Baseball is being dropped.
Breakdancing is being added.
Breakdancing is being added.
Well, countries like Russia and China only have "pro" players. Their athletes are all sponsored by their governments. So there really is no option to have an Olympics with only amateur players, and there hasn't been for 50+ years.Frankly, I wish the Olympics were ALL amateur. That's what makes it interesting to me. Couldn't care less about all the Pro athletes (I'm looking at you PGA / NBA / MLS / WNBA) who makeup most Olympic contests these days. Having "sponsorships" is not a problem, I just don't want pro-league players in Olympics, but we're way beyong what I want
However, adding breakdancing is jumping the shark.
Oh I fully know the reasons "why" but it doesn't make it any more enjoyable for me to watch.Well, countries like Russia and China only have "pro" players. Their athletes are all sponsored by their governments. So there really is no option to have an Olympics with only amateur players, and there hasn't been for 50+ years.
Well "artistic swimming" otherwise known as synchronized swimming did gives us one of the best SNL skits ever.Breakdancing isn't much worse than artistic swimming, or rhythmic and/or trampoline gymnastics. I simply ignore the "sports" I don't have interest in. All in all, I tend to still enjoy the Olympics - it beats the usual summer reruns.
Speaking of baseball, I watched the USA a few days ago and was reminded of why I don't watch more MLB than I do. I believe the opponent was the Korean team but in one half inning their manager changed pitchers, IIRC, five times. Four of those pitchers faced one batter each. Even though the game wasn't zipping along at that point, that half inning took nearly an hour to complete and is part of the reason baseball has become a chore to watch these days - at least for me.
A lot of nostalgia goes into the Olympic mystique...today most are nothing more than professional athletes, not amateurs. I will watch the finals of some of the more interesting, traditional track and field and gymnastic events, but they are not high on my watch list.I actually have no problem with pro athletes because they are the best in the world. But it always sounds to me like the Olympics are largely an appeal to a mythic ethic long gone.
I watch the sports which interest me, as does my wife. But I am a sports nut, so that means that I watch about half of the events. But I prefer to watch events live. I hate when it is hosted in a location (like Japan) where I need to choose between sleep and seeing something taped, and likely truncated.A lot of nostalgia goes into the Olympic mystique...today most are nothing more than professional athletes, not amateurs. I will watch the finals of some of the more interesting, traditional track and field and gymnastic events, but they are not high on my watch list.
I remember sorta seeing 2 partial events in winter. The first, I was in Switzerland during the 84 Sarajevo games and saw one ski contest. In a bar. Near a ski resort. It was live because those countries are in the same time zone. By contrast, it was 6 hours earlier in the US.I’ll watch the World Cup if the US has a chance to lose in the knockouts, but I really couldn’t care less about sports in which the US is too dominant that it’s not fun (basketball) or they suck so bad that it’s not worth a beer to watch (soccer).
I guess Winter Olympics are better because of the sports that they have but I can’t remember the last time I’ve watched them.
I guess I am kinda partial to watching the US when they have a great hockey team. I used to watch bobsledding and skiing.I remember sorta seeing 2 partial events in winter. The first, I was in Switzerland during the 84 Sarajevo games and saw one ski contest. In a bar. Near a ski resort. It was live because those countries are in the same time zone. By contrast, it was 6 hours earlier in the US.
And I watched a tiny bit of luge in 1988 Calgary. Didn’t even know about the Jamaican bobsled team until Cool Runnings came out. They were coached by that guy who once played in a polka band in Kenosha.