2020, uh, 21, uh, who knows Tokyo Olympics thread

OK, @Inky_Wretch, now John-John’s out.

 

Somewhat related, have you noticed in the Peloton ad he's called John Florence, not John-John? Very weird.

 

There’s a Peloton ad?

 

Yep.

Also, for "no spectators allowed" there sure were a whole lot of people at the men's MTB race.

 

I’m on a conference call and have the TV on mute. When that came on I thought it was a road race at first. Then they suddenly started driving over a boulder field that looked like it was designed to ward off tanks.

 

The "no spectators" state of emergency only applies to Tokyo prefecture, so this might be an exception if it's far enough out in the sticks. There were also a fair amount of people watching the cycling road races over the weekend, probably for similar reasons.

Also, just saw a Dutch guy take a wipeout that is almost certainly going to make the 'sad' part of the NBC montage at the end of the Games.

 

He was the odds-on favorite to win. He took a stage in the first week of the TDF then dropped out to prep for the Olympics.

Some cycling folks are blaming a lack of communication. There was a ramp at that spot in practice so they could roll the drop rather than do the jump. Dutch cycling folks are saying MVP didn’t know the ramp wouldn’t be there on race day.

 

Looked like a good amount of people watching Djokovic's match, guess some may have been other players. Sabalenka's match looked like no one at all in the stands.

 

Better late than never into the discussion ...

With a few notable exceptions (1980 Men's Hockey, 1996 Women's Gymnastics), I perfer my Olympic moments to be about individuals rather than teams. And I want to see athletes in disciplines that I either don't know or don't normally watch.

Dave Wottle. Frank Shorter. Al Oerter. The Pocket Hercules. Mark Spitz. Dorothy Hamill. Bonnie Blair. Eric Heiden. Franz Klammer. Olga. Nadia. Mary Lou! Carl Lewis. Greg Louganis. Michael Johnson. Usain Bolt. Michael Phelps. Georg Hackl! Who doesn't want to root for the fat German guy going 120 mph feet first on a sled?

I watched the 1972 gold medal game and it was a travesty. But to be honest, the US played a horrible game and it never should have come down to a point where the referees could influence the result. But the US team was going to lose, sooner or later, because nobody stays unbeaten forever, especially when the world benefits from the global reach of the sport. Ask the 1869 Red Stockings about that. I think baseball is better off. OK, maybe not.

If anything, Americans should be proud that the Brazilians, Spanish, Argentines and French (and a lot of the rest of the world) are good enough to play on equal terms with the country that exported it. I don't know if Canadians feel the same way with hockey (especially since the USSR stretched the limits of "amateurism" for decades) but unexpected results are what motivate people to watch. It's why non-hoops fans tune in to the first weekend of the NCAA Championship. Or why people flip off Tony Stewart at Talladega.

I was fascinated watching a 13-year-old girl from Japan edge out a 13-year-old girl from Brazil in "women's" street skateboarding, even though I have no idea what constitutes a good score -- except falling off is definitely a 0.0. Just moments ago, I was enthralled by the intensity of the gold medal mixed doubles table tennis match as the Japanese players rallied from two sets down to beat the heavily favored Chinese.

That's the Olympics to me. Somebody I've never heard of doing something amazing in something I never see except at the Games. I watched Louis Oosthuizen play at the 3M Post It Note Classic in Minnesota on Sunday. Why do I care if he's representing South Africa this week, and then earning those valuable FedEx Cup points in two weeks? That's sort of the same issue I have with all stick and ball sports that have a professional following. There's an oversaturation point we've reached to where when everything matters, then nothing does.

Gymnastics didn't start out that way, but ABC and NBC realized people would tune in to watch Iron Curtain tumbling pixies every four years until the US stole a coach and got their own tumbling pixies. So now they're on TV all the time. Same with figure skating.

I have no issues with professional athletes marring de Coubertin's belief that the Games should be only for amateurs. I'm certain that ideal got dumptrucked in Athens in 1896. But I'd rather watch someone competing for the sheer joy of the experience rather than a side gig in between seasons.

And I figured out the Olympics have a lot of sports that simulate combat: fencing, boxing, wrestling, judo, tae kwon do. And judo is all about kicking your opponent in the leg while tae kwon do is all about kicking them in the head and body. The Greeks would certainly approve.

 

Biles is in the conversation for greatest athlete ever.

The only thing that holds her back is the equipment she performs on is designed for less powerful people.

The floor should be wider and longer. The vault should be higher.

She is just fucking insane.

 

Baron de Coubertin's vision included a bunch of disciplines that were skills that were supposed to be useful (but of course were not) for upper class Europeans when the Great War came. Modern pentathlon is based on military skills.