palace in time to scalp 8 mezzanine seats for the Pistons game. Complicating things is his cousin getting off of work in 30 minutes."

Seems kinda racist.

[GringoSalado 1652]

3 hours ago, TurkeyChew said:

"...on Friday, you had a Uyghur athlete lighting the flame at Opening Ceremonies. To have a Uyghur athlete lighting the flame, and showing that she’s happy and her family is proud — that’s trying to send a message"

that the reeducation camps are working?

 

  

1 hour ago, Samson's Wig said:

That athlete has gone missing after failing in competition.

holy shit

Edited February 9, 2022 by GringoSalado

[mchookem 16514]

i'm watching some...i do like the winter Olympics bc they are so much more dangerous than summer lol

[Hagbard Celine 10994]

1- all of the "X-games" artificial events created so the US could win the medal count

2- NBC's de-sportification of the Olympics - it's now 95% generica, 5% authentica - this also goes for the summer games

3- mountains and snow falling from the sky, you know, in a winter setting

4- tell me when the bobsled and luge events are going to be broadcast, live, in their entirety, and give me the opportunity to watch every run

5- put the stupid soap opera reality tv stuff on nbc at night for the wimmens, use the other channels in NBC's control for actual sports