Just Another LRC Idiot wrote:
Jimmio wrote:
The Olympics are not that important in the scheme of things. The Japanese understand this.
Yeah, going to karaoke bars and pachinko parlors is far more important to most Japanese people. And of course, dining and wining in large groups.
No kidding. People like you are so narcissistic that you think the Olympics are soooooo important. Get over yourself.
Maybe some of you can learn something.
pavement88 wrote:
How about this proposal to give the athletes a chance to compete:
You have each sport in a different "bubble" spread across the globe.
For instance, you could have swimming in the USA, track and field in Canada, soccer in Mexico, softball is Cuba, etc etc.
Yes it isn't the true Olympic experience but I think it would be much more manageable to have these smaller bubbles like the NBA and NHL successfully had this summer.
This is the best idea I've ever had.
Sad.
Jimmio wrote:
https://www.theringer.com/2021/1/22/22244941/tokyo-summer-olympics-status-thomas-bach-iocMaybe some of you can learn something.
This is a good read. I agree that the Olympics need to be re-structured and I am partial to a six-continent rotation using cities that have already hosted The Games and have the stadium/competition infrastructure in place. Only Africa has yet to hold an Olympics but, South Africa has many stadiums built for the soccer World Cup in 2010 and Capetown would be an excellent venue.
Africa - Capetown
North America - Los Angeles
Europe - London / Paris / Barcelona
Australia - Sydney
South America - Rio de Janeiro
Asia - Tokyo / Beijing / Seoul
The IOC could pool funds to build out Capetown and to modernize/maintain aging facilities from the other host cities. The Games get a solid footing, cities with proven track records, hotel and transportation infrastructure, and fiscal stability. Should a scheduled host city fall victim to natural disaster, localized epidemic, civil unrest, etc., then you have an array of suitable backups to shift the event to.
My post commenting on reliability of NY Times was deleted. This once again proves that the mods are part of the problem when it comes to expressing oneself freely on LRC.
TMADDDHASFNE wrote:
My post commenting on reliability of NY Times was deleted. This once again proves that the mods are part of the problem when it comes to expressing oneself freely on LRC.
They were trying to spare you from embarrassment. The story was NOT from The NY Times.
That's not how the IOC operates
Jimmio wrote:
The Olympics are not that important in the scheme of things. The Japanese understand this.
Yes indeed.
The Olympics are just a scheme for the IOC to get rich.
They are not caring about the Athletes one bit.
Maybe it's time to get rid of the Olympics all together.
Jimmio wrote:
Just Another LRC Idiot wrote:
Yeah, going to karaoke bars and pachinko parlors is far more important to most Japanese people. And of course, dining and wining in large groups.
No kidding. People like you are so narcissistic that you think the Olympics are soooooo important. Get over yourself.
Why am I narcissistic to believe that the Olympics are more important than karaoke bars and pachinko parlors? I am not going to compete in the Olympics. I only get enjoyment from other people competing. I don't get any enjoyment from other people singing karaoke or playing pachinko.
Just Another LRC Idiot wrote:
Jimmio wrote:
No kidding. People like you are so narcissistic that you think the Olympics are soooooo important. Get over yourself.
Why am I narcissistic to believe that the Olympics are more important than karaoke bars and pachinko parlors? I only get enjoyment from other people competing. I don't get any enjoyment from other people singing karaoke or playing pachinko.
You just answered your question. You only care about your enjoyment as you essentially stated.
Zatopek the real one wrote:
Jimmio wrote:
The Olympics are not that important in the scheme of things. The Japanese understand this.
Yes indeed.
The Olympics are just a scheme for the IOC to get rich.
They are not caring about the Athletes one bit.
Maybe it's time to get rid of the Olympics all together.
How about a population weighted alternative to the Olympics where a country would be allowed to send a maximum number of athletes in accordance with their share of total global population. 5,000 athletes competing.
This list is the maximum number of athletes that would be allowed for the 15 largest countries:
China 895
India 875
United States 211
Indonesia 173
Pakistan 144
Brazil 136
Nigeria 135
Bangladesh 109
Russia 94
Mexico 82
Japan 80
Philippines 70
Ethiopia 70
DR Congo 68
Egypt 65
Jimmio wrote:
You just answered your question. You only care about your enjoyment as you essentially stated.
So people who go to karaoke and pachinko care about something other than their own enjoyment?
Just Another LRC Idiot wrote:
Jimmio wrote:
You just answered your question. You only care about your enjoyment as you essentially stated.
So people who go to karaoke and pachinko care about something other than their own enjoyment?
Not necessarily but you want the Olympics to go on despite the collateral consequences of carnage. IF they are carrying on with their karaoke and pachinko without regard for others safety than yes they would be narcissistic.
Jonathan Gault wrote:
According to the Times of London's tweet: "The Japanese government has privately concluded that the Tokyo Olympics will have to be cancelled because of the coronavirus, and the focus is now on securing the Games for the city in the next available year, 2032."
I'm not 100% writing the Games off yet -- the IOC is the one that makes the final call, but obviously they won't happen in Japan without the support of the local government. This is the most serious reporting yet that the Games won't happen. Previously there was a lot of smoke, but no smoking gun. But if an outlet like the Times is reporting that the Japanese government has concluded the Games can't happen, I don't feel very optimistic.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/japan-looks-for-a-way-out-of-tokyo-olympics-because-of-virus-lf868xfnd?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1611249451
It's what is best for us during this crisis/ pandemic unfortunately.
The collateral consequences of carnage? You mean, like the workers at karaoke bars and pachinko parlors missing their paychecks? Yeah, I couldn't care less. Maybe they should have chosen other jobs. If suspending their businesses for a few months can make the Olympic Games happen, I am all for it.
rojo wrote:
Jimmio wrote:
A fair question for you Rojo: would you be willing to give up your father’s life if it meant the Olympics would happen this year? What about Wejo’s life? Just trying to get a read on your values here.
No. Not at all. I tell my dad not to go out but he's tired of living like a hermit. He's probably only got a few good years left so he's doing things as responsibly as he can. He went on a bus trip with about 15 other seniors. They all got tested before the trip but it certainly wasn't risk-free.
A better question might be how would you feel if the town your father lives in announced they were going to hold a music festival and were expecting something like 50,000* people from around the world to turn up for it. Would you be in favour of it or against it?
*50,000 = Athletes + Officials + Team Staff + Support Staff + Media etc. (approx.)
Well, a bunch of people showed up in my town on Jan. 6 and hijacked the Capitol. Not 50,000, but many people. As tragic as it was, I was able to stay away from it.
I am fine with whatever is decided, but they can stay away from the Olympic crowds if needed for a couple weeks. Many people probably would chose to do so in "normal" times.
rojo wrote:
This is the type of 'journalism' I hate. They find a single anonymous person with an agenda and then quote them. But the quote in the article doesn't even make logical sense. The article says things have been decided but then the source's quote contradicts that.
Here is the opening two paragraphs.
The Time wrote:
The Japanese government has privately concluded that the Tokyo Olympics will have to be cancelled because of the coronavirus, and the focus is now on securing the Games for the city in the next available year, 2032.
According to a senior member of the ruling coalition, there is agreement that the Games, already postponed a year, are doomed. The aim now is to find a face-saving way of announcing the cancellation that leaves open the possibility of Tokyo playing host at a later date. “No one wants to be the first to say so but the consensus is that it’s too difficult,” the source said. “Personally, I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
If they cancel, I'll be outraged. We just had an entire NFL season with no problem, the Champions league finished with no problem. Yes, having an Olympics with broadcasters and athletes has many more people but it's not that hard to vaccinate 11,000 athletes. It's really not that hard to vaccinate 1 million people as the US has already vaccinated 18 million.
If Japan is worried about Covid, the answer is simple. Require vaccination of all foreign athletes, fans and media members. To me, the Olympics should be held with fans. All of them.
And I'm fearful of Covid but let's be honest, the US is giving out a million vaccines a day. Even if that rate doesn't improve in six months we will have been able to give double doses to more than 100 million people which is everyone in this country over the age of 50
Agree. I would offer this point of view from someone that has lived "following and realizing" the Olympic dream and also someone that now views sport in a slightly different light (relative to the grand scheme of importance in our world) - as in it's just sport and the be-all and end-all of life.
No the Olympics doesn't need to happen, this much is true. The world won't end, society will still function. That may affect 100'000 people (athletes, family, administrators) deeply but in a world population of 7.5 billion the human race can cope with that disappointment.
This being said, we should be committed to making the Olympic Games happen and it can happen. I don't think tossing it in the "too hard" basket is an option. We can not let what is going on dictate and make us "scared" to continue life. Covid is something to be aware and careful with - so is influenza. So is driving your car or riding your bike. I believe the world needs something to show that this isn't taking over our lives and completely compromising everything. If we can't overcome this as a society in the year 2021 given what societies have overcome in the past then what does that say about us?
The answer can't surely be that over-complicated. Tokyo only spectators in stadiums set up to accommodate the situation. We know the conditions, outlined by the CDC which must hold true for the virus no matter where you are - keep 6ft of distance (possible because you have a determined seat - covid or not), stay in ventilated areas (stadiums are still outdoors and can be well ventilated (see Doha WC) and keep face to face close contact with strangers to a minimum (why you wear a mask and honestly how much of this happens when spectating a sport anyways).
If the NBA had a bubble that worked, the Olympic Games can do the same. Yes it's on a far bigger scale but the only thing that compromises it is ill-discipline from the people in it who choose to leave it (in the NBAs case the players affinities for strip clubs and tinder hook-ups). Honestly there is no need to leave the Olympic village (believe me because I was in one for 10 days and never left) and you make it simple - if you choose to leave the village you are disqualified from the games. You test before entrance, make the athletes spend an extra 12 days there in quarantine and maybe you need to invest a little more $$$ to upgrade the village with amenities to support that but really these are drops in the bucket. I am sure that almost every athlete there would do this and stay disciplined enough to not lose their Olympic dreams and aspirations.
What I am personally really interested in knowing is the state of planning behinds the scenes of the IOC and LOC. The games should have been held 6 months ago and surely when looking into 2021 a number of proposals vs scenarios should be on the table right now that ranged from "world has fully recovered, business as usual" through to "nothing has changed in 6 months". But as remedial as that sounds it is more than plausible that none of this has happened except sitting on hands and crossing fingers for the first scenario. This sounds outrageous but not impossible when multiple opinions and agendas get thrown into the mix which more often than not end up simply stalling things rather than enabling action either direction.
End of the day, what I believe is the Olympic Games of 2020/2021 simply have to happen and absolutely can.
Raddison wrote:
A better question might be how would you feel if the town your father lives in announced they were going to hold a music festival and were expecting something like 50,000* people from around the world to turn up for it. Would you be in favour of it or against it?
*50,000 = Athletes + Officials + Team Staff + Support Staff + Media etc. (approx.)
If those 50'000 people had to live in a quarantined area/bubble of which they entered covid-free and quarantined upon arrival anyways for the duration of the festival and had no chance for contact with the people of the town where my father lived what would be the issue exactly? If the people in the music festival left the quarantined area/bubble, even completely covid free, they were on the first plane out of there.
Btw this number of 50k is a little inflated. There were 11200 competing athletes in Rio - if the IOC was simply strict about the number of team, support and media personnel allowed (which they 100% can and should be) then the numbers of people "turning up" from around the world are considerably less. There have been hundreds of people whos job it is to figure this out in the last 10 months (let's give 4 months prior to the original games date and the 6 months after where we are now) which is around 300 days.
Salvitore Stitchmo wrote:
Raddison wrote:
A better question might be how would you feel if the town your father lives in announced they were going to hold a music festival and were expecting something like 50,000* people from around the world to turn up for it. Would you be in favour of it or against it?
*50,000 = Athletes + Officials + Team Staff + Support Staff + Media etc. (approx.)
If those 50'000 people had to live in a quarantined area/bubble of which they entered covid-free and quarantined upon arrival anyways for the duration of the festival and had no chance for contact with the people of the town where my father lived what would be the issue exactly? If the people in the music festival left the quarantined area/bubble, even completely covid free, they were on the first plane out of there.
Btw this number of 50k is a little inflated. There were 11200 competing athletes in Rio - if the IOC was simply strict about the number of team, support and media personnel allowed (which they 100% can and should be) then the numbers of people "turning up" from around the world are considerably less. There have been hundreds of people whos job it is to figure this out in the last 10 months (let's give 4 months prior to the original games date and the 6 months after where we are now) which is around 300 days.
You do not lend much credence to human nature and its palpable foibles. You might have solutions that look good on paper but this is not what actually happens.
