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Have the Olympic Games lost all importance?

xrnzaaas

xrnzaaas

Member
I never really cared about the Olympics... sure we watched them as a whole family when I was a kid, but that was before Internet and other stuff stealing my free time. Also doesn't help that I haven't watched tv in 5+ years, times have definitely changed.
 
Heimdall_Xtreme

Heimdall_Xtreme

Hermen Hulst Fanclub's #1 Member
It's true, I haven't seen people talking about or watching the Olympics.

Even I prefer to watch YouTube or Netflix than the Olympics.
 
R

RaduN

Member
Durien said:
That's beside the massive waste of money. Countries have no money to fix societal issues but billions to spend on the olympics. Let's complain but climate change while flying people all over the world for a vanity project.

Take the money we waste and put it toward funding societal projects. Want to build an olympic village, sure, when your done it becomes rental property to pay back the billions spent. Don't build stadiums, use existing resources.
Click to expand...
No, just no.

People need entertainment, always have, always will.
People need culture, peoole need distractions like these, always have, always will.
What would be fine? For people to just work 24/7? That would be ok?

The amount of money put in these, is minuscule compared to what is lost to corruption/incompetence or spent in wars, minuscule.

Of course, resources matter, but the no1 cause of all problems in the world is not money, is mentality.
Even more, the displays of sportsmanship and pure humanity, can bring out the best in people.
 
D

Durien

Member
RaduN said:
No, just no.

People need entertainment, always have, always will.
People need culture, peoole need distractions like these, always have, always will.
What would be fine? For people to just work 24/7? That would be ok?

The amount of money put in these, is minuscule compared to what is lost to corruption/incompetence or spent in wars, minuscule.

Of course, resources matter, but the no1 cause of all problems in the world is not money, is mentality.
Even more, the displays of sportsmanship and pure humanity, can bring out the best in people.
Click to expand...
What do people watch when the Olympics aren't playing? So if the Olympics went away, would it make a difference? There are plenty of things out there to keep people occupied.
 
J

Joramun

Member
the woke garbage from the opening ceremony won't help viewership

will only watch track and field

your bets are done in less than a minute
 
Goalus

Goalus

Member
Absolutely not.
As a celebration of the growing queer community around the globe, they are more relevant than ever.
 
IDKFA

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
LTTP here but that opening ceremony was........ something.

The liberty section raised my eyebrows, especially with the headless Marie Antoinette. Very bizarre all round.
 
vpance

vpance

Member
The opening was a shit show but I expected nothing less honestly.

Streams have been easy to navigate so I'll check it out. I don't think I watched any of Tokyo.
 
Kraz

Kraz

Member
Haven't watched a summer Olympics closely since around Carl Lewis. Whenever that flaming arrow lit the flame. Highlights of recent ones ofc.

Not overly nationalistic so find myself looking at individuals and cheering for athletes and underdogs from other nations along with my own if I catch some hype.

Do get excited for some events and watch live if invested in some way. Watched Finland win the gold medal for hockey in 2022. One of those cliche pivotal moments in history.

Might watch something summer related. Fencing a possibility. Everything will probably be done before I even schedule the time.

Saw some clips of the opening, looked alright. Gojira! Would've preferred something even more Hellenic for a Dionysian Feast, like clearly referencing the Ptolemies Hellenic. I think it would've mitigated misinterpretation being distinctly recognizable even with dispensation for living syncretic expression of culture and religion in between times. Some ancient touchstones bringing it back much further than Christianity.
 
JayK47

JayK47

Member
Is this streaming for free anywhere? Peacock seems to require premium. Our antenna does not pick up abc/nbc.
 
MaestroMike

MaestroMike

Gold Member
Gotta get powerslap in there somehow and some esports like cod/smash bros that’ll bring in the next generation of viewers
 
Nydius

Nydius

Member
I used to be an Olympics junkie, dating back to 1984 when my mom let me stay up late to watch the wall to wall network coverage of the Los Angeles games. I went to the Atlanta in 1996 where I saw the bronze medal baseball game, track and field, and basketball. Hell, I have a damn brick with my name on it in Centennial Olympic Park. But the last time I was really enthused and watched summer Olympics non-stop was Athens 2004.

I don’t know why my interest waned, though I suspect it’s because it just doesn’t feel as “magical” anymore now that I know how much of a big business it is. For example, I turned on the “continuing coverage” stream on Peacock (what they broadcast on USA network) and they were showing road cycling time trials. They cut away from the race to show a bit about the cycling industry and talked about how these riders had several thousand dollar carbon fiber bikes, and spend time in million dollar wind tunnels, wearing expensive custom made helmets… and that just takes my interest out of it. Reminds me that the whole damn thing favors who can spend the most or who can cheat the best without being caught.

Then there’s all the post-mortems about how the games financially ruin host cities/countries as they all try to outdo the last games. That’s why cities are bowing out of the bidding for future games. Salt Lake City practically got the 2034 winter games by default because the only other bidders (Munich and a multi-nation coalition of Austria, Italy, and Serbia) withdrew their bids.

I still watch some things. I’ve enjoyed the surfing in Tahiti so far. I do think I enjoy the winter games more these days. Bobsled, luge, speed skating, ski jumping, just a few. Most of the summer sports just bore me now.

Edit:
RaduN said:
The amount of money put in these, is minuscule compared to what is lost to corruption/incompetence or spent in wars, minuscule.
Click to expand...

Remember some years back when Greece was in extreme financial distress and there was talk about them leaving the EU but Germany basically bailed Greece out twice? One of the reasons they were in such financial mess was because how much they borrowed and spent to host Athens in 2004, money they never recovered that put a decade-plus strain on their economy. Meanwhile, a large number of those expensive venues are now completely dilapidated and unusable for anything else.

The financial impacts are not as minuscule as you think.
 
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StueyDuck

StueyDuck

Member
Spyxos said:
I remember watching the Olympics with the whole family when I was little. I spoke to my grandparents a few days ago and asked if they were going to watch the games. And they said that they couldn't even remember when they last watched the games. And that they have no interest in it at all.

Also when I think about my circle, it's been ages since anyone even mentioned the Olympic Games. The players were also stars back then. And today I couldn't even name a name and wouldn't recognize any faces. Are there still countries where they are still watched? Or are they simply an old-fashioned relic that is no longer needed today? And is it simply carried out out of habit?
Click to expand...
As someone who kind of just use to have them on in the background most years I'd hardly classify myself as a huge fan.

But my guess would be the insane expansion of sports, more doesn't mean better. If I turn on and it's Germany vs Australia at knitting a jersey I'm just gonna watch something else 🤣

Also for things like the rugby 7s, it happens all year and every year and us a globally enjoyed event. Why would I watch Olympics when the better version already exists and is more entertaining.

I'd also add that alot of the events now are so scientifically specialized and athletes are born and bred now to be literal Olympic robots that watching events now doesn't feel like little Timmy no shoes getting noticed in some ghetto and becoming the world's greatest. It feels more like rich kid with rich parents groomed them to be a world class archer. Not really much to get behind and cheer for in that situation.
 
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ricardo_sousa11

ricardo_sousa11

Member
Apart from the opening show, the billions in debt by the countries that host it, the abandoned multi millionaire new stadiums, its more than ded. Its extinct.

Nobody cares for 99% of the sports, even the athletes that get gold prize is something like 80k, which is nothing.
 
FunkMiller

FunkMiller

Member
ricardo_sousa11 said:
Apart from the opening show, the billions in debt by the countries that host it, the abandoned multi millionaire new stadiums, its more than ded. Its extinct.

Nobody cares for 99% of the sports, even the athletes that get gold prize is something like 80k, which is nothing.
Click to expand...

You've never watched the Olympics in your life, have you?
 
T8SC

T8SC

Member
ricardo_sousa11 said:
Apart from the opening show, the billions in debt by the countries that host it, the abandoned multi millionaire new stadiums, its more than ded. Its extinct.

Nobody cares for 99% of the sports, even the athletes that get gold prize is something like 80k, which is nothing.
Click to expand...

Nobody?

You better tell the various stadiums and river banks full of people watching, not to mention the millions watching around the world.

I'm just about to watch Tom Daley go for gold in the 10m synchro, apparently it's a sport nobody watches.
 
Insane Metal

Insane Metal

Member
I don't think olympic games in general lost its relevance, just these Paris Olympics. The opening was such a piece of shit that just drew people off.
 
S

Schmendrick

Member
let`s just say the target audience seems to have changed.......
66a4ba524cd29-olympics-died-tonight-paris-accused-of-blasphemy-and-hurting-the-religious-sentiments-as-netizens-271353207-16x9.jpg
 
Tams

Tams

Member
Nydius said:
I used to be an Olympics junkie, dating back to 1984 when my mom let me stay up late to watch the wall to wall network coverage of the Los Angeles games. I went to the Atlanta in 1996 where I saw the bronze medal baseball game, track and field, and basketball. Hell, I have a damn brick with my name on it in Centennial Olympic Park. But the last time I was really enthused and watched summer Olympics non-stop was Athens 2004.

I don’t know why my interest waned, though I suspect it’s because it just doesn’t feel as “magical” anymore now that I know how much of a big business it is. For example, I turned on the “continuing coverage” stream on Peacock (what they broadcast on USA network) and they were showing road cycling time trials. They cut away from the race to show a bit about the cycling industry and talked about how these riders had several thousand dollar carbon fiber bikes, and spend time in million dollar wind tunnels, wearing expensive custom made helmets… and that just takes my interest out of it. Reminds me that the whole damn thing favors who can spend the most or who can cheat the best without being caught.

Then there’s all the post-mortems about how the games financially ruin host cities/countries as they all try to outdo the last games. That’s why cities are bowing out of the bidding for future games. Salt Lake City practically got the 2034 winter games by default because the only other bidders (Munich and a multi-nation coalition of Austria, Italy, and Serbia) withdrew their bids.

I still watch some things. I’ve enjoyed the surfing in Tahiti so far. I do think I enjoy the winter games more these days. Bobsled, luge, speed skating, ski jumping, just a few. Most of the summer sports just bore me now.

Edit:


Remember some years back when Greece was in extreme financial distress and there was talk about them leaving the EU but Germany basically bailed Greece out twice? One of the reasons they were in such financial mess was because how much they borrowed and spent to host Athens in 2004, money they never recovered that put a decade-plus strain on their economy. Meanwhile, a large number of those expensive venues are now completely dilapidated and unusable for anything else.

The financial impacts are not as minuscule as you think.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the heart has been sucked out of it. Mostly because there are almost no amateurs left. I hate how professional sports took it over, mostly because outside of the Olympics almost no one gives a shit about their sports.

That said, if you have only amateurs, you do end up with people who can afford not work or those who are willing to sacrifice everything or put the pressure on a partner in order to train...
 
T8SC

T8SC

Member
Nydius said:
I don’t know why my interest waned, though I suspect it’s because it just doesn’t feel as “magical” anymore now that I know how much of a big business it is. For example, I turned on the “continuing coverage” stream on Peacock (what they broadcast on USA network) and they were showing road cycling time trials. They cut away from the race to show a bit about the cycling industry and talked about how these riders had several thousand dollar carbon fiber bikes, and spend time in million dollar wind tunnels, wearing expensive custom made helmets… and that just takes my interest out of it. Reminds me that the whole damn thing favors who can spend the most or who can cheat the best without being caught.
Click to expand...

That's just cycling in general. Bikes like the S-Works, Supersix Lab 71 and various others are selling out of shops for £13,000+ for the general public. They're used in the TdF, Giro and other events, not just the Olympics.
Everything is wind tunnel tested, aero had been a massive development for about 6yrs now, frames are now more square, rear triangle offset, forks redesigned and then the helmets and even the clothing has dimples on it for the aero advantage. It's all standard and not really Olympics related.

They'll all ride very similar stuff, just with a different brand.

Rider A with their Cannondale bike, Kask helmet & Castelli gear

Rider B with their Specialised bike, Giro helmet and Ale gear.

All very much the same. Yes it's very expensive but that's cycling in general and why it's in decline due to pricing the average Joe out of it.

As long as every rider is riding a similar level of bike/kit then it's fair in my eyes. The price is the price, blame the manufacturers.
 
ricardo_sousa11

ricardo_sousa11

Member
T8SC said:
Nobody?

You better tell the various stadiums and river banks full of people watching, not to mention the millions watching around the world.

I'm just about to watch Tom Daley go for gold in the 10m synchro, apparently it's a sport nobody watches.
Click to expand...
The question here is, will those multi million € filled up stadiums be abandoned in 2 weeks, as they are in every single country that hosts the olympics?
 
T8SC

T8SC

Member
ricardo_sousa11 said:
The question here is, will those multi million € filled up stadiums be abandoned in 2 weeks, as they are in every single country that hosts the olympics?
Click to expand...

The London 2012 Athletes' Village - Home to 17,000 athletes in Games-time - has been transformed into East Village. With over 2,800 new homes - and 2000 more planned - East Village is now home to around 6,000 people, three children's play areas and 35 acres of open land and parkland.

London Stadium, built for the 2012 Olympics is now home to West Ham United Premier League football club.


Let's not generalise.
 
ssringo

ssringo

Member
It's never been much of a thing for me or anyone I know except for the '96 Olympics in Atlanta since it was in our home state and advertising was everywhere.
 
Tams

Tams

Member
T8SC said:
The London 2012 Athletes' Village - Home to 17,000 athletes in Games-time - has been transformed into East Village. With over 2,800 new homes - and 2000 more planned - East Village is now home to around 6,000 people, three children's play areas and 35 acres of open land and parkland.

London Stadium, built for the 2012 Olympics is now home to West Ham United Premier League football club.


Let's not generalise.
Click to expand...

London was an exception. It was incredibly well thought through.

Well, transferring the aquatics centre to Rio probably wasn't. It probably would have been cheaper and more environmentally friendly to build a new one in Rio, and the UK could have done with keeping it.

West Ham don't really like the stadium, as the track makes it less than ideal for field sports. They've wanted to knock it down and rebuild it for years.

Now look at Athens, Beijing, Rio...
 
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