tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post270899513454462200..comments2024-02-17T04:06:00.805-05:00Comments on Just Not Said: The second-rate OlympicsJohn Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-76648864946494953272014-02-11T05:41:19.088-05:002014-02-11T05:41:19.088-05:00Anon --
I'm totally with you on the judging. I...Anon --<br />I'm totally with you on the judging. I've always referred sports which were decided by stopwatches, or measuring tapes. In fact in the first draft of this post I was going to talk about how the Winter Olympics had more sports which are decided by judging, but then I realized that the Summer Olympics have gymnastics, diving, etc. <br /><br />The fact that the Olympics have gotten away from their military origins bothers me less. No future wars will be decided by whose Army has a faster 800 meter runner, either, and certainly not by who has faster swimmers. But at least those sports are in keeping with the "Citius, Altius, Fortius" motto of the Games. Any sport decided on the basis of how prettily the judges think you did it is not. John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-49173069478664270732014-02-10T23:52:56.445-05:002014-02-10T23:52:56.445-05:00I can't watch the Olympics anymore. Too many ...I can't watch the Olympics anymore. Too many events are decided by judges' opinions. True athletic competitions should be judged on speed, strength and stamina -- qualities that would help win a battle. Does anyone think future wars will be settled by "Stomp The Yard/You Got Served" dance competitions? Olympic boxing is a joke now, but judging has also ruined professional boxing. It may sound barbaric, but all fights should end only when one fighter is unable to continue -- not whether 3 judges "think" one guy landed more/better punches.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-47638258799829548192014-02-10T15:16:46.737-05:002014-02-10T15:16:46.737-05:00Gilbert --
You're absolutely right; and they a...Gilbert --<br />You're absolutely right; and they also had a race which involved wearing armor and carrying a shield, which combined weighed fifty to sixty pounds. I thought of mentioning those, and explaining how the original Olympics were more martially-oriented, but decided it would make for too long of a post and didn't get into it. <br /><br />As far as competing in the nude, the Olympics were also all male back in the day; I decided not to get into that, either. John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-57087092781307971822014-02-10T14:07:04.732-05:002014-02-10T14:07:04.732-05:00And they don't participate in the nude either!...And they don't participate in the nude either!<br /><br />A minor quibble: the original Olympics featured a chariot race.<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chariot_racing#Olympic_GamesGilbert Ratchethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13448063418910836848noreply@blogger.com