Olympics 2021

[StillAWarrior]

Watching swim races is exciting.  Training for swim races is possibly the most boring physical pursuit ever.  At least when you are running the scenery changes occasionally.

Truth. I swam in HS. What I would have given for waterproof headphones and streaming music…

[warriorchick]

My HS had an excellent swim team and a couple of my friends/classmates ended up swimming at high level D1 programs. I just remember them always getting to school at like 530 to swim laps before classes started.  And then practice after school obviously.  And we had an Olympic pool but it was adjustable and since they used it for gym classes during the day, it was normally set to 25 meters in the morning so thats even more quick and repetitive.  I couldn't even imagine.  Mental challenges like you read about.

When I was in high school, Nashville had the top club program in the country.  There were kids from all over the US that were living with local host families so they could train there.  Several of them went to my high school.  They went to swim practice before and after school, did their homework, and went to bed, and that was their entire life.


At the Masters camp I went to, we had a session with Auburn's strength and conditioning coach.  He told us that when the men's basketball coach thought any of the players weren't giving full effort at practice, he would punish them by making them go to weight training with the swimmers.

[4everwarriors]

Yeah, Bruce Pearl rydes der asses, hey?

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Watching swim races is exciting.  Training for swim races is possibly the most boring physical pursuit ever.  At least when you are running the scenery changes occasionally.

I am scarred from years of of kids' swim meets. Two hours of sitting around, a minute and a half of racing, followed by another hour of sitting around. Rinse and repeat. Fortunately my kids played team sports as well and swam for something to do/stay in shape during the off seasons, but attending those meets was brutal. Track meets are the same, too.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

I am scarred from years of of kids' swim meets. Two hours of sitting around, a minute and a half of racing, followed by another hour of sitting around. Rinse and repeat. Fortunately my kids played team sports as well and swam for something to do/stay in shape during the off seasons, but attending those meets was brutal. Track meets are the same, too.

Lots of hot dogs and walking tacos…

[brewcity77]

As the main focus shifts from swimming to track, I'm reminded why the second week usually sucks. Track just has too many heats and, especially in the 100 & 200, not enough time for drama. They should switch the order of those.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

T&F is way more popular worldwide than swimming. 

[shoothoops]

T&F is great. It’s a nice follow up to swimming.

For these games, tv had a nice set up being able to show many swimming finals live in the U.S. at night. That’s middle of the day mid morning to lunch time in Tokyo. Many of the track finals are at night local Tokyo time. It was unusual to see a day time Tokyo time final over the weekend in track.

Lots of great track stories. So many, it can be challenging to keep up.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

I love watching the T&F events.  I have been watching quite a bit live since Friday.

We got peeved at one of the American men 400m runners, I believe Friday.   He ran a bad race, no where near his norm and did not qualify for the semi's and his post-race interview was awful with NBC as he was so negative. 

[Billy Hoyle]

I am scarred from years of of kids' swim meets. Two hours of sitting around, a minute and a half of racing, followed by another hour of sitting around. Rinse and repeat. Fortunately my kids played team sports as well and swam for something to do/stay in shape during the off seasons, but attending those meets was brutal. Track meets are the same, too.

my wife's last major meet was during the first weekend of the NCAA Tourney in 2012. Sitting in Harvard's natatorium trying to get a decent WiFi signal to watch the second round games Saturday and Sunday while waiting for my wife's sprint events led to some long, long days!

[ZiggysFryBoy]

I am scarred from years of of kids' swim meets. Two hours of sitting around, a minute and a half of racing, followed by another hour of sitting around. Rinse and repeat. Fortunately my kids played team sports as well and swam for something to do/stay in shape during the off seasons, but attending those meets was brutal. Track meets are the same, too.

Plus, the pools are so damn hot.

Having to watch the kid swim via live stream only (no parents in the pool) was about the only good thing to come out of covid.

[warriorchick]

I am scarred from years of of kids' swim meets. Two hours of sitting around, a minute and a half of racing, followed by another hour of sitting around. Rinse and repeat. Fortunately my kids played team sports as well and swam for something to do/stay in shape during the off seasons, but attending those meets was brutal. Track meets are the same, too.

I would watch a swim meet over a track meet any day.  At the announce what the event is before starting the race so you know what is going on.

[StillAWarrior]

I am scarred from years of of kids' swim meets. Two hours of sitting around, a minute and a half of racing, followed by another hour of sitting around. Rinse and repeat. Fortunately my kids played team sports as well and swam for something to do/stay in shape during the off seasons, but attending those meets was brutal. Track meets are the same, too.

If someone could figure out how to weaponize the feeling of kids' swim meets -- particularly indoor meets during the summer -- they could probably dominate the world. Those were absolutely painful.

I didn't start swimming until high school, so I had absolutely no idea how those meets were until my own kids were swimming. In Colorado HS swimming, the boys and girls were separate seasons so there was one classification for each event and things moved pretty quickly.

Kids' swim meets, on the other hand, "Girls Age 5-6 25-yard freestyle heats 1-7 are up; Last Call Boys Age 5-6 25-yard freestyle heats 1-8; First Call Girls Age 7-8 25-yard freestyle heats 1-13..." And on, and on, and on...

I'm having flashbacks.

[dgies9156]

Yeah, Bruce Pearl rydes der asses, hey?

Chick won't admit how long, but she was in high school a long, long, long, long time before Bruce Pearl showed up on Auburn's doorstep.

Heck, Charles Barkley might have still been at Auburn back then!

[brewcity77]

T&F is way more popular worldwide than swimming.

It's still crap television comparably. And it's pretty clear they build the games around the American market. That's why events are being held at the relative crack of dawn and late and night over there, to capture our live viewing audience.

[warriorchick]

Chick won't admit how long, but she was in high school a long, long, long, long time before Bruce Pearl showed up on Auburn's doorstep.

Heck, Charles Barkley might have still been at Auburn back then!

I was in my 40s when I went to that camp. Still way before Bruce.

[warriorchick]

I watched the introductory episode of Olympic Highlights with Kevin Hart and Snoop Dogg.

It was just meh, but I did laugh when Snoop called a guy who had previously medaled in both Triple Jump and Long Jump "a Jesse Owens motherf*cker".

Maybe the actual recap episodes will be better.

This show definitely improved with the actual highlight shows.  It's hilarious. Also, it's a little jarring to see "TV-MA" at the beginning of a sports show.

In the first episode, they do a fashion review of the parade of nations and interview the oiled-up guy from Tonga  who Marches in the traditional costume.  In the second episode, they discuss the Australian swim coach that when crazy when he swimmer won gold, and Kevin recalls having to wear a Speedo when he was a high school swimmer.

It's on Peacock (the free part).  Definitely worth watching.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

This show definitely improved with the actual highlight shows.  It's hilarious. Also, it's a little jarring to see "TV-MA" at the beginning of a sports show.

In the first episode, they do a fashion review of the parade of nations and interview the oiled-up guy from Tonga  who Marches in the traditional costume.  In the second episode, they discuss the Australian swim coach that when crazy when he swimmer won gold, and Kevin recalls having to wear a Speedo when he was a high school swimmer.

It's on Peacock (the free part).  Definitely worth watching.

I watched them talking about the Equestrian rider with the horse that was crab walking.  Very funny!

[Jockey]

I watched them talking about the Equestrian rider with the horse that was crab walking.  Very funny!

It was actually "crip" walking. An old Compton reference.

And as someone else said, why aren't the horses getting the medals? They do all of the work.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

This is how much it means qualifying for the 400 Meter Hurdle Semifinals for Colombia:

https://twitter.com/david_blough10/status/1421861879794835458?s=21

https://twitter.com/onherturf/status/1421589151577686024?s=21

https://twitter.com/sportsdayhs/status/1420570648162848768?s=21

That’s his wife but your point remains valid.

We really do take for granted the success of the US at the Olympics. My moms side of the family is Colombian, and every World Cup/Tour de France/Olympic event that a Colombian athlete has a chance at is national viewing.

Honestly quite refreshing.

[dgies9156]

Honestly, I've watched less than 20 minutes of the Olympics. I read what jumps out of the computer screen but have no interest.

The combination of holding the Olympics in Japan during a pandemic, the greedy overlords of the IOC and the crappy NBC production just turns me off. Add to that the rather contrarian opinion I have of Simone Biles and I just don't want to watch, even though a college friend of my son's participated (I was interested in her result, but that's it).

Oh, I was interested in the Belarusian female track star that stood up to the Belarus National Olympic Committee and refused to board a plane at Haneda for home, standing up to the party hacks and athletic crapmasters who tried to "handle" her.

I find the IOC to be a group of crooks so distasteful that they make Chicago Aldermen/Alderwomen look like saints. I'd rather watch the Miami Marlins play the Arizona Diamondbacks, were such a game on, or the AAA Chicago Cubs play anyone. That's how hard I try to avoid the Olympics.

[Jockey]

Honestly, I've watched less than 20 minutes of the Olympics. I read what jumps out of the computer screen but have no interest.

The combination of holding the Olympics in Japan during a pandemic, the greedy overlords of the IOC and the crappy NBC production just turns me off. Add to that the rather contrarian opinion I have of Simone Biles and I just don't want to watch, even though a college friend of my son's participated (I was interested in her result, but that's it).

Oh, I was interested in the Belarusian female track star that stood up to the Belarus National Olympic Committee and refused to board a plane at Haneda for home, standing up to the party hacks and athletic crapmasters who tried to "handle" her.

I find the IOC to be a group of crooks so distasteful that they make Chicago Aldermen/Alderwomen look like saints. I'd rather watch the Miami Marlins play the Arizona Diamondbacks, were such a game on, or the AAA Chicago Cubs play anyone. That's how hard I try to avoid the Olympics.

I certainly agree 100% with what you say about the Olympic committee.

I disagree with canceling the Games ONLY because it is a once in 4 years event and would mean that a great many of the athletes would never have a chance to participate in a lifelong dream.

But, if you don’t want to watch because the IOC is corrupt (maybe the most corrupt ruling body other than soccer), wouldn’t you feel the same about MLB, the NCAA, USA Gymnastics, and others?

Interested in your take on this.

[dgies9156]

I certainly agree 100% with what you say about the Olympic committee.

I disagree with canceling the Games ONLY because it is a once in 4 years event and would mean that a great many of the athletes would never have a chance to participate in a lifelong dream.

But, if you don’t want to watch because the IOC is corrupt (maybe the most corrupt ruling body other than soccer), wouldn’t you feel the same about MLB, the NCAA, USA Gymnastics, and others?

Interested in your take on this.

Brother Jockey:

Thanks for your insights and thoughtful response to my criticisms of the Olympics. I'll try to address some of your comments, not necessarily in order.

  1) You imply the Olympics are for the athletes. I truly wish this was accurate. While there are many fine athletes who never will get the notoriety of a women's gymnast or a men's basketball team, the Olympics clearly aren't for the athletes. They're for the IOC, the major national OOCs around the world and the worldwide sponsors of the games. In short, ever since Peter Ueberroth made millions for the 1984 LA Olympics, the games have been about money and about sponsors. The athletes are props to sell everything from Coca Cola to Toyotas. They're like news in a newspaper -- the news exists so advertisers can sell their product and everyone (except the reporters) used to get rich.

   2) The IOC is a bunch of thieves. The bribery and shenanigans that go on in Geneva are on a level most crooks can only dream about. The bribery and deceit associated with awarding the games dating back to who knows when is world class. Atlanta and Salt Lake clearly are games where I suspect large amounts of cash exchanged hands. The failure for decades to deal with eastern bloc professionalism in their national teams was disgusting. The way the IOC misled Chicago and the USA to believe they had any chance at the 2016 Olympics -- to the point where the President of the United States made Chicago's presentation to the IOC on the mistaken belief Chicago and the USA would be taken seriously -- was a slap in the face of all Americans.

   For the record, what happened in awarding the 2016 games was disgraceful but I'm kinda glad Chicago didn't get them. The corruption, fraud, cost overruns and the usual nonsense that goes on in Chicago would be fed steroids. With that much money thrown around, only God could guess how much Mayor Daley would have wasted. And, while the Olympics were here, IOC executives expected express lanes on major expressways and major city streets reserved for their exclusive use. That's not how America works.

   3) I will concede the NCAA is at best inept and at worst so self-interested that they're the monkeys that see, hear and speak no evil. Unless, of course, it's politically correct to punish someone. They're gradually becoming irrelevant and they have no say to speak of over most of college football. I don't watch their tournament either, unless of course our Warriors are in it and even then, watching Wojo's teams was a painful experience.

   4) MLB is complicit in the steroid mess ad infinitum. It's do as I say, not as I do. And I'm still waiting to see how MLB's harvesting of players in the Dominican Republic has had any effect on the lives of the people who live there. But darn it I love the game. I'll admit I am a hypocrite here.

   5) I really hate when politics and sports collide. The world is a tough place and I've always thought sporting events are a respite from the problems I face each day. But when some overpaid athlete uses his employer's forum to communicate a political message, I usually find something else to do. That's especially true of the Olympics, which have been politicized since at least 1936. I turned off a Marquette game last year because the players were engaging in political protest -- we got clobbered and I think a big part of it was our athletes' heads not being in the game that night.

   I don't fault athletes for protesting and speaking up. That's their right. But I do fault them for using their employer's forum to make their point. If most of us did that, we'd be fired!

[Jockey]

Great post, dgies.

[DegenerateDish]

I love Olympic baseball, every roster has recognizable names, it’s fun to watch, glad it’s back.