2022 Beijing Olympics: Don't Mention the Slaves

[Scarlet]

I'm waiting for members of the GQP to start complaining about the Americans who are competing for other countries and that we shouldn't allow that to happen. There seems to be quite a few. Especially since the US has not had a good Games so far.

 

[MichVandal]

I'm waiting for members of the GQP to start complaining about the Americans who are competing for other countries and that we shouldn't allow that to happen. There seems to be quite a few. Especially since the US has not had a good Games so far.

It's funny that this games everyone is making a big deal about it. It's happened before- Puerto Rico got their second gold medal from a US born women in 110m hurdles. It was VERY much not a big deal then- as we could not even find the medal ceremony. Perhaps it's because China?

One other funny thing- in past Olympics, it has become pretty clear that the only things the GQP watches are when little women compete with tight clothing. So for the winter games, that would be figure skating. I guess that's been showing up with the early team competition, and they saw the news....

 

[SJHovey]

I'm waiting for members of the GQP to start complaining about the Americans who are competing for other countries and that we shouldn't allow that to happen. There seems to be quite a few. Especially since the US has not had a good Games so far.

My guess is most of the complaining is generated by the outcome. At the college world series last summer I met an American who was the catcher on the Italian Olympic baseball team a few years back. I'm a baseball fan and I had no idea who this guy was before I met him, and I certainly didn't know the Italians had an Olympic baseball team.

While there have been a few outliers where US citizens have gone on to win medals for their home country, for the most part these have been athletes who couldn't/didn't make the American team and took their chance to compete for their home country.

The complaints, and whole argument, really show how the Olympic ideals (such as they were) of individual achievement have been perverted into this nationalistic competition over the decades, primarily through the "medal count."

 

[Kepler]

The complaints, and whole argument, really show how the Olympic ideals (such as they were) of individual achievement have been perverted into this nationalistic competition over the decades, primarily through the "medal count."

Easy enough to solve. Just take away the nations*. Mix nations up on teams. Athletes compete as individuals. Done.

Oh, and in summer they need to be in the nude like the Greeks.

* Or just end nation states. It's time. Childhood's End. People choose their affiliation and affiliations govern themselves. World courts govern legal and criminal conflicts between them. No kings, no masters, no gods, no armies, no bosses, no flags.

 

[Jimjamesak]

I could not care less about most of the athletes that represent a different country, the vast majority likely wouldn’t have made the US team anyway. The Big Air skiing woman who switched to China deserves every piece of scorn she gets though since it’s clear she only flipped for a lot of cash from the Chinese Government.

 

[Jimjamesak]

An NMU alum will be going for his fourth Olympic missed podium tomorrow night in snowboard cross....

The US XC Ski team has at least one UAA alum, Vicky Persinger (mixed doubles curling) supposedly went to UAA but she’s from Fairbanks so that is likely a typo, and former UAA defenseman Mat Robinson is playing in his second straight Olympics for Team Canada.

 

[Kepler]

I could not care less about most of the athletes that represent a different country, the vast majority likely wouldn’t have made the US team anyway. The Big Air skiing woman who switched to China deserves every piece of scorn she gets though since it’s clear she only flipped for a lot of cash from the Chinese Government.

The US has bought every medal it has won by throwing infinite resources at it. It's the same crap.

The Olympics has sucked since teevee figured out they could market it to idiots by waving the flag to vacuum their wallets. And all the big nations deserve equal scorn for feeding that. In any event root for the athlete who had the smallest Olympic team budget -- she's the least crooked.

 

[Jimjamesak]

The US has bought every medal it has won by throwing infinite resources at it. It's the same crap.

The Olympics has sucked since teevee figured out they could market it to idiots by waving the flag to vacuum their wallets. And all the big nations deserve equal scorn for feeding that. In any event root for the athlete who had the smallest Olympic team budget -- she's the least crooked.

Ok boomer.

 

[Kepler]

Ok boomer.

"Amateurism for thee but not for me."

 

[Kepler]

Now we know how the British felt in 1946.

It was a good run. Next time don't elect Reagan and ruin the country for selfish and bigoted reasons.

Spain and the Netherlands are much better places to live since losing the empire. Not to mention a certain Reich.

 

[Jimjamesak]

"Amateurism for thee but not for me."

Which is pretty much what the rest of the world says. Our sports development system in the US sucks. Why too much reliance on corporate dollars. There’s probably 5-6 Olympic sports where the US is the most funded, and only one is a winter event and that’s snowboarding. I’m always impressed by American athletes in sports like skiing or luge or even bobsled who spend most of their careers schlepping around the world on a budget that’s a fraction of their competition (who then also usually get to go home between competitions and train).

 

[Kepler]

It will be better now the pressure's off. Sing it with Sid and Johnny. Or just. Another. Country.

 

[Jimjamesak]

It will be better now the pressure's off. Sing it with Sid and Johnny. Or just. Another. Country.

Yeah, and I live in this one. And, unlike pretentious dooshes like you, the vast majority of us just can’t up and move to somewhere pleasant so excuse me for trying to have a bit of pride in my country.

 

[MichVandal]

"Amateurism for thee but not for me."

It's been just over 30 years that many of the participants were members of their local public army, freeing them to spend 100% of their time playing their sport. And be experimented on with various chemicals. Since enough Americans don't want to put our tax dollars to sport, especially ones that are in the Olympics, we had to put sponsorship in just to let them train- it was quite literally communism vs. capitalism. And we know how that's turned out. Ironically, much of our current aversion to pay for labor in our products is now showing up in the Chinese medal count. This is hardly new.

So I'm not sure why you put this up on such a pedestal now.

And I know you think the NBC broadcasters are super homer, but I would suggest that you move closer to our northern neighbors. CBC makes our homerism look like child's play. When a Canadian has a sniff at a good position, they even start talking about very specific extended family members in whatever part of Canada they come from- including what they do for a living being "salt of the earth".

In other words, find the part of the world that is less homer than US announcers.

 

[Slap Shot]

The US has bought every medal it has won by throwing infinite resources at it. It's the same crap.

The US used to dominate T&F but I don't think that's the case any longer. They've been the kings and queens in BB (M & W), a giant in soccer (W) and swimming (M & W). Outside of that....?

 

[Kepler]

In other words, find the part of the world that is less homer than US announcers.

You're missing the point. Everyone is disgusting so the trick is to find a broadcaster whose nation has few athletes. We are in virtually every sport so virtually every sport is ruined.

 

[Kepler]

All around the world, same song. China is a modern country, now. Its people are just as big turds as ours.

 

[MichVandal]

You're missing the point. Everyone is disgusting so the trick is to find a broadcaster whose nation has few athletes. We are in virtually every sport so virtually every sport is ruined.

As if they will cover every sport. Good luck with that. And if they are so small, the odds of them just paying for the US coverage is close to 100%. Or whoever their favored trading partner is.

The funny part of your rant is that you honestly think we spend more money on the Olympics than other countries do- do you really think that we spend more on Luge than Germany? Or speed skating than The Netherlands? Or Russia and figure skating? The SUM of all of the corporate dollars may be more than every other country, but that's because we participate in pretty much everything.

The only reason we've managed to stay pretty dominant in T&F is because the EU has come up with a professional circuit that they can participate in year round- thus making T&F a way to make a really good living. Mind you, the US has the best infrastructure for developing most games for the 18-22 year old- with the NCAA and all. The events where it doesn't work tends to be much earlier starters.

 

[MichVandal]

All around the world, same song. China is a modern country, now. Its people are just as big turds as ours.

Ok, why do you even bother following the Olympics? It really makes no sense that you waste your time on this.

Replace China with Japan, and that happened 2 years ago with Naomi Osaka.

 

[Kepler]

As if they will cover every sport. Good luck with that. And if they are so small, the odds of them just paying for the US coverage is close to 100%. Or whoever their favored trading partner is.

The funny part of your rant is that you honestly think we spend more money on the Olympics than other countries do- do you really think that we spend more on Luge than Germany? Or speed skating than The Netherlands? Or Russia and figure skating? The SUM of all of the corporate dollars may be more than every other country, but that's because we participate in pretty much everything.

The only reason we've managed to stay pretty dominant in T&F is because the EU has come up with a professional circuit that they can participate in year round- thus making T&F a way to make a really good living. Mind you, the US has the best infrastructure for developing most games for the 18-22 year old- with the NCAA and all. The events where it doesn't work tends to be much earlier starters.

Nobody is ranting here but you.

Just watch your events, same as the rest of us. And if you need to beat yourself off to the flag and shove an eagle up your as-s to get off, fine. I don't judge.