Have America’s Principles Outlived the Olympics?

July 30, 2012 ACTivist 19 comments

I saw the girls gymnastic qualifications last night and the USA should be top dog in this sport. The problem is the IOC rules state that for the all-around, it won’t be the top 24 gymnists in the world but the top 2 scorers during qualifying from each country. The number one seated gymnist, who happens to be on team USA came in third in team points during qualifying and did not get a slot.. Her name is Jordyn Wieber.

Know it says she will still go for individual gold on the floor and will work to get team gold but I wonder. Aren’t the Olympics about competition and hasn’t America, as of late, promoted equality when competing (everyone wins–there are no losers). When I see the USA athletes upset when receiving a lesser medal than gold, I get upset. With the best in the world competing against you, ANY medal should be jubilation. So what are we really teaching our kids? Do we really want be a part of this horrid spectacle that has winners AND LOSERS associated with it? And this is just about sports. What about competition in the work force? I think the games, as they stand now, promotes the wrong ideology for those young American minds and causes bad feelings in individuals. Either the athletes all get gold or we boycott the games. After all, isn’t it about “feelings”?

Culture, Philosophy none

Comments

Written by Cathymac/Loudoun Lady about 10 months ago.

The coverage of the Olympic Games has been irritating but consistent with horrible sports reporting for the past 20 years. When Lochte won the Gold in the 400 IM the headline was “Phelps Loses” instead of “Lochte Wins”. Last night when Wieber didn’t make the cut for All Around the headline was “Wieber Out of All Around” instead of highlighting the two Americans that did make it. Al this media boo-hooing over Weiber, as if her Olympic aspirations are more important that the other women gymnasts. I know she was the front runner, but this is competition damn it….if everyone “deserving” got a medal, they would all be gold medalists. (FWIW, of course I feel bad for Weiber – but we have other athletes that need to be celebrated)

This is all what I call “Tiger Woods Reporting” – it didn’t matter who won any Golf Tournament, the headline was ALWAYS about Tiger. Now that he is off the green so to speak, it has become more tolerable.
Written by Wolverine about 10 months ago.

Look at the happy side. If things keep going the way they are now, we may have a professional baseball team in post-season play for the first time since the days of the great Walter Johnson!
Written by ACTivist about 10 months ago.

I worked with Walter Johnson and he’s a friend of mine. He thinks he’s great too but you are probably talking about a different guy.
Written by Barbara Munsey about 10 months ago.

The problem I have with the gymnastic rule is that arbitrarily assigning only two spots to every country (wouldn’t want any of them to FEEL left out) reserved a lot of spaces for people that aren’t freely competed for; if China or Romania or the US or whoever happens to win 10 places out of 100 (or 3, or 50), the athletes EARNED it.

If it’s really about competition between the best in the world, then there should be qualifying scores to compete for medals, period.

What if they did all the sports this way? “only two from each country in 50-meter fly”, and so on? Ridiculous.
Written by jacob about 10 months ago.

English majors are typically failed writers. News Journalists are typically failed English majors. Sports Journalists, are failed News Journalists. In short, the yahoos covering sports are the scrapings off the bottom of the barrel.

It would be far more interesting to listen to a lunchtime crowd in a Green Bay diner talking about GB football than the crap we currently are subjected to by these cretins. Yankees’ baseball analysis from a few old timers in a barber shop in Clason Point, or Morris Heights would yield a myriad of factual gems and a insight. What we get instead is a guy with good hair and no brains interjecting politics into baseball on occasion and adding no value to what is already in the box score.

All over the world there a villages missing their idiots. We know where these idiots are, they are currently covering the Olympics in London. Lets get a net, some postage stamps and reunite these people. Oh the humanity! Do it for the children!
Written by Cathymac/Loudoun Lady about 10 months ago.

Remember Glenn Brenner from WUSA? He has been gone for 20 years, but I grew up watching him make local sports reporting fun to watch. “Weenie of the Week” was the best:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEVQMqc-t2s
Written by Barbara Munsey about 10 months ago.

I do–remember the elderly nun in Georgetown that he got the picks from?

I remember his colleagues crying uncontrollably on air when he died, too.
Written by Barbara Munsey about 10 months ago.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/1999/jul/13/julianborger

“Swett Jesus, give us a touchdown!”
Written by jack about 10 months ago.

This is not unheard of. They did it to the Soviet Union in chess, too. First, there were Zonal tournaments — of course the Soviets were only in their Zone. Then the Interzonal, which chose six players to move on the Candidates Tournament, but only three from any one country (i.e., the Soviet Union). And this was back when FIDE was in the Soviet’s pocket.
Written by Cathymac/Loudoun Lady about 10 months ago.

I do remember the Nun, that was such a fun time in Redskins football history! We need some more Glenn Brenners and Sister Mary Louises.
Written by ACTivist about 10 months ago.

I thought the object of the Olympics was competition between the BEST wherever they were. Guess not. The more they change, the more political they become.
Written by jack about 10 months ago.

No way, ACT. Those are the World Championships. In the Olympics, each country gets a certain number of slots, no matter the quality of those in the slots.
Written by Barbara Munsey about 10 months ago.

Jack, I can understand limiting the number of people a country can bring on a team, and each country gets an equal chance in gymnastics to compete for the team medals, as well as have team members qualify to compete for individual events.

but IMO, every gymnast there from every country should have an equal chance to compete as an all-around individual, either they qualify above a certain standard or they don’t, as an individual. If that means three or five from a powerhouse like Russia, China, Romania, US, so be it. No slots automatically reserved for the current interation of a former republic of the former union of three of the previous protectorates of Bazookastan, just because they had three people march in the parade of nations for the first time since the UN recognized two incarnations of them ago in 1953.

That said, it looks like with Gabby Douglas, the right girl went to the all-around. Was looking her up after reading a spoiler article on yahoo news, and it seems she did better that Jordan Wieber at the Garden in March, but her scores didn’t “count” there because she was only participating as an alternate.
Written by jack about 10 months ago.

I understand the sentiment, Barbara, but the IOC disagrees. They want to balance that sentiment with getting as many countries as possible into the finals, and onto the podiums. THAT is what generates revenue.

As I said, your way is the World Championships.
Written by Barbara Munsey about 10 months ago.

looks the the right girl DID go to the all-around!
Written by ACTivist about 10 months ago.

I don’t think Aly had what it took and we’ll never know what Jordan would have done.
Written by Barbara Munsey about 10 months ago.

Interesting comment by one of the reporters during the all-arounds, about that America’s Cup I referenced at Madison Square Garden in March–how Douglas really messed things up when she won it over Jordan, when she was just an alternate.

Some sports are pretty parochial all by their lonesomes.

We can maybe guess what Jordan might have done by watching the Russian silver medalist–Jordan lost at America’s Cup, didn’t qualify for the all around. To her credit, she did great in the team competition, and cheered her teammates in the all around. I keep thinking about that closing monologue from “Patton”: all glory is fleeting.
Written by ACTivist about 10 months ago.

I hadn’t heard anything about Gaby’s woes and, personally, thought she deserved to go to all around. It was Aly who I felt was weak (from what I was watching) and figured Jordan should have been in HER place. Unfortunately, regardless of the strength of the individual, everyone has a “bad day” and you never know what will cause it or when it will show up. Gaby could have done wonderful in group and fallen on her face (as did happen to the men) for individual or all around. I think about the importance of winning above all else, as is seen with the Chinese where they hadn’t told one participant that her grandparents had died a YEAR AGO or that her mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer sometime back. The importance of the games and the country medal tallies are getting way out of hand. It should be fun and ONE’S personal best effort that matter–nothing else.
Written by Lovisa about 10 months ago.

This medal tallying is crap. How can you even begin to compare China and the US with Finland, Ukraine and all the small countries taking part? Populationwise, I don’t believe either one of the two big ones would be in the lead.

The swimmers have it best. What other branch in the Olympics has 100,200, 400, 1500m, 4×100, 4×200, 4x 400 and on and on? How many medal can a discus thrower get? Or a shot putter?

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Have America’s Principles Outlived the Olympics?

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