What are we excited about from Paris this summer?
My big revelation from Tokyo was 3x3 basketball. I've never been a big basketball fan in general, but something about the 3x3 game made it really easy for me to see how things develop. Plus Kelsey Plum was an absolute one-woman wrecking crew.
I'm pretty excited to see the inclusion of breaking. I have zero clue of what the format will be like, whether it will be freestyle or compulsory or what, but I'm really curious to see the state of that artform at the moment and what happens when its elevated to the highest level.
Also, can we include skate vert at this point? Street and park are fine, but vert would be an excellent showcase primetime event.
I think I enjoy the Winter Olympics a bit more, though I'll probably tune in for a few fencing matches (I used to fence back in middle school) and likely some skateboarding, too.
I may watch a bit to see how wildly over produced it is, I don't really find most of the sports terribly interesting to watch. In general though, I find the Olympics, as an organization, somewhat offensive.
Certainly all respect to (most all of) the athletes, but the organization... might as well be the mafia.
Since I live somewhat near LA, the s-show is coming here next. Good thing we have plenty of extra money to spend on the frivolity of it (!). I am also very curious how they are going to hide the homeless and make the city presentable (certainly would not want to do that for the everyday citizens who live there!)
Sorry, don't mean to S on the parade, but perspective is important. Again, all respect the the athletes, that have almost nothing to do with the bad parts.
In reply to aircooled :
As I see it, the odds are that LA will once again make the rest of the world look "bad" in terms of cost and profits. Somehow, again, they will hide all of the homelessness going on in all of California, and they don't have to build much for the facilities, and lodging.... It's also a place that really can deal with the loss of tourists for the season.
And it will start a cycle of places trying to make money on the Olympics.
That being said, I'm looking forward to watching. It's fun to watch most sports have their world championships, and this is the one time every 4 years that every summer sports has their championships at the same time.
Some sports are fun and interesting to watch, some are not. And none of those differences are the same for everyone.
And the games actually start tomorrow- Rugby 7's are getting underway.
Fun fact, as far as I know, this is the largest geographically area covered by one game. Sure, it's just one event that forces the game to encompass the entire planet. but it's still all in France. Surfing is taking place in the South Pacific.
In reply to aircooled :
Preach it.
The Olympics are a joke, and I will not support it in any way
Kinda right there with the, "no disrespect to the atheletes, but the show/commercialism/etc. is wearing thin" crowd. I do find it funny that NASCAR is shutting down because there's not enough TV profit to go around for that 2 weeks.
Olympics (as an organization) are just as much of a joke as F1.
...and just like F1, I will consume every bit that I can! These are the best athletes in the world and it's really cool to see something other than the usual ball sports on TV.
Of course, the worst way to watch the Olympics is on TV. NBC has a near monopoly on US coverage and they do a terrible job. I can only stand so much swimming and beach volleyball...and those awful human interest pieces. If you find -alternative- avenues to watch the games, I highly recommend track cycling to this forum. It's like human Nascar.
I remember the original Dream Team in 92. I know other countries have gotten exponentially better, but it boggles the mind to see Team USA basketball almost Get their ass whipped every game.
Colin Wood said:
I think I enjoy the Winter Olympics a bit more, though I'll probably tune in for a few fencing matches (I used to fence back in middle school) and likely some skateboarding, too.
The weird summer Olympics events are just weird. The weird winter Olympic events are nuts. Skeleton, anyone?
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Oh yeah, Skeleton, Luge and Bobsled are all insane.
I always enjoy watching the Biathlon. I always thought it be fun to try, though a little hard to do here in Florida.
I heard a story on the news today about how the horses for the equestrian events had arrived in France. It made me wonder how horses deal with jet lag.
I like track and field, I'm not too interested in most of the other sports (while I can appreciate break dancing it doesn't seem appropriate for an Olympic sport). My favorites are the shot put and discus since those were my events when I was in high school, but unfortunately they get scant coverage compared to the running events.
It's always interesting how many of the track and field events are so military in origin. Throwing stuff, running, jumping over stuff. So is biathalon, of course. Maybe instead of breakdancing (we must be on the second generation of breakdancers by this point, as I'm old enough to have a kid who's now the age I was when it hit the scene) we have a full-on obstacle course. WIth rucksacks :)
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Add modern pentathlon, too. Which combines swimming, running, fencing, shooting, and horses. Met a former Olympian runner that moved to that when her speed took her off the world class list. And she made it to the Olympics.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Freestyle Pit.
David S. Wallens said:
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Freestyle Pit.
International or club rules?
I also think we need something called "open biathlon" where two sports are selected at random from the entire Olympic roster and competition begins immediately with zero additional athlete preparation. i want to see someone play badminton then to BMW freestyle.
In reply to JG Pasterjak :
I’d think it would have to be international.
Also, I have some rugby on right now and I'm wondering why some tiny country's athletic board didn't throw an honorary citizenship at Marshawn Lynch to steal a medal. I want to see Beast Mode in a Kiribati uniform just leaving a trail of damaged bodies in his wake.
Game on.
Closest to car racing event right now- women's time trials- conditions are super tricky. If you didn't see the opening ceremony (which was really good), it's wet in Paris. Not raining during the race, but these racers don't dry the track, and it's humid (as I surmise). Lots of slipping and crashing on the bikes. Still a lot of strength and endurance, but the technical riding aspect got turned up to 11.
Navigating corners in the wet on skinny tires has to be pretty intense for those cyclists.
ShawnG
MegaDork
7/27/24 10:50 a.m.
What about "ribbon onna stick"
Here's something I've wondered about: during the swimming and diving events I've noticed the competitors are usually wearing parkas, right up to the point where they get in the water. Is the ambient temperature that cold in the swimming venues, or is it just something they do to keep their muscles warmed up and ready to go? It seems like a regular tracksuit would be adequate. I understand that they keep the water temperature at around 80 degrees F so it's not like they're jumping into an icy pond.
Mndsm
MegaDork
7/27/24 4:22 p.m.
Peacock having every event on demand plus coverage from Snoop has me like ....
