Minor Olympic events: the hidden treasures, the ridiculous

Men's air pistol is quite ridiculous. Not trying to be mean, but all the competitors looked like child molesters. Those goofy glasses/blinders/whatever didn't help, nor did the particular shooter who stuck his hand down his pants whenever he shot. I am not making this up. Creepy.

Running on Empathy wrote:

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

Agreed. First off, we get rid of basketball, and any other sport that involves a referee.

The synchro diving was stupid - average difficulty hard dives done together ... Really? On the other hand, five rounds and it was done, instead of the endless rounds in the individual diving. And also, it had Tania Cagnotto.

My favorite minor Olympic events are in track and field.

Mrs. M wrote:

.Some of those jumps are quite difficult....for the horse, that is...

Rider's working pretty damn hard, honestly.

Riding was my first sport -- I did showjumping as a teenager, and was fairly successful -- I was the equivalent of a footlocker finalist, if that makes any sense.

I was in ridiculously good shape when I rode. I wasn't as aerobically fit as I am now from running, but I was a heck of a lot stronger.

Nowadays, I run 60-70 miles a week, plus crosstraining, and have run 90+ mile weeks in the past. I worked MUCH harder when I was riding than I ever have in the time I've been running.

So many times, if you haven't done a sport, the details aren't obvious, and it looks easy. With my past experiences, I get tired just watching dressage. Those guys are ridiculous.

darkwave wrote:I did showjumping as a teenager, and was fairly successful -- I was the equivalent of a footlocker finalist, if that makes any sense.

It doesn't make much sense, because you were competing in an event where 95% of the population doesn't have the resources to compete.

It doesn't make much sense, because you were competing in an event where 95% of the population doesn't have the resources to compete.

What possible difference does that make?

You just schooled him and he was asking for it.quote]plxc wrote:

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.[/quote]

Unless you actually controlled for the amount of competitors, being national class (top 40 for footlocker, for instance), is much easier in a sport where only rich white folk can compete.

No doubt its hard and takes skill, but the horse is the one doing the actual work. Citing the number of hours it takes to master isn't necessarily relavent either. I'm sure mastering the finer points of auto racing is difficult and time consuming as well - but that doesn't make me think any higher of it.

whitey wrote:

Unless you actually controlled for the amount of competitors, being national class (top 40 for footlocker, for instance), is much easier in a sport where only rich white folk can compete.

No doubt its hard and takes skill, but the horse is the one doing the actual work. Citing the number of hours it takes to master isn't necessarily relavent either. I'm sure mastering the finer points of auto racing is difficult and time consuming as well - but that doesn't make me think any higher of it.

Well, you're certainly entitled to your opinion, though for the life of me I can't figure out what you're on about. Conceding your points about how expensive equestrian sports are, I don't see what possible difference it makes that a particular sporting activity may, or may not, be restricted, as a practical matter, to certain societal elements.

There's no "true," objective standard here. It's ultimately just a matter of taste, it seems to me, and thus something for which an objective accounting is a pointless, five-fingered exercise. Sport is instrinsically arbitrary in this regard. Some people, for instance, consider basketball players to be the "greatest" athletes, but I myself consider it a sport involving such ridiculous and arcane skills that I have no regard for it at all.

To each his own.

Wait, do people think of volleyball as a minor sport? I was under the impression that beach volleyball was one of the more popular, especially here in the US, thanks to May/Walsh and Rogers/Dalhausser.

rupp-certified saladbar wrote:

ppp wrote:

Couldn't pay me to watch fencing, rowing or dressage.

Not rowing? Pretty idiotic statement from a runner. Endurance athletes should be able to understand and support each other's boring sports.

Absolutely agree. Rowing is just running on water....no difference.

Greatest athletes in Olympics are Modern Pentathletes.

Are you kidding - 1600lb between your thighs PLUS 3,000 meters XC.

Conundrum wrote:

You just schooled him and he was asking for it.

quote]plxc wrote:

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.

Since fencing has been mentioned numerous times on this thread, I will have to say 'touche'. It was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. I hope we can gain an appreciation of sports that we don't normally get into, and find something to cheer in all the (un)athletic endeavours taking place in London.

Equestrian is probably the worst. The horse does everything. Literally, the horse does all the work. Yes, the horse is trained to do the work, but that would be like in track if the coach gets the medals and glory while the athlete sits on the sidelines getting nothing.

Please don't label all equestrian people as "snobs". All athletes work just as hard as each other, and you need to respect that. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, such as which sport they find boring, but don't disrespect them. Everyone that is participating in the Olympics spend hours every day perfecting what they do. Don't make assumptions on something that you've never tried before.

While the horse does the majority of the physical work, the rider does most of the mental work. The horse has never seen the course before, but the rider has. The horse doesn't know that there's going to be another jump 2 or 3 strides right after the one it just went over, or that after the one fence, he needs to do a quick switchback to another fence and fit in 3 strides perfectly so he doesn't knock down a rail. The horse does not know what lead he needs to be on in order to execute the course perfectly.

DZ777 wrote:

The horse does not know what lead he needs to be on in order to execute the course perfectly.

Neither does a racecar. Let's bring NASCAR to the Olympics!

Poetry used to be an Olympic event.

Americans are notorious for lacking subtlety and finesse. Your reputation in the world is partly based on your inability to extend yourselves to gain a deeper knowledge of things that are not at a child's level of understanding. Like home runs, slam dunks, touchdowns, and ice hockey fights.

Blimey, mate. Gotcher knickers in a bunch, do ya?

The bloody Continentals need a good whipping, an you're just the man to stiff 'em one.

Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

Carry on wit your stereotypical poppycock, will ya?