Olympics

[Texsox]

@Two-Gun Pete

Indentured servants? Really? They are not in bondage by anyone. They are free to stay home and not compete. They are willingly competing. 

[Harry Chappas]

On 2/15/2022 at 4:07 PM, caulfield12 said:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/kamila-valievas-doping-test-sample-201613301.html

Now it turns out she had three heart-related drugs in her A sample, including hypoxen.

And now an implausible excuse about her grandfather burping or breathing into her cup or mug...as he is supposedly the one taking the illegal heart medication she got caught using.

Hypotenuse and the third drug will likely be added to the banned substances list quite quickly, but it will undoubtedly take a decade at least for the sport to recover in the eyes of the world.

 

 

"Airing immediately after the Super Bowl, the Beijing Winter Olympics scored easily its highest ratings yet on NBC.

Abbreviated primetime coverage of the Winter Olympics averaged a 9.8 rating and 21.28 million viewers on NBC immediately following Super Bowl 56, marking easily the highest rating and viewership of the Games. The NBC-only audience is not only the highest of this year’s Games, it also surpasses every night of last year’s Tokyo Summer Olympics to rank as the network’s largest Olympic audience since the first Sunday in PyeongChang four years ago (22.7M)."

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2022/02/olympics-ratings-super-bowl-lift-most-watched-night-beijing-games/

The Olympics should immediately change their policy that you need to be at least 18 years old to compete if that is the stance they are going to take as the Russians and Chinese cannot help themselves.

Her results in the singles program and the reaction of the ROC women's team even when winning is such a bad look for the humanity of the Olympics.

It is still the 1950's in that country.

[Two-Gun Pete]

23 hours ago, Texsox said:

@Two-Gun Pete

Indentured servants? Really? They are not in bondage by anyone. They are free to stay home and not compete. They are willingly competing. 

Tex, i hope youre beating whatever health challenges you've had, so that we can argue for years to come about the SOX and other things. I genuinely like you, even though sometimes we agree, and sometimes we disagree. 

But on this, taking labor without compensation is fucking reprehensible. There is no value in the (snicker) "olympic movement" trying to tell you that amateurism has any value. We already know that human beings like to compete. We've known this fact for millennia. Taking labor without compensation does JACK and SHIT to further prove something we already know.

I get that you've been indoctrinated to believe a lot of the bullshit that the ioc and nbc are selling you, because I heard a lot of the same bullshit for most of my life. And I also used to buy into the bullshit that somehow amateurs live to compete more than professionals. Looking at guys like Payton or Jordan or Brady, do you REALLY think that some schmuck not getting comp to bobsled wants to win less than these guys? Really?

And so for me, part of being honest with oneself is to admit when previously-held beliefs are wrong. The shit they're feeding you about Amateurism is bullshit. Pros want to compete, want to win, and love what they do, full stop.

So, if ANYONE is making money off someone else's efforts, and the laborers are not compensated, its wrong. The assholes at the ioc get cash. So too do the fucksticks at NBC. Seems like everyone, except for the athletes...

 

Oh, and to your question WRT "indentured servants not being in bondage:"

As an educator, you should be aware that free labor that's held in bondage is something called, "slavery;" something they had down where you live. Indenrured servants were similarly unpaid, but had the ability to move about freely. Wikipedia it.

[Harry Chappas]

1 minute ago, Two-Gun Pete said:

Tex, i hope youre beating whatever health challenges you've had, so that we can argue for years to come about the SOX and other things. I genuinely like you, even though sometimes we agree, and sometimes we disagree. 

But on this, taking labor without compensation is fucking reprehensible. There is no value in the (snicker) "olympic movement" trying to tell you that amateurism has any value. We already know that human beings like to compete. We've known this fact for millennia. Taking labor without compensation does JACK and SHIT to further prove something we already know.

I get that you've been indoctrinated to believe a lot of the bullshit that the ioc and nbc are selling you, because I heard a lot of the same bullshit for most of my life. And I also used to buy into the bullshit that somehow amateurs live to compete more than professionals. Looking at guys like Payton or Jordan or Brady, do you REALLY think that some schmuck not getting comp to bobsled wants to win less than these guys? Really?

And so for me, part of being honest with oneself is to admit when previously-held beliefs are wrong. The shit they're feeding you about Amateurism is bullshit. Pros want to compete, want to win, and love what they do, full stop.

So, if ANYONE is making money off someone else's efforts, and the laborers are not compensated, its wrong. The assholes at the ioc get cash. So too do the fucksticks at NBC. Seems like everyone, except for the athletes...

 

Oh, and to your question WRT "indentured servants not being in bondage:"

As an educator, you should be aware that free labor that's held in bondage is something called, "slavery;" something they had down where you live. Indenrured servants were similarly unpaid, but had the ability to move about freely. Wikipedia it.

The problem with your stance is that as a stand alone nobody is watching 90% of these sports in real time.  It is similar to what will happen one day with the NCAA.  As crappy as it is the IOC and NBC give these athletes that as on their own they will not generate any revenue for themselves.

Nobody cares about Curling, Bobsled, Biathlon etc. except for the Olympics.  After the US lost yesterday I am done with Curling for the next four years but i watched every match.

It is similar to soccer in the US.  Other than the World Cup nobody cares about American soccer. 

NBC takes a bit of a risk (rather small) on what they are paying to cover the games and the hope should be that the IOC is funding the USOC and in turn they are supplying the training and facilities needed for these athletes to compete annually and provide a solid product in four years at the Olympics.

I am not naïve enough to believe this is what is happening but hopefully a portion of it is. 

[Texsox]

8 hours ago, Two-Gun Pete said:

Tex, i hope youre beating whatever health challenges you've had, so that we can argue for years to come about the SOX and other things. I genuinely like you, even though sometimes we agree, and sometimes we disagree. 

But on this, taking labor without compensation is fucking reprehensible. There is no value in the (snicker) "olympic movement" trying to tell you that amateurism has any value. We already know that human beings like to compete. We've known this fact for millennia. Taking labor without compensation does JACK and SHIT to further prove something we already know.

I get that you've been indoctrinated to believe a lot of the bullshit that the ioc and nbc are selling you, because I heard a lot of the same bullshit for most of my life. And I also used to buy into the bullshit that somehow amateurs live to compete more than professionals. Looking at guys like Payton or Jordan or Brady, do you REALLY think that some schmuck not getting comp to bobsled wants to win less than these guys? Really?

And so for me, part of being honest with oneself is to admit when previously-held beliefs are wrong. The shit they're feeding you about Amateurism is bullshit. Pros want to compete, want to win, and love what they do, full stop.

So, if ANYONE is making money off someone else's efforts, and the laborers are not compensated, its wrong. The assholes at the ioc get cash. So too do the fucksticks at NBC. Seems like everyone, except for the athletes...

 

Oh, and to your question WRT "indentured servants not being in bondage:"

As an educator, you should be aware that free labor that's held in bondage is something called, "slavery;" something they had down where you live. Indenrured servants were similarly unpaid, but had the ability to move about freely. Wikipedia it.

No one is required to compete. They volunteer. 

You contribute here for free. See those ads on the page, it's a money making venture. If you truly believe taking your labor without compensation is so reprehensible, you would stop posting. But you seem to enjoy posting so you allow yourself to be exploited. Would you refuse if this was a bigger stage and there was a wider audience or would you enjoy having your words read my a wider audience? 

Thank you for your concern. I appreciate it. 

 

[caulfield12]

Well here’s your next Gold Medalist (if she isn’t already too old at 18) in Torino Italy, 2026.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=adelia+petrosyan+
 

She’s actually Armenian-Russian, doing jumps already that nobody in history has pulled off at age 14…Adeliia Petrosian
 

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aqgXlYh9MRw

 

Edited February 19, 2022 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

https://sports.yahoo.com/how-team-usa-created-a-reality-show-to-find-olympians-204859588.html

Well, this is a truly uplifting story at least.

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/raising-age-limit-skating-end-073318467.html

Discussion of raising the minimum age for skating to 18...likely eliminating squads and allowing careers to last across 2-3 Olympics.

Edited February 19, 2022 by caulfield12

[Two-Gun Pete]

On 2/18/2022 at 5:39 PM, Texsox said:

No one is required to compete. They volunteer. 

You contribute here for free. See those ads on the page, it's a money making venture. If you truly believe taking your labor without compensation is so reprehensible, you would stop posting. But you seem to enjoy posting so you allow yourself to be exploited. Would you refuse if this was a bigger stage and there was a wider audience or would you enjoy having your words read my a wider audience? 

Thank you for your concern. I appreciate it. 

Stretch!

[Tony]

On 2/11/2022 at 7:48 AM, Two-Gun Pete said:

Ok, given that you and I and everyone on Earth have a limited and finite amount of time left to live, I'm genuinely curious.

Given that the (snicker) "olympic movement" has been reduced to seeking host sites in authoritarian shitholes,

Given that the competitions as a whole have regressed into a festival of "my country's dopers vs your country's dopers,"

Given that the lack of balls to enforce any sort of rules against individual cheaters and systemic cheaters has degraded the Olympics down to WWF level mental masturbation, 

Given that apart from the "one or two stars" each cycle, only the assholes at NBC and the turds at the ioc are making money,

Given that most of us have never competed in most of these events:

How can you be motivated to squander any time watching any of this shit, instead of actual competitons, such as the NHL/NBA/NFL/European soccer, or even binge watch something actually good on TV?

 

And again, I ask, because you and I are all on a one-way ticket to our deathbeds, whether its sooner or later.

Thanks in advance.

 

On 2/11/2022 at 10:00 AM, Two-Gun Pete said:

Ok, so if I'm understanding you correctly, its the novelty and scarcity angle for you. 

And ya know what? That's as good a reason as any.

 

However, on a per-minute basis, Id opine that something good on Netflix carries a much higher "eWAR" (entertainment Wins Above Replacement) than the olympics. 

 

On 2/11/2022 at 10:08 AM, Two-Gun Pete said:

1. Those moments on WWOS weren't tied to coddling authoritarian regimes and looking the other way as individuals and entire nations cheat.

2. I agree with Rogan, when he says that the Olympics are gross, given that the performers get jack and shit for compensation, while the ioc and nbc get free labor.

3. I can watch all of that, without giving the attention that the ioc craves.

4. Good moments, to be sure. But since then, the games have regressed into a competition of "our dopers vs your dopers." Its akin to a basketball player being allowed to run without dribbling, and the ref just shrugging his shoulders.

5. And thats another gross thing: pre-teens in figure skating and gymnastics competing as "women," vice actual, ya know, WOMEN competing in Witt's day. Add into it the pre-teens and teens being doped up, and its all a bit nauseating.

 

On 2/11/2022 at 10:36 AM, Two-Gun Pete said:

1. Yes, thank you for reinforcing my point that its "one or two stars" that make anything, while the other thousands of performers are indentured servants. FFS, even the NCAA can compensate its performers moreso than the overwhelming majority of olympians. 

2. And yes, thank you for reinforcing the point that most cities don't need/want to squander time and resources on getting ripped off by the ioc. I mean, Athens just made out like gangbusters, amirite? 

3. Nice "whattabout." But hey, since you offered, I'll give you an answer to your "whattabout":

I hate the fact that corruption lead to workers dying in the desert for a WC that should have gone elsewhere. But, at a minimum, losers at FIFA lost jobs, and a few officials went to jail.

Contrast that with the "hardass" approach of the ioc, like, totally stomping on russias nuts by forcing them to compete as something called the roc.

 And look at all those crooks the ioc rounded up and put in jail, amirite? And the (snicker) "olympic movement," like, totally brought down the hammer on cheating cheaters, right?

So yeah, like, totally similar situations.

 

On 2/13/2022 at 10:26 AM, Two-Gun Pete said:

Disagreed.

Compensating people fairly for their efforts is morally upright, and is the basis for freedom,  capitalism, and all that's good in today's economy.

Some might call "free labor" "slave labor." Or "indentured servitude." The ioc and nbc blowing smoke up your ass, while taking free slave labor ain't "special," whether its free labor to build venues nobody wants, or free labor from the athletes themselves.

 

The problem with the olympics is the corruption, them allowing cheaters to cheat, the ioc stealing from hosts, and their stupid marketing. (I.e. "the olympic movement," as if it were a fucking religion or something.)

Pay the athletes. "Amateurism" is thievery. If you read the history of the modern olympics, "Amateurism" was actually a way to keep working class types out of the competition. Coubertin wanted to keep working sailors and rowers out of the Olympics, so moneyed elites had a chance to win. IOW, keep the poors from competing and beating the rich in competition.

 

Carry on, then...

 

On 2/14/2022 at 7:14 AM, Two-Gun Pete said:

Yeah. It's called "high school."

Well, at least its mostly amateur in the rest of the country...

What's that saying?

"Fool me once, shame on you."

"Fool me SIX FUCKING TIMES IN A FUCKING ROW, well, WTF am I still wasting my finite time left on earth watching this shit, giving air to a corrupt organization, and giving ratings to a (snicker) 'competition' that's lost all fucking credibility?"

 

I think that's the saying. That said, if after SIX FUCKING TIMES IN A ROW, who's the fucking moron, you the viewer, or the ioc?

 

just askin'.....

 

On 2/18/2022 at 8:48 AM, Two-Gun Pete said:

Tex, i hope youre beating whatever health challenges you've had, so that we can argue for years to come about the SOX and other things. I genuinely like you, even though sometimes we agree, and sometimes we disagree. 

But on this, taking labor without compensation is fucking reprehensible. There is no value in the (snicker) "olympic movement" trying to tell you that amateurism has any value. We already know that human beings like to compete. We've known this fact for millennia. Taking labor without compensation does JACK and SHIT to further prove something we already know.

I get that you've been indoctrinated to believe a lot of the bullshit that the ioc and nbc are selling you, because I heard a lot of the same bullshit for most of my life. And I also used to buy into the bullshit that somehow amateurs live to compete more than professionals. Looking at guys like Payton or Jordan or Brady, do you REALLY think that some schmuck not getting comp to bobsled wants to win less than these guys? Really?

And so for me, part of being honest with oneself is to admit when previously-held beliefs are wrong. The shit they're feeding you about Amateurism is bullshit. Pros want to compete, want to win, and love what they do, full stop.

So, if ANYONE is making money off someone else's efforts, and the laborers are not compensated, its wrong. The assholes at the ioc get cash. So too do the fucksticks at NBC. Seems like everyone, except for the athletes...

 

Oh, and to your question WRT "indentured servants not being in bondage:"

As an educator, you should be aware that free labor that's held in bondage is something called, "slavery;" something they had down where you live. Indenrured servants were similarly unpaid, but had the ability to move about freely. Wikipedia it.

 

51 minutes ago, Two-Gun Pete said:

Stretch!

Your very first post, in a thread titled "Olympics," asks "How can you be motivated to squander any time watching any of this shit, instead of actual competitons, such as the NHL/NBA/NFL/European soccer, or even binge watch something actually good on TV?"

You then followed it up with an additional 7 posts over a 10 day period, arguing with multiple posters about how bad the Olympics are for XYZ reasons. 

So......the obvious question is.....What motivated you to squander so much time on any of this shit, instead of doing literally ANYTHING else with your time?

 

[Texsox]

47 minutes ago, Two-Gun Pete said:

Stretch!

Really? Someone built an arena and offered people a chance to compete and have an audience. Someone built this and provided the opportunity. If enough athletes ignore the opportunity there may be changes. 

But most of the participants have no chance of a medal. It's their dream to just be there. I'm not going to criticize them or deny them the opportunity. If you start paying athletes those participants will be left out while the stars demand higher and higher payments. 

 

[caulfield12]

2 hours ago, Texsox said:

Really? Someone built an arena and offered people a chance to compete and have an audience. Someone built this and provided the opportunity. If enough athletes ignore the opportunity there may be changes. 

But most of the participants have no chance of a medal. It's their dream to just be there. I'm not going to criticize them or deny them the opportunity. If you start paying athletes those participants will be left out while the stars demand higher and higher payments. 

 

Otoh, you have the costs of training for downhill skiing escalating to the point it's no longer affordable for the vast majority of American parents and their kids to pursue.

Look at US results there.  Just one silver medal across all the events, and  fourth in team on Sunday.

Norway and most of the European countries have a much better ranking in the Inequality Adjusted HDI.  In fact, that country is #1.  Plus the ideal winter weather obviously helps as the second point.

[Texsox]

53 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Otoh, you have the costs of training for downhill skiing escalating to the point it's no longer affordable for the vast majority of American parents and their kids to pursue.

Look at US results there.  Just one silver medal across all the events, and  fourth in team on Sunday.

Norway and most of the European countries have a much better ranking in the Inequality Adjusted HDI.  In fact, that country is #1.  Plus the ideal winter weather obviously helps as the second point.

I don't believe getting paid for one event every few years will change that.

[caulfield12]

12 hours ago, Texsox said:

I don't believe getting paid for one event every few years will change that.

And the US pays $37,500 for gold, $25k for silver and $12,500 for bronze, on the low side for most countries.

[southsider2k5]

18 hours ago, Tony said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your very first post, in a thread titled "Olympics," asks "How can you be motivated to squander any time watching any of this shit, instead of actual competitons, such as the NHL/NBA/NFL/European soccer, or even binge watch something actually good on TV?"

You then followed it up with an additional 7 posts over a 10 day period, arguing with multiple posters about how bad the Olympics are for XYZ reasons. 

So......the obvious question is.....What motivated you to squander so much time on any of this shit, instead of doing literally ANYTHING else with your time?

 

He is a slave to Soxtalk by his own logic.

[caulfield12]

3 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

He is a slave to Soxtalk by his own logic.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzybwwf2HoQ