Why I can't get into the Olympics (mentally, not actually participating in the Olympics) is because
so what?
You threw the spear the furthest.
You jumped over the most sand.
You dove the most pristine.
Did you solve cancer? Did you produce a really cool video game? What the hell did you do other than a physical feat that has no real world ramifications for...well...the real world?
This is not to besmirch the actual atheletes who participate, but I always had the question,
"Precisely what does the gold medal winner in gymnastic's flippy flip division at the age of 17 do with her life thereafter?"
Well, I guess we have the answer.
In the end no matter how much fanfare and hubaloo we put on the Olympics or sports for that matter, these atheletes have to answer to the real world of economics. They really don't produce anything of value, and I often wonder how many of the Olympiads regret dedicating their entire youths to being the best "flipper" or being the best "jumpy person."
Makes all those days playing Dragon Warrior or the Final Fantasy series seem not so wasted.
25 comments:
Athletics in the purest sense is just a youth cult, at best. It's an arbitrary show. The money/fun/sex is in skill sports, and the strategies and attitudes you use are universal.
I think the Dragon Warrior crowd actually has a strong overlap with "true athletics", as part of the autistic spectrum. It's just a grind, maybe better looking now than then, but still just a pointless linear exercise.
Boxing or football or tennis are true games. Athletics are secondary, not primary.
I'm cool with her hooking cause hell it's about all she can do with her life now, as you point out. I'm confused by the fem response and I know I shouldn't be. But how can they be so confused with their position?
See I thought hooking and stripping was all rapey and that it's victimizing chicks. But the outpouring of support for the whore (look I can call her that!) shows that hooking is empowering.
When do you figure this confusion will end? When will it implode enough that we can get back to important things ?
go tell that to Michael Phelps or Mckayla.
I'm sure they've regretted every moment.
Good for her.
Good for her.
My problem with it is the precision and measurement of performance. I don't care what anyone says - if you and I are in a sprint and you come in 0.002 of a second faster than I...that is NOT a decisive win. I could eat my Wheaties tomorrow, you could get screwed by a vagrant head wind and maybe I beat YOU by 0.001 of a second...is anything really proven?
And Christ almighty - figure skating? That is NOT a sport! Nor is ribbon twirling, 10m air gun, or kayaking or finger painting. Sheesh!
JM
I recently read an article about a young lady who has been a medalist in the past five Olympics. Yes, five. ANd, she's American. Why don't we see any coverage in the mainstream media? The medals were in trap and skeet related events.
I think the original Olympics were all about martial skills. For instance, the Greeks threw the javelin for accuracy, and their rasslin' was more like jiu-jitsu; you could get killed.
We used to have the Military Pentathlon, but the wussy-pussies tossed it.
Back in 2000, the same Suzy Hamilton starred in a rather controversial TV commercial. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJw7yTEKb2U
"I was drawn to escorting in large part because it provided many coping mechanisms for me when I was going through a very challenging time with my marriage and my life. It provided an escape from a life that I was struggling in."
Right on! Blame the husband because you became a hooker!
There is no sense of gang struggle, like there is in team sports. There is a reason why NBC dedicates an entire channel to hockey during the winter Olympics and the best running and swimming events are the relays.
The kicker is that these people have an amazing ability to focus, work hard and achieve. Imagine spending that much time and effort on an economically valuable skill. You'd be in a very advantageous spot to say the least.
"Hamilton said her husband knew of her escort work, but did not support it and asked her to stop."
In other words, he's a total chump.
The Olympics is no different than football or any spectator sport, or for that matter, most movies or games. It entertains people.
The depression card. It is only trumped by one other I know of.
The Olympics have always been overrated and the ones that took place in London are such an example. I wish I had been reading this blog back in July and August and you have made this post because it would have explained it in very clear terms.
One of the best finds of the week for me. Irwin Schiff's "How an Economy Grows and Why It Doesn't" with complete narration. Well drawn and informative at the same time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFxvy9XyUtg
This smells more like somebody had a bunch of real estate deals go bust and needed to cover the money shortfall.
I always wondered what Olympic skill was good for. I guess now I know.
Like you, I've never been able to get into the Olympics (or any other sport watching).
By the way, my employer is blocking your blog for some reason. I guess you hurt somebody's fat feelings.
It is unlikely that you will find many Olympians who will admit to regretting their childhood devotion. The kool aid cannot be undrunk. I suspect a lot of them even push their kids into it.
Same as High school sports and band.
I don't think you people caught my drift, above, so I'll say it again in a different way: The original Olympics existed to determine which men had the best manly warrior skills, and see that they were recognized for that. There were no girls, and no team sports.
go tell that to Michael Phelps or Mckayla.
I'm sure they've regretted every moment.
Yeah, and I'm sure those lottery winners really regret buying lottery tickets, too.
Just because some people make out big doesn't justify excessive investment of time and money on astronomical odds.
idiot
1968 Olympic Boxing Gold Medal winner: George Foreman.
Sometimes they are going down the right road. :)
Wow. Dragon Warrior reference. I don't feel so alone.
Anonymous: "...Blame the husband because you became a hooker!"
Surprised? I'm not. Nowadays, that's all that women want to get married for -- so they can blame men for all of their own screwups and bad decisions (other than having him be a sperm donor, wallet, ATM, frivorce patsy, and government-enforced economic slave, of course).
Why do you think that women HATE the fact that more and more men are GTOW?
Be a Happy Bicycle, too -- ditch the fish, and Go Your Own Way! The life that you save will be your own!
I'm sorry, you're mistaken. Athletes do produce something of value, just ask the people who buy tickets or watch them on tv. Those people are paying for something that they value. That's what's great about markets, people will buy and sell something that others don't give a crap about and view as worthless, because demand does exist for it.
Whether a person demands wheat, steel, or an entertaining display of athletics, in all cases a good or service is being produced and traded on mutually agreeable terms at a price which conveys information about supply and demand. My opinion of it (I hate sports) is beside the point.
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