83 replies to this topic

[SnideAsides]

It's a five-ring circus, let's become the ringmasters for a second. What would you change, add, or remove?

Firstly, and most importantly, a single feed for all countries speaking a particular language, with a shared pool of commentators. No more of this shit with NBC cutting out the 7/7 memorial because it doesn't impact Americans, or Australians cutting back to their dancing athletes continuously during the OC and missing several BIG countries marching as a result, or ignoring entire sports.

Secondly, legible country name signs at the opening ceremony. At what point did "make them as impossible to read on television as possible" become the design brief? The last time they were even remotely good was in Sydney, and there they were just black writing on a piece of white cardboard.

[WhitneyWhit]

Secondly, legible country name signs at the opening ceremony. At what point did "make them as impossible to read on television as possible" become the design brief? The last time they were even remotely good was in Sydney, and there they were just black writing on a piece of white cardboard.

The worst ones I ever saw was in Athens. They had this like, 4 sided signs that were impossible to read.

I would like NBC to stop showing the gymnasts just standing around when other gymnasts are competing. Nothing more annoying then hearing someone else competing yet looking at a bunch of girls just standing there.

[Mood Indigo]

No more Twitter trending updates on NBC. What a waste of broadcast time.

[superpole2000]

Bring back the tug of war! Eight people, maximum team bodyweight of 1500 pounds, grab a rope, and pull the other team into a pit of mud.

[AimingforYoko]

Dammit, superpole! You stole my thunder. The only thing greater than tug of war would be dodgeball.

[tip and fall]

After reading this article, I would like to see canine freestyle dancing added as an event.

[sienna gold]

What I would do is have a lot of the preliminaries before the Olympics. (even up to like a week before). This way you still get "race-y" goodness, then you have like two days rest so all the athletes can march into the Opening Ceremonies.

I'd also nix a couple events out. They keep adding and adding. (and taking away some sports that make no sense). Sailing, would be one of them.

[MyEyesSee]

Ha! Canine freestyle dancing FTW! Here's a hilarious article about other odd sports that aren't in the Olympics, but could be: Sports you won’t see in the London Games My favorites are chess boxing and underwater hockey.

[TV Anonymous]

Eliminate "modern" pentathlon.

[beakermuppet]

I'm really looking forward to the Rugby Sevens appearing at Rio 2016. It'll be fast paced, fun and countries like Samoa and Fiji have a genuine chance of a gold medal.

[Fukui San]

As much as I hate golf, I think it should be an Olympic sport. People play it in enough of the world for it to qualify. Also I think an Olympic tournament would be kind of fascinatingly different. But I guess the Ryder Cup fills that function for them, at least the US and European golfers.

Too bad a Sasuke (Ninja Warrior) style obstacle course will never be an Olympic sport.

[SnideAsides]

Golf is being added in 2016 (along with Rugby Sevens) to fill the void left by ditching baseball and softball. Because there aren't enough boring sports at the Olympics already.

[legaleagle44]

DanceSport, definitely. I've been waiting for more than 20 years for ballroom dancing to become to the Summer Games what figure skating is to the Winter Games. There'd be some top-notch competition, too -- from (not necessarily in this order) the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, Russia, and Japan especially.

Edited by legaleagle44, Jul 30, 2012 @ 2:15 AM.

[superpole2000]

The problem with golf, baseball, soccer, etc. is that they have bigger tournaments outside of the Olympics. If the Olympics isn't the pinnacle of achievement in a sport then that sport isn't a good fit for the games.

If I was removing events, I'd rip out anything that involves synchronization. I just don't see the need to synchronize your aquatic activities. And while we're at it, why are there four strokes in swimming? That would be like having backwards running, hopping, and skipping as alternate forms of running.

[legaleagle44]

And while we're at it, why are there four strokes in swimming? That would be like having backwards running, hopping, and skipping as alternate forms of running.

Because each stroke is unique and uses a different technique (in terms of stroking, kicking, and breathing) and a different set of muscles -- and some of them are damn hard to master (I can only do freestyle, backstroke, and one non-racing stroke that's known as the elementary backstroke, I've never learned butterfly, and while I've tried to teach myself breast stroke, it takes a lot more coordination than I'm blessed with.) It's not as simple as calling each stroke a mere variation of the freestyle. Besides, wouldn't you get tired of seeing only freestyle races?

[LunaLovesGood]

DanceSport, definitely. I've been waiting for more than 20 years for ballroom dancing to become to the Summer Games what figure skating is to the Winter Games. There'd be some top-notch competition, too -- from (not necessarily in this order) the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, Russia, and Japan especially.

THIS! So much of THIS. I'm a huge advocate for adding DanceSport (aka Ballroom Dancing) to the Olympics and I hope it can eventually pave the way for many forms of dance though the other forms would be much more difficult to standardize than DanceSport which already has rules and regulations. As a dancer it really hurts me that no one gives dance the time of day when I watch figure skating and rhythmic gymnastics in the Olympics.

I also think they should add acrobatic gymnastics because I was watching some videos and it's absolutely amazing. I actually can't believe the put trampoline in over this.

And last, but not least, I'd like them to add pole dancing. Real pole dancing not stripping. It's actually really amazing and artistic plus it requires so much strength and flexibility. I think it'd be a great addition.

[Nell Huxleigh]

I think anything that requires music isn't a sport, and that includes synchronized swimming, horse prancing, women's floor, rhythmic gymnastics, figure skating and ice dancing, and anything else I can't think of because it shouldn't be a sport if you earn points for well done jazz hands. Everything suggested is as athletic as the "sports" already included in the Olympics, so i don't know how they make the calls as to what sports for bendy, glitted tiny women are and aren't allowed. can see all those things if I wanted, anyway. When do six-three women who can hurl big stones get a chance to shine? Boxers who aren't foxy? They would get overwhelmed and in future years the Olympics would be like a giant Step Up movie with all the hundreds of dances plus leaping or grabbing onto some equipment that exist in the world.

Edited by Nell Huxleigh, Jul 30, 2012 @ 4:07 AM.

[superpole2000]

Besides, wouldn't you get tired of seeing only freestyle races?

I guess my point is I'm tired of seeing endless amounts of swimming races. And I appreciate that the strokes have differences, but swimmers are hauling in multiple medals, which seems grossly out of proportion to how many medals a basketball player can win.

[SnideAsides]

Two more things for future opening ceremonies:

1. If there's any need for another Independent Olympic Athletes delegation, either put them in what would be their actual positions if they had a NOC, put them back between Zimbabwe and the host country where Timor-Leste was in 2000, or put them between Greece and... Afghanistan? Are they first normally? Though it made more sense in terms of tradition, it seemed odd to have them march under I in the middle of the parade.

2. Hire announcers who can give the announcements gravitas. I liked that the male and female announcers alternated English and French names this time (I don't believe they've ever done it before), but the female announcer in particular sounded pissed a lot of the time. It should practically be a rule for announcers to watch Sydney's parade of nations in order to get the tone right. Announce the teams. Don't play favourites. (Oh, Olympics when the commentary was tolerable. How I miss thee.)

Edited by SnideAsides, Jul 30, 2012 @ 5:04 AM.

[tip and fall]

And I appreciate that the strokes have differences, but swimmers are hauling in multiple medals, which seems grossly out of proportion to how many medals a basketball player can win.

I wouldn't necessarily have a problem with this if it didn't mean the US media shoving it down my throats that Phelps is going to be THE. MOST. DECORATED. OLYMPIAN. EVER. Yay him? I mean, saying that he's an excellent athlete is an understatement, but at the same time, he gets a lot more opportunities to win medals than athletes in some other sports.

[Hanahope]

I also think they should add acrobatic gymnastics because I was watching some videos and it's absolutely amazing.

That is pretty amazing. Reminds me a little bit of the competition cheerleading my daughter does, which combines some of the figures the acrobats do, with the floor tumbling passes of gymnastics.

[GeoBQn]

Instead of one city hosting, they could have the games hosted by a country or a region so that one city won't be risking bankruptcy. For example, instead of Chicago hosting, it would be a "Midwest Olympics" with the main competition centers in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. They already spread out competitions to places that the host city doesn't have the resources for, like when the boat-related sports for Atlanta were done in North Carolina.

[legaleagle44]

Instead of one city hosting, they could have the games hosted by a country or a region so that one city won't be risking bankruptcy. For example, instead of Chicago hosting, it would be a "Midwest Olympics" with the main competition centers in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. They already spread out competitions to places that the host city doesn't have the resources for, like when the boat-related sports for Atlanta were done in North Carolina.

That would be a logistical nightmare, in my opinion. How would you coordinate transportation and coverage among three locations that would be that far apart geographically? And "Midwest Olympics" doesn't have anywhere near the cachet of "Chicago Olympics" -- to say nothing of the fact that most people outside of the United States wouldn't have the slightest idea of where you were talking about.

Edited by legaleagle44, Jul 30, 2012 @ 10:36 AM.

[TV Anonymous]

Eliminate men's football. Limiting players' eligibility is such a farce. I understand FIFA's position that it does not want the Olympics to overshadow the World Cup. Therefore, let us celebrate the World Cup as the pinnacle of men's football. For the young players, let them play at U-20 World Cup.

tip and fall:

And I appreciate that the strokes have differences, but swimmers are hauling in multiple medals, which seems grossly out of proportion to how many medals a basketball player can win.

I wouldn't necessarily have a problem with this if it didn't mean the US media shoving it down my throats that Phelps is going to be THE. MOST. DECORATED. OLYMPIAN. EVER. Yay him? I mean, saying that he's an excellent athlete is an understatement, but at the same time, he gets a lot more opportunities to win medals than athletes in some other sports.

I agree with the both of you completely. While I do not want to diminish Phelps's achievements, let us look it from another angle. Look at all the martial artists. I do think that they train and practice as much and as hard (if not more) as Phelps does. In terms of talent, who is to say that Phelps is better than them? Yet, the best of the best athlete in martial arts only has the opportunity to one medal in each Olympic. Therefore, if there was a very dominating martial artist and he went to the Olympics where Phelps went, he could only get 3 golds.

A bit off, listen to what Ronda Rousey has to say about Michael Phelps at 3:30 mark.

[GeoBQn]

Instead of one city hosting, they could have the games hosted by a country or a region so that one city won't be risking bankruptcy. For example, instead of Chicago hosting, it would be a "Midwest Olympics" with the main competition centers in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. They already spread out competitions to places that the host city doesn't have the resources for, like when the boat-related sports for Atlanta were done in North Carolina.

That would be a logistical nightmare, in my opinion. How would you coordinate transportation and coverage among three locations that would be that far apart geographically? And "Midwest Olympics" doesn't have anywhere near the cachet of "Chicago Olympics" -- to say nothing of the fact that most people outside of the United States wouldn't have the slightest idea of where you were talking about.

They could split up the sports between cities depending on what facilities are available to minimize travel between them. A regional hosting might not have the name recognition of a city, but how famous were places like Lilyhammer, Nagano, and Sochi before they hosted? It's not glamorous, but I think it's a viable option to deal with the high costs.

[MrsClaus]

After watching the videos, dh votes for pole dancing to be added as a sport.

[merroni]

Since Badminton is an Olympic sport why not Horse Shoes?

[IdleBrook]

And I appreciate that the strokes have differences, but swimmers are hauling in multiple medals, which seems grossly out of proportion to how many medals a basketball player can win.

I wouldn't mind them adding street basketball as an event. It might require another outdoor venue, but it's no different than them having separate events and venues for volleyball and beach volleyball.

[Forgetful Jones]

[snip] Just because something is physically demanding doesn’t make it a sport, or more to the point, something that would be a good candidate for the Olympics. I think a good example is rock climbing. Climbing is physically hard as hell to do at the top level - climbers are no doubt crazy athletes in that sense. It certainly exists in certain forms as a competitive sport. But really, at it's heart it's a physical activity, not a competitive sport in the Olympic sense. And that's fine. It doesn't cheapen it. People that are interested in it will participate and consume it in other, non-Olympic formats.

I've seen ballroom/DanceSport, they used to show it on PBS all the time. It's cool, and it sure looks tough to do well, but I don't have any interest in seeing it in the Olympics. There are already too many sports that rely on judgement calls and anything that leans too heavily on qualitative judgements of performance rather than qualitative is questionable as an (Olympic) sport, IMO. DanceSport at least is already codified, but I think other forms of dance would be moving way too far into questionable territory.

What's wrong with leaving dance as an art form, with its own values and standards? Why does it have to be shoehorned into a codified, Olympic-style competition? Really, I think that would be potentially quite stunting for dance. I don't think that saying it isn't right for the Olympics makes it a less worthy pursuit than, say, javelin. It just makes it different.

And seriously, pole dancing? Maybe we could also have jazzercise and aerial yoga and whatever other fitness trend is cool lately. I would rather they bring back the sculpture competition, honestly.

On another note, men's soccer definitely has to go. I'm a huge soccer fan, but the men's tournament is just silly, there are SO many other top venues for competition. I wouldn't really be sad to see tennis go either, and I think bringing in golf is going to be lame too.

Tug of war would be badass though. They could do a team event and/or individual.

Edited by TWoP Howard, Jul 31, 2012 @ 11:37 PM.
Quoted post was deleted

[loveisthedrug]

Since Badminton is an Olympic sport why not Horse Shoes?

Also, cornhole.