I've also been enjoying the endearingly stupid "Olympics Jerk Watch" that Justin Peters is doing at Slate.

In particular, I can't wait to root against French super-jerk Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad. Those poor mascots! What a dick!

I prefer the Winter Olympics, but I like the Summer games well enough. I like swimming best. Not a big fan of the other big 2, track and gymnastics. As for the obscure sports, badminton, weightlifting, and that weird cycling thing where they go as slow as they can until the last lap sprint.

Ahhh, the Olympics: that golden opportunity for America-loathing judges and referees around the world to screw over the evil United States at every opportunity they can get, since 1972.

Ahhh, the Olympics: that golden opportunity for America-loathing judges and referees around the world to screw over the evil United States at every opportunity they can get, since 1972.

Like Paul Hamm?

that weird cycling thing where they go as slow as they can until the last lap sprint.

My reaction to that is always "this is the stupidest thing I've ever seen" then I sit there and watch until the end.

I really want to enjoy handball more than I do, it seems like I should like the sport but I can't get into it. Volleyball (the team version) I love though.

If you want sports that look entirely stupid, I don't think you can do better than racewalking. God, if they have a close race down the stretch, it's just the best thing in the world.

I don't understand racewalking at all. I know we've had a thread about it here before and the sport had its defenders, but it just makes no sense to me at an essential sporting level. I try to see the other POV as, obviously, it has its adherents, but I just can't take it seriously at all. I mean, ####, just start running already. RUN GODDAMMIT, RUN!

I have a feeling this is going to be one of the biggest cluster ##### of all time.

Shooty - race walking is the equivalent to harness racing. Why don't they just let the horses gallop?

I don't understand racewalking at all. I know we've had a thread about it here before and the sport had its defenders, but it just makes no sense to me at an essential sporting level. I try to see the other POV as, obviously, it has its adherents, but I just can't take it seriously at all. I mean, ####, just start running already. RUN GODDAMMIT, RUN!

Well, I suppose it could be analogous to swimming strokes other than freestyle.

edit: Same point as Rants, but different analogy, so NO COKE FOR YOU!

I guess the analogy would be the backstroke or the breaststroke in swimming - it's not the fastest way to get from point a to point b, but it is a full olympic competition anyway.

I think the problem is that racewalking isn't a peculiar kind of movement (like if you had to walk on your hands, or if you had to skip, taking two steps on one leg for every single step on the other), but rather just a restricted form of running where you look like you really want to run but you don't for some reason.

EDIT: cokes above.

Until Sepak Takraw becomes an Olympic sport, there is no justice. Maybe the best thing about wiziwig, front row, etc. is the chance to see obscure sports in non-Olympic settings. I've watched me plenty of mean badminton and sepak takraw that way.

Shooty - race walking is the equivalent to harness racing. Why don't they just let the horses gallop?

I've always assumed harness racing evolved from when people had carthorses. People just seem to like to race.

Well, I suppose it could be analogous to swimming strokes other than freestyle.

This is a good point. I will think about why this seems less ridiculous to me than race walking, although the competitive breast stroke, I have to admit, makes me chuckle. Up down up down up down plus the goggles and that wide-mouthed sucking in of air. It definitely has a surreal quality to it.

" frannyzoo Posted: July 27, 2012 at 01:06 PM (#4193706)
Until Sepak Takraw becomes an Olympic sport, there is no justice. Maybe the best thing about wiziwig, front row, etc. is the chance to see obscure sports in non-Olympic settings. I've watched me plenty of mean badminton and sepak takraw that way.
"

If you want to watch actually good sepak takraw, watch either the South East Asian games, or the Asian games, that's where the best are, Thailand vs Malaysia (to lesser extents, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, too). Their skill level is pretty unbelievable. Think soccer style overhead / bicycle kicks, used as a volleyball style smash, with the net height at about that of a badminton net, ie about shoulder height. Thailand and Malaysia also disagree on whom invented it, both claim it. That article, not surprisingly, is written more from a Malaysian viewpoint.

Like Paul Hamm?

I have absolutely no idea who that is. The last Olympic event I ever saw was when Roy Jones absolutely beat the living hell out of that Korean kid in '88 and got robbed by the hometown judges. Haven't watched a second since.

This is a good point. I will think about why this seems less ridiculous to me than race walking, although the competitive breast stroke, I have to admit, makes me chuckle. Up down up down up down plus the goggles and that wide-mouthed sucking in of air. It definitely has a surreal quality to it.

Still beats Butterfly.

" Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader<="" a=""> Posted: July 27, 2012 at 12:59 PM (#4193692)
I don't understand racewalking at all. I know we've had a thread about it here before and the sport had its defenders, but it just makes no sense to me at an essential sporting level. I try to see the other POV as, obviously, it has its adherents, but I just can't take it seriously at all. I mean, ####, just start running already. RUN GODDAMMIT, RUN!
"

Why not? The point is the testing of different athletic skills / abilities. Whether it is racewalking compared to running, the different swimming strokes, throwing different implements (shot, javelin, hammer), the 2 weightlifting techniques (and in the past 3) etc.

Like Paul Hamm?

I have absolutely no idea who that is.

If only there were some way to find out who that is. Alas, there is none.

The last Olympic event I ever saw was when Roy Jones absolutely beat the living hell out of that Korean kid in '88 and got robbed by the hometown judges. Haven't watched a second since.

Then you missed that Americans got their revenge with Apolo Ohno, probably the most hated man in South Korea.

i know its standard olympic issue to mock the equestrian events but a few things to keep in mind

--equestrian events are celebrating a 100 years with the olympics since they got going at the 1912 games

--the fastest tickets for olympic events to be sold out are swimming and equestrian events. go figure

--equestrian is much more than dressage. i think if folks looked at eventing they would be pretty interested

--personally, i have long advocated shooting and equestrian have a combined event. because i can tell you from firsthand experience hitting anything while riding at a gallop is ####### hard.

and yes, the wallbanger household will be watching all of the equestrian events

Rrack us my favorite sport to watch. Then again i was a runner so its not surprising

i also enjoy the rowing events. and all forms of wrestling. not thrilled with how greco roman has evolved to standing around and penalty points but still an avid watcher. decathlon.

Then you missed that Americans got their revenge with Apolo Ohno, probably the most hated man in South Korea.

And Paul Hamm doubled up on the revenge in '04. The Koreans are probably owed one.

I have a feeling this is going to be one of the biggest cluster ##### of all time.

Me too.

Ah, so "America-loathing judges and referees around the world" means "Korean-loving boxing judges" and "at every opportunity they can get, since 1972" means "on one day in 1988".

I like the Olympics a lot but also prefer the Winter to the Summer. Sports I like watching:

Archery
Beach Volleyball
Fencing
Gymnastics
Swimming
Table Tennis maybe
Tennis maybe (In theory I like watching tennis but whenever the big events are on throughout the year I never seem to end up watching them at all)
Some Track & Field stuff
Volleyball
Weightlifting (Not sure why....it's oddly fascinating)

Making that list made me realize just how big the gap is in my interest between Summer and Winter. There are a handful of Winter events that I am significantly more interested in than any Summer one.

I have absolutely no idea who that is. The last Olympic event I ever saw was when Roy Jones absolutely beat the living hell out of that Korean kid in '88 and got robbed by the hometown judges. Haven't watched a second since.

Sure, because steps were never taken tp prevent this in the future.

An official IOC investigation concluding in 1997 found that three of the judges were wined and dined by South Korean officials. This led to calls for Jones to be awarded a gold medal, but the IOC still officially stands by the decision, despite the allegations. Jones was awarded the Val Barker trophy, as the best stylistic boxer of the 1988 games, which was only the third and to this day the last time in the competition's history when the award did not go to one of the gold medal winners. The incident led Olympic organizers to establish a new scoring system for Olympic boxing.

Might as well say "I haven't watched baseball since <insert bad umpiring call of your choice>"

And truth be told, I'm not a big fan of judged sports anyway: figure skating, gymnastics, diving, boxing... they all seem rigged in one way or another. The good news is, they make up a small portion of the overall competition. but whatever floats you boat. I suspect your disdain has more to do with the IOC being dominated by dirty, liberal Europeans than with a couple of corrupt judges 24 years ago.

I suspect your disdain has more to do with the IOC being dominated by dirty, liberal Europeans than with a couple of corrupt judges 24 years ago.

Europeans? What kind of slander is this?

I love how NBC can still get away with showing sporting events on time delays. Granted there is no competition going on during the Opening Ceremonies. At least now there are multiple and multiple channels devoted to coverage.

Race walking seems just seems so unnatural. The non-freestyle strokes while slower, look like natural movements.

Men's volleyball is no fun because its usually tall guys who were a little two awkward to play basketball and you rarely get any rallies. Water polo is fun to watch because while all you see above water are heads, arms and the ball, you know underwater its just crazy violence.

Well, I suppose it could be analogous to swimming strokes other than freestyle.

This is a good point. I will think about why this seems less ridiculous to me than race walking, although the competitive breast stroke, I have to admit, makes me chuckle.

It's because walking and running are both totally natural, innate activities for human beings. Swimming is not - the different strokes were "invented," or at least developed over a long period of time. Even freestyle, at least the crawl we know of today, is probably less than 150 years old - in some quarters it's still called the Australian crawl, which gives you an idea of when it could have been developed.

I suspect your disdain has more to do with the IOC being dominated by dirty, liberal Europeans than with a couple of corrupt judges 24 years ago.

One clue might be that he thinks South Koreans giving an unfair advantage to a South Korean are doing so because of their hatred of that longtime enemy of South Korea the United States.

The summer games don't have an event comparable to curling in weirdness/watchability but they make up for it in quantity: weightlifting, badminton, fencing, pole vault, modern pentathlon... I celebrate the whole catalogue.

About the only Olympic sports I don't enjoy watching are dressage (I do like jumping) and the sailng events. Love track & field, love gymnastics (you have to be impressed by men's rings - amazing strength). I usually watch a lot of rowing because Canada always does well.

I like the fencing. When else am I ever going to watch fencing? All the men should be required to have raffish mustaches, though, and speak with French accents.

My great hope is that Danny Boyle makes the opening ceremonies a long homage to Trainspotting, complete with toilet, baby hallucination, and Robert Carlyle inflicting mayhem on all around him.

Boxing, wrestling, equestrian, I don't understand what's going on. Fencing, I don't think ANYONE can understand what's going on. Rowing, kayaking, sailing, I don't understand the difference between the boat types. Gymnastics are good because you can always root for someone to make a mistake or to recover from a mistake. I guess my favorites are things like discus, shot put, javelin, high jump. And the team sports - even though I don't understand the formations or the positions, I know what a handball team is trying to do.

My great hope is that Danny Boyle makes the opening ceremonies a long homage to Trainspotting, complete with toilet, baby hallucination, and Robert Carlyle inflicting mayhem on all around him.

From the previews I've read, Boyle's intent was to cram as much English stuff into the ceremony as possible. So expect to see Doctor Who fight orcs in schoolboy uniforms in front of Stonehenge.

Why can't it just be a Benny Hill skit?

Bruce Dickinson is an avid fencer.

The summer games don't have an event comparable to curling in weirdness/watchability but they make up for it in quantity: weightlifting, badminton, fencing, pole vault, modern pentathlon... I celebrate the whole catalogue.


Hey, the modern pentathlon is at least as weird as curling. On the other hand I don't remember EVER seeing it on TV so watchability must be low.

I love biathlon in the winter olympics. ModPent sounds like it should have similar appeal.

Dave Wottle. Just sayin'.

Gymnastics is fun to watch even though the judging thing. Its amazing what the human body can do. I'm conflicted on women's gymnastics because adolescence is a competitive disadvantage.

A little late to the conversation, but I'm amused by the sports that make no sense too -- with the different strokes in swimming as pointed out by [9] and [10]. I was at the Kentucky Horse Park last week and learned way too much about different breeds of horses. So for [12], top -end trotters are bred for harness racing and aren't bred to gallop. Clearly they can, but I'm sure the horses aren't bred for it would break down sooner.

But [12] makes a good point that sports don't exist in a vacuum -- they exist because of our human history. Dressage and other equestrian sports seem kind of silly to me in this day and age, but at some points in history (and even today in some ways), that kind of human/horse control was really important to staying alive in certain situations. Usually situations where you're trying to kill *other* people, but still.

Edit: [19] There are people more familiar with dressage than eventing? I thought everyone only knew about the jumping parts. Or do I have my terminology wrong? My first love rode dressage so I was left equal parts horrified and fascinated by it.

Edit2: [24] My interest in the Winter Olympics waned a bit as more and more events that Americans were good at were added. I get it, kinda, that these are emerging popular sports and should be in the Olympics...but still.

the fastest tickets for olympic events to be sold out are swimming and equestrian events. go figure

Limited tickets are probably the answer.

The track and field events are in a giant stadium for 9 days... takes a while to sell them.

I personally would like it if the Olympics were more flexible as far as sports. Like, have 15 to 20 sports that HAVE to be in every Olympics, then let the hosting city decide on what the remaining sports are (the only criteria being that it has been approved to be sufficiently international), so long as they have at least X amount (maybe have a minimum of 28ish, which will be the total number of Olympic sports once Rugby and Golf get in in 2016). If the host city wants to host 35 different sports and is willing to pay for all of those facilities, great! If not they just need to pick out the ones to fill out the 28.

It would help cut down on costs, while also allowing each host city to have some local flavor. Like, if the USA were to get the 2024 or 2028 games, we'd probably add in baseball, softball, maybe some MMA and some action sports like skateboarding (American Football would be unlikely to be up to Olympic standards, especially if NFL players took part), while giving rugby and probably handball a Games off. Japan could have baseball, softball, karate and sumo wrestling (which apparently has a surprising amount of participation by Eastern Europeans). Spain could have Basque Pelota... etc.



...
By the way, for all of the faults of the IOC (full of cronyism, regionalism, chauvinism, favoritism and countless other faults), NBC's coverage and the Olympics, I like it. A lot. I watch at least a little bit of almost all of the sports. I'm probably going to get up early at least a few times to watch some events live online. And, maybe I'm a romantic, but the idea that maybe, somehow, the Olympics can make us come together as one world for a week or two, still sounds good.

the IOC being dominated by dirty, liberal Europeans

Hey, when does the baseball competition start?

I wonder if fencing would be more accessible if the announcers explained how injured/dead the competitor would be if they were actually swordfighting. That's the evolution, right? A way of deciding the superior swordsman that doesn't leave one or both dead or maimed? That makes the jerky, sudden spastic movements make more sense.

Wow, I would watch some jousting.

The thing with fencing is that it apparently isn't even that much like actual sword-fighting, but rather a offshoot of what swordfighting training was like. Real swordfights probably didn't last much longer than four seconds and certainly didn't stop with every touch.

the fastest tickets for olympic events to be sold out are swimming and equestrian events. go figure


Limited tickets are probably the answer.

I suspect these sports may also have the most cross-over appeal between the sexes (let's not discount the beefcake element in swimming)

Boxing, wrestling, equestrian, I don't understand what's going on

Geez, boxing might be the simplest sport ever, two guys trying to beat the crap out of each other.

Real swordfights probably didn't last much longer than four seconds and certainly didn't stop with every touch.

When the arms race to full plate armor had run its course, a sword fight could have lasted forever (if the fighters had been daft, that is) as there was little they could do to harm each other.