Are you interested in Olympic Game?

[IdolEyes787]

I remember the Derek Redmond thing. I was barely into my teens and I thought, at the time, it was fucking stupid. I went to school the next day (or on the Monday I think it was) and told my mates that I thought it was fucking stupid. They all agreed. My dad agreed, too. Pretty much everyone I talked to agreed that it was ridiculous.

Of course, now I'm much older and wiser I still think it's fucking stupid. It's the 400 metres and it wasn't even the final.
If he'd run 25.5 miles of a marathon, yeah finish it. If he'd almost completed a triathlon or was in the closing stages of a decathlon - then yeah.

Your dad helping you 'run' the last 200 metres of a 400 metre race - when you'd already ran one to qualify the previous day is just embarrassing for everyone involved and I bet he wished he'd never done it. Privately, of course. The big girl.

He still has 'DNF' on his record for that year, too.

What you and you snide compatriots seem not to recognize is that for Redmond that was not simply a 400 metre semi-final but that was for him ,his life lying irrevocably broken on that track.
In that moment of utmost despair he did probably what he thought (at the time) the only meaningful thing possible ,he finished the race.

It may have outwardly been very "stupid" but I pretty certain that the motivation wasn't for glory or "Oh I bet I can work a shoe sponsorship deal out of it" so it was actually a demonstration of what lies at the true heart of sport.

Boxing, don't have a favorite, just for the fun of it, also, didn't think of it before but since you guys mentioned it maybe races too.
Obviously football too, although I don't really expect to see something spectacular, still worth watching i believe.

Anyway, still one month away, most of us probably have other priorities until then.

Watching the Olympics for something that you are saturated with on a daily basis seems sort of silly.

I'm not suggesting you watch handball but having the rare opportunity to experience something new , why the fuck wouldn't you?

[manker]

What you and you snide compatriots seem not to recognize is that for Redmond that was not simply a 400 metre semi-final but that was for him ,his life lying irrevocably broken on that track.
In that moment of utmost despair he did probably what he thought (at the time) the only meaningful thing possible ,he finished the race.

It may have outwardly been very "stupid" but I pretty certain that the motivation wasn't for glory or "Oh I bet I can work a shoe sponsorship deal out of it" so it was actually a demonstration of what lies at the true heart of sport.

What it definitely wasn't is what lies at the true heart of sport. Whatever the jebus h. motherfuck that means.
Sport is about is fair competition, he clearly wasn't going to qualify and no matter how distraught he was, he knew he wasn't competing by continuing.

Hundreds of competitors have injured themselves in attempting to qualify for an Olympic final (or other prestigious event) and of those hundreds, hundreds would have trained just as hard and made as many sacrifices as Redmond did - yet they didn't cry on the track and shamble for what seemed like an eternity toward the finish line, their dad didn't come down to help them - they retired with dignity to the locker-room and probably had a few tears there because their 'whole life', as you put it, was in shards because of a torn muscle fibre.

I mean, surely you aren't suggesting that he cared more than other people or that competitors who found themselves in a similar position should have also cried and finished the race. With their dad. Perhaps you think Derek is more of a sportsman.




What I'm getting at is that it's nothing to do with this esoteric 'Olympic Spirit', it's more to do with Derek Redmond inventing emo.

[IdolEyes787]

Sport is about trying to do your best hence existence of term "non-competitive sport".

[manker]

Sport is about trying to do your best hence existence of term "non-competitive sport".

That's just exercise.
Sport is all about competition. If there is no competition involved, it isn't sport.

Trying to do your best is an absolute given at any top level sport. It's the winning (or glorious failure) which derives from the competition and which lies at the true heart of sport.
I still don't really know what that means, btw. Derek might.

[IdolEyes787]

Trying to do your best is an absolute given at any top level sport. It's the winning (or glorious failure) which derives from the competition and which lies at the true heart of sport.
I still don't really know what that means, btw. Derek might.

Weirdly I was going to say something about "glorious failure". Some of my fondest memories are of glorious failure. There can be glory in defeat same as there can be ignominy in victory.





Either you get it or you don't.That's why professional sport where the only thing that matters ,besides being profitable , is "winning" is often so underwhelming.

[manker]

Yes of course I get that. What Donald Sutherland said there about how you compete being more important than winning is a reason why I put sport being all about fair competition, rather than simple competition.
Glorious failure is a thing I've taken solace in much, much more often than I've revelled vicariously in a win.

I just don't think what Derek did was anything to do with any of that or anything even to do with sport. He was just being a bit of an emotional twat.

[redwhitevision]

Boxing, don't have a favorite, just for the fun of it, also, didn't think of it before but since you guys mentioned it maybe races too.
Obviously football too, although I don't really expect to see something spectacular, still worth watching i believe.

Anyway, still one month away, most of us probably have other priorities until then.

Watching the Olympics for something that you are saturated with on a daily basis seems sort of silly.

I'm not suggesting you watch handball but having the rare opportunity to experience something new , why the fuck wouldn't you?

That's why I said it's a bit too early for an objective answer since there's still one month ahead. I'm facing more the problem amount of time available at that point in time and since I'm a bit not sure about my priorities yet, the first that came in my mind were the sports I'm usually interested in outside the competition. Still I see your point, will try to keep it in mind.

[Busyman]

I am looking forward to pole vault. It is my favourite.

In an effort to make this thread interesting to anyone who isn't ghey.

Attachment 117172

Needs some hips. Jeez.

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Anyway, looking forward to USA Basketball!!

[manker]

She has hips. They just aren't covered with fat.
Anyway, your opinion doesn't and can't count when there are post regarding female aesthetics because you think Serena Williams is hotter than Maria Sharapova.

You're obviously just out to troll us god-fearing female form worshippers.

[Busyman]

She has hips. They just aren't covered with fat.
Anyway, your opinion doesn't and can't count when there are post regarding female aesthetics because you think Serena Williams is hotter than Maria Sharapova.

You're obviously just out to troll us god-fearing female form worshippers.

To be fair, Serena doesn't have big hips either. Just a big backside.

The volleyball chick has the hips of a boy then.

Unfortunately, the web has been reduced to photoshopping women to look like the women I like.

Example

6b5c58b965216fa137e87177f0825a26.jpg

I have noticed there has been an effort to do this with white women, mostly.

As far as Sharapova, I wouldn't kick her out of my bed but she doesn't make me ogle either. She's ho-hum.

I like small waist, thick hips, nice backside, at least a handful up-top. Fat in there? Ok, just hold the cheese.

When you see women like in the pic above IRL, it puts chicks like Sharapova to shame.