Minor Olympic events: the hidden treasures, the ridiculous

Saw like 3 minutes of the dressage and that was more than enough. Like someone said, might as well have a dog show too. I supposed I don't have a problem w/ the other equestrian events, but even in those- shouldn't they give the medal to the horse? He does all the work. The rider is more like a coach.

Also beach volleyball seems a little ridiculous to me- it would be like if they had 'streetball' or 2-v-2 in addition to regular basketball. Come on.

I've liked badminton, table tennis, real volleyball, and water polo. Watched a little bit of weightlifting, fencing, and rowing- those were OK but I don't need too much of them. Still want to catch some team handball.

winter games are better for the small sports - I watched virtually every minute of prime time coverage from vancouver and was totally into it. Summer...some of this stuff I just don't care about. sychronized sports in particular. diving, swimming, trampolining...seems weird.

I was a rower in college and still have trouble sitting trhough a 2000 meter race on tv - rowing is possibly the worst spectator sport on the planet.

Lydiard is God wrote:

Americans are notorious for lacking subtlety and finesse.

Haha...Look at your first post on this thread. Do I remember correctly that you used the word "retard"? Good stuff.

i love the cycling, especially the indoor cycling, like the Team Sprint and such. It's so fast paced.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skAaRP6UdiA&feature=relmfu

Also have to draw the line at Dressage. And anything synchronized. Chess is very hard and takes years to almost master, but no one wants that in.

Not to be a dick, but how about Women's basketball? Watching Russia-Brasil right now, painful.

I like everything in the olympics... both the sports where a gold does not constitute the highest honor and achievement and the sports like basketball, soccer, cycling, boxing where the true champions are crowned in different leagues and world tournaments. It means something different to every sport. That's the great thing about the olympics. N1GG@$

aLSO THE oLYMPIC THEME MUSIC MAKES ME HAPPY......JIZZ........ OH

Running on Empathy wrote:

Anything that has to be scored by judges should be tossed.

Amen. Racewalking included.

ALSO...the Australia-US womens beach volleyball was unreal

Tennis, golf, and basketball shouldn't be in The Games. Those athletes are simply there out of sponsor obligation. they could careless about a GM.

Is beach vollyball really a popular sport outside the usa?

benderbrau wrote:

Also beach volleyball seems a little ridiculous to me- it would be like if they had 'streetball' or 2-v-2 in addition to regular basketball. Come on.

Actually ... when you compare to swimming with multiple strokes or gymnastics with team and all around and individual apparatus, why not add a 2 on 2 basketball tournament and a three point shooting event?

Will anyone try and watch any of these sports once the Olympics are over? I'm watching a bunch of soccer but hardly ever watch any of the soccer that's on regularly. I just seem to watch the tournaments.

atrrunner wrote:

Also have to draw the line at Dressage. And anything synchronized. Chess is very hard and takes years to almost master, but no one wants that in.

Ivanchuck is doped anyway.

I wholeheartedly agree with the contributor who dislikes the sports, such as tennis and soccer for which the Olymmpics does not represent the apex of competition. I love road cycling, but it does little for me to see a one stage competition less than two weeks after the conclusion of the Tour de France, and nothing in soccer can approach the World Cup. God help us if they ever add golf. And it's no accident that the oldest "athletes" in the Olympics are always equestrian. Put the horses on the podium, hang medals around their necks, and play the theme song to Mr. Ed. I suppose Americans and citizens from a few other first world nations can get their juices flowing over yachting, but I prefer competition in which athletes from the poorest nations on Earth can compete on equal footing with thos from wealthy nations.

To my own surprise, while I hate prize fighting, I really enjoy Olympic boxing. With only three rounds and the athletes wearing head protection, it's less savage and skill is rewarded.

Ridiculous: Boxing, Equestrian events, sychronized swimming, diving, gymnastics (men's and especially women's), tennis, basketball, beach volleyball.

I have to say I've been watching the equestrian XC all morning and there have been some heart-pounding moments. There was one moment where the horse fell down as did the rider, with his safety vest going off - I was very worried the horse had broken a leg....Some of those jumps are quite difficult....for the horse, that is...

Watching women's volleyball vs. Brazil right now- Destinee Hooker (3-time NCAA high jump champ at Texas) is TEARING IT UP!

ronner wrote:

steamy wrote:

equestrian hater, just wait for this event:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XrMwiPtqwk

I watched that. It's kinda sad.

I didn't watch but I remember when some of those equestrian snobs gave steroids to the horses. Bad enough you subject yourself to them but to an innocent animal?

sfjffdf wrote:

water polo - boring and ridiculous - like watching a bunch of guys coming up with a game in the pool

I would vote for replacing water polo with Marco Polo.: Seeing a Marco polo game played by athletes at the top of their game would be worth the price of admission!