Olympics 2008

[Gemini Cricket]

Yeah, it's not a tie. I swam on two swim teams in Hawai'i.

[Morrigoon]

Originally Posted by BarTopDancer

Team USA is the home team in the Olympics. I want them to do well. I also want the world to be reminded that the USA isn't just Bush and war. It's people, just like them.

To that end, it would be good for us to do pretty well, but also good for us to not totally dominate. Some close calls, some occasional very near losses, those are good for national goodwill. Though it's good to be victorious, we can't seem unbeatable either.

[Morrigoon]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

Yeah, it's not a tie. I swam on two swim teams in Hawai'i.

Yeah, it's not like the swimmers don't know where the finish line is. They either give it that last minute push or they don't.

[Gemini Cricket]

As for who to root for, I'm a sucker for the underdogs and the people with amazing comeback stories or athletes with hard luck stories, triumph over adversity and all that. I don't always root for the American. ie. I remember rooting for Nadia Comăneci when I was 5. She was an amazing athlete. I was 5 and even then I could see that.

[innerSpaceman]

I know it's technically not a tie. There was a 1 second difference. I am suggesting that difference is completely meaningless, though humans have ascribed the meaning of "winning" to it. It's absurd.

Yes, it's a race, and a win is a win even by a second. But it's why I simply don't care for races. How can it conceiveably matter to anything but the race itself whether one human is faster by one second at that particular moment of that particular day?


I admire the skill of the winners. I don't admire the skill of the so-called losers who came in second by one single second any less at all.




And Kudos to Gemini Cricket for rooting for the underdog. Root for whomever you please. It's fun.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

Ah. I sat through the entire Women's Gymnastics section and didn't hear about it. Was it before that? I'm thinking a 'coming up next, the president of the United States' would have been in order.

If I recall correctly, there was a "coming up next" announcement as well.

But we skipped right over it (we were on self-imposed Tivo delay so we could skip the commercials).

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

And Kudos to Gemini Cricket for rooting for the underdog. Root for whomever you please. It's fun.

Oh, I'd like to add that I also root for which ever male athlete is the hottest. It's not as noble as rooting for the underdog but, hey, I'm only human. When is wrestling, btw?

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

I know it's technically not a tie. There was a 1 second difference. I am suggesting that difference is completely meaningless, though humans have ascribed the meaning of "winning" to it. It's absurd.

Yes, it's a race, and a win is a win even by a second. But it's why I simply don't care for races. How can it conceiveably matter to anything but the race itself whether one human is faster by one second at that particular moment of that particular day?


I admire the skill of the winners. I don't admire the skill of the so-called losers who came in second by one single second any less at all.

It's a competition, not an exhibition. What is to be admired is the ability of an individual to perform as well as they possibly can in a situation where one small mistake means they don't succeed.

And while such a small margin seems meaningless on the scale of an individual race, that gold medal race is not an isolated event. On top of all of the qualifying rounds are the years in between of world championships. And what you'll find is that the best in the world seem to more often than not end up on the plus side of those seemingly insignificant margins. So much so that it becomes clear that it's not a matter of luck, it's a matter of will. The best in the world will, when it matters most, find that extra step, have their timing down just that little bit better. And if they aren't able to do so in the most important race, they are not the best in the world.

[alphabassettgrrl]

The announcer was just talking about the Israeli swimmer Mandel who nearly didn't qualify , but did in the end, but two days before the opening ceremony finds out his father back home died. He said his father would have wanted him to compete, so he did. Dude.

Ok, that's the kind of human-interest story I can deal with. Short, but dang. And they didn't go off the race for it; just a narration during and around the actual race.

Plus the guy did ok in the race. Amazing.

[Alex]

I would be fine with eliminating the "country" concept from the Olympics. If the 23 best shot putters in the world are from Lithuania and there's only room for 25 shot putters, then I'd rather see 23 Lithuanians than the 163rd best shot putter from Namibia. But I know it won't happen because if you eliminate the silly nationalism of it all then you eliminate any emotional justification for the hassle of hosting it.

Of course silly is in the eye of the beholder. Just because I think you're being silly is no reason for you to change your behavior. But yes, being happier about a victory just because that person is American is, to me, pretty darn silly.


BTD, no I haven't swam competitively but I have done other things that are inherently differentiated by very narrow margins. And I still say it was a tie in all but the most technical sense of the word. The French result was 0.03% slower than the American result. That's just not a difference I can work myself into caring about.