Olympic 2020(1) Thread

Discussion in 'General Football & Other Sport' started by ForzaWatford, Jul 23, 2021.

  1. ForzaWatford

    ForzaWatford Squad Player

    Thought i'd start this thread as we don't have one - opening ceremony just started!
     
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  2. The Voice of Reason

    The Voice of Reason First Team Captain

    I don't think we will get many Athletics' golds this year, but as for other sports I'm sure we will pick up our fair share.
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2021
  3. Otter

    Otter Gambling industry insider

    This is s***, the emperor didn't parachute into the stadium
     
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  4. ForzaWatford

    ForzaWatford Squad Player

    Saw an interesting article that talked about how much money we plough into our athletes and how successful that has been... but would we have been better off just spending the money on facilities because we've gained very little from those medals outside of some national pride for a few weeks every 4 years.

    It's an interesting point because i'm a huge sports fan and i've never had the opportunity to do most of the Olympic sports.
     
  5. WillisWasTheWorst

    WillisWasTheWorst Its making less grammar mistake's thats important

    Good discussion. There's also the theory that, by having successful elite athletes, you encourage more youngsters to take up sport. This was shown after Bjorn Borg dominated tennis in the 70s and was followed by many further Swedish top 20 players in the 80s. Of course, if you've spent all the money on winning medals there won't be the facilities for them to use for certain sports, but they might still do more running, football etc.
     
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  6. GoingDown

    GoingDown "The Stability"

    Can't believe they bothered with an opening ceremony. The bit before the athlete's parade was like watching a funeral. Just horrifyingly bad.
     
  7. Bwood_Horn

    Bwood_Horn Squad Player

    Errrrr. No. The money was divvied up using quite a complex formula that looked at medals won, "credibility" (on the world stage - ie should money be pumped into 'bridge' as we do quite well at that or netball?), "engagement" (bums on seats) and "expansion" (getting more bums on seats and facilities that would entail - we're quite good at canoeing and shooting but we're not putting more artificial slalom runs in town centres nor opening more shooting ranges).

    Eg. hockey, gymnastics, athletics and netball have done very well out of the funding whereas basketball hasn't. We're pretty 'big' players on the world stage in these sports and they're getting more people taking part.

    There's also funding for elite sports people so the can afford to be full-time in the event and not have to fit training around a job.

    EDIT: And this was just all the stuff in the 'foreground'. The 'Going for Gold' programme (started in 2010 and was part of the 'legacy' section of our successful Olympic bid) is still looking at scientific and technological impacts on our elite sportspeople - everything from new data analysis methodologies (I know 'rowing' got a lot from that) to new materials (from coatings to textiles) and new technologies (my field of biosensors - NDAs permit me saying any more).
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2021
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  8. Heidar

    Heidar Squad Player

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-57911348

    This is a pretty cool idea, making a Samurai for each country.

    Trying to think what the best would be. At first I thought Angola, a black and red samurai wielding a machete.

    But then I thought no... surely Mozambique. A samurai duel-wielding a scythe and an AK47 bayonet is a terrifying prospect.
     
  9. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Dina Asher Smith maybe?

    We'll do well again - not up to 2012/16 standards but decent enough.

    Main thing is to hope the games pass off without too many COVID issues.

    Better hope none of the athletes stand together talking to each other for 20 minutes.
     
  10. LaClusazSki

    LaClusazSki Reservist

    No one is really interested in the Olympics this year. It will pass by and be forgotten almost immediately.
    It's a shame for all the athletes who have trained for their moment in the sun. Well, sunshine and humidity in Tokyo.
    The viewing figures are very low.
    Let's move on now.
     
    WillisWasTheWorst likes this.
  11. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    And most of it will be on late at night behind the paywall on Eurosport as they won the rights across Europe .
     
  12. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    I’ll probably still watch it in the same way I’ve always watched it. It’s a bummer having no crowds but at the same time for many sports it’s also irrelevant to the TV viewer.
     
  13. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    … case in point the cycling that’s currently on now which does have crowds anyway, which incidentally looks bloody lethal with those ditches either side of the road.
     
  14. Keighley

    Keighley First Team

    You’ve determined this on Day 1?
     
  15. LaClusazSki

    LaClusazSki Reservist

    Good one. Just compared to the past years.
    I would be interested to see a straw poll on how many people know that the Olympics are on right now.
    This is a pity, but the Japanese don't want it on.
    It is the Games, but a soulless Games.
     
  16. Bwood_Horn

    Bwood_Horn Squad Player

    cors it is m8 souls in korea
     
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  17. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    Having a successful athlete or athletes does not always mean the next generation will be inspired or reach the same level in a particular sport. Federer has not seen a Swiss generation of tennis stars emerge.

    How Matt Baker keeps a job in commentating squealing every time a British gymnast executes a move and not attempt at impartiality beggars belief. Christine Still is just as bad. Remember her nitpicking on any Russian gymnasts while ignoring blatant errors from her favourites. Such a shame Mitch Fenner did pass away. An excellent coach and analyst and completely impartial like the best BBC commentators of the golden generation.

    Those idents are also annoying. Do we need to see Whitlock v Cooke in some irrelevant match up ? Comfortable win in the field hockey while Holland blew a gold in the mixed archery final. Despite the lack of crowds and the introduction of some nonsense as sports like wall climbing and skateboarding the games have me hooked again. No matter what we think of it each athlete out there representing their nation must feel a million dollars and will have a lifetime of experiences to look back upon. I wish I had been good enough to do that.
     
  18. Are you capable of ever saying anything positive at all ever? Maybe you should simply bet on who you don't want to win? And maybe some 'fresh powder snow of a morning' is the only thing that'd bring a smile to your face.

    As for me, if the heat wave (currently taking a bit of a break) here continues, then I'll welcome watching some nonsense sport on the Beeb at 3 a.m. in the morning as opposed to looking at the ceiling, thinking of past conquests, fiddling with myself and trying, unsuccessfully, to get some kip.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 24, 2021
  19. We're in the tail-end of a 102 year pandemic. Don't give up. Keep the faith.
     
  20. LaClusazSki

    LaClusazSki Reservist

    That is true. Great snow last season, but no lifts. You get knackered snow shoeing it up the hill.
    I am fine. I know Tokyo very well. The Athletic Stadium is next door to the Jingu Baseball Staduim. The Tokyo Swallows play there. An fortunate nickname.
    Humid right now, you wouldn't get much sleep there without aircon.
    You would have a great time there once covid dissipates a bit.
     
  21. All good but let's not say NOBODY is interested eh? Obviously some on here are. I am. Otherwise there wouldn't be a thread on the subject.

    This morning's 'nonsense sports' so far have included taekwondo and skateboarding. Actually skateboarding isn't really 'nonsense' at all. Looks damned clever to me.

    The Japanese had the option to cancel but decided to press ahead. Therefore I'm gonna give them my full support. They're a very conservative nation though hence the reluctance of their citizens even though their covid numbers are far lower than ours and we did 60k at Wembley.

    They've made such an effort and without all the politics and commercialism that Beijing, Moscow or an American venue would have involved. They simply wanted to give the world a party and it's a crying shame to see empty venues and that covid has so tragically compromised their efforts.

    Meanwhile Jade Jones goes out of the taekwondo and only Adam Peaty in the pool has really lived up to expectations amongst our lot so far.
     
  22. Here's another 'nonsense'.

    Obviously every Olympics includes all the major sports but there's a sort of lottery regarding the minor and new ones because, as I understand it, only so many sports are allowed. So, if your minor sport gets in one time then there's no guarantee it'll be there the next time even if it's rated a success.

    That's ridiculous. If your sport is included after all due consideration then it should remain included unless there's a damn good reason to kick it out again. The thing only comes around every four years after all.

    Simply increase the number of sports. Surely that shouldn't be too onerous.
     
  23. WillisWasTheWorst

    WillisWasTheWorst Its making less grammar mistake's thats important

    I was astonished to learn on the BBC coverage yesterday that something called 3 on 3 basketball is an Olympic ‘sport’. Surely this is a made up game which is a variation of an existing sport. Why would this be included rather than a real long-existing sport like squash, for example? Looking forward to the urban street hockey, frisbee golf and chess boxing sometime soon.
     
    reg_varney likes this.
  24. Filbert

    Filbert Leicester supporting bloke

    I saw that, it was bizarre. Possibly the most boring bit of sporting action I’ve ever seen, there’s no space for the players to run in. It was just a few blokes tossing a basketball around.
     
  25. GoingDown

    GoingDown "The Stability"

    Gee, I wonder who 'HighStreetHorn' is?
     
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  26. I Blame Pozzo

    I Blame Pozzo First Team

    As I watched the cycling just now I was reminded about how many sports I watch at the Olympics that I wouldn't look at otherwise.
    Jade Jones out in the first round and Murray withdraws from the singles with a thing strain,sorry thigh strain.
    Barty out too.
     
    Smudger likes this.
  27. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Looks like we have our first medal now.
     
  28. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    Bradley Sinden through to a final in the taekwondo and a guaranteed silver. Current world champion in his weight division. Trying to locate the Olympic football stream is impossible. Trying to observe Argentina v Egypt. That 3 v 3 basketball is comical. Is the real basketball format not interesting enough ? Dumbing down from suggestions for shorter matches, longer intervals to accomodate shorter attention spans and more advertisers is appalling.
     
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  29. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    It is great to see these sports get their moment in the sun. I think it is rather sad racket sports like badminton do not get more coverage. I prefer it now to tennis. And table tennis. What a sport that is. Superlative reflexes and anticipation.
     
  30. GoingDown

    GoingDown "The Stability"

    Egypt - Argentina is on Discovery+. Can't say that Eurosport have been particularly helpful about where to watch specific events. They showed about 15 minutes of Boxing overnight on the main channels.
     
    Smudger likes this.
  31. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member


    Cheers GD. Missed most of it. :p
     
  32. Lloyd

    Lloyd Squad Player

    No Antiques Roadshow tonight so the BBC can show highlights of skateboarding, break-dancing and five-a-side hairdressing from Tokyo. What a joke
     
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  33. The Voice of Reason

    The Voice of Reason First Team Captain

    Bradley Sinden only got the silver, he lost to a 19 year old from somewhere like Uzbekistan. We also got a bronze in one of the female judo classes won by a girl called Chelsea Giles.
     
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  34. Aberystwyth_Hornet

    Aberystwyth_Hornet Squad Player

    Watched the men's final was incredibly tight won by incredibly fine margins. First event I've watched this Olympics and a reminder why I enjoy watching them - end up getting emotionally involved in an event I'd normally have no interest in.

    Disagree with those saying it is soul less, tell that to the unknown Austrian cyclist that won gold earlier
     
  35. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    I don’t mind sports like skateboarding being included but I don’t like baseball being in it now. I think it’s a bit pointless putting sports in where the Olympics isn’t the pinnacle of the sport and a lot of the athletes associated with that particular sport won’t care about the Olympics. Same with Golf etc.

    I don’t know anything about skateboarding, no doubt there is some sort of world championships, but it’s not a mainstream sport and most won’t have a clue about it, therefore it being an Olympic sport automatically elevates it to being massively important to those involved.
     
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