Dark side of the medal count.

[landpoke]

Originally Posted by Archaea

There is a malaise across the board here.

I was thinking about that this morning and came to the realization that the "malaise" is actually proof that we are the greatest sporting nation on the globe. Most of the Olympic sports are fringe sports at best over here and yet we still manage to show up and beat athletes from countries where these sports are at the forefront. Could we do better? Sure. But given that most Americans pay attention to track, swimming etal once every four years and they receive the proportionate resources such mild interest merits I'd say we're pretty dominate.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by landpoke

I was thinking about that this morning and came to the realization that the "malaise" is actually proof that we are the greatest sporting nation on the globe. Most of the Olympic sports are fringe sports at best over here and yet we still manage to show up and beat athletes from countries where these sports are at the forefront. Could we do better? Sure. But given that most Americans pay attention to track, swimming etal once every four years and they receive the proportionate resources such mild interest merits I'd say we're pretty dominate.

Well you being an effete pokester, I can see why you'd be satisfied with a mediocre track performance, a sport when this country produced real men and women, we dominated.

Real men run. Not scared mind you, but they run and win. We don't have that any more. Outside of the 400 m, you can find any event we do well in any more. That's just unAmerican.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by Archaea

Well you being an effete pokester, I can see why you'd be satisfied with a mediocre track performance, a sport when this country produced real men and women, we dominated.

Real men run. Not scared mind you, but they run and win. We don't have that any more. Outside of the 400 m, you can find any event we do well in any more. That's just unAmerican.

I don't think he's saying that he's satisfied with mediocre performances, but that we Americans don't try and are still rather competitive. If the US put the same kind of effort and money into the sports that are less popular, we'd kick ass.

[landpoke]

What Il Pad said.

The context was my disappointment in our mediocre performance and everyone proclaiming the end of the US as an Olympic power. Then I realized we half-ass it while everyone else was busting their butts to win medals and we still came out ahead in the medal count.

[Colly Wolly]

I think alot of it comes down to where the money is. Can you make a boat load of money as a sprinter or hurdler as opposed to a basketball, baseball, or football player? Kids in America want to be like Lebron James and Reggie Bush, not Tyson Gay or Usain Bolt.

[landpoke]

Exactly. And even with our second tier guys we're beating the rest of the world's first tier guys.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by Colly Wolly

I think alot of it comes down to where the money is. Can you make a boat load of money as a sprinter or hurdler as opposed to a basketball, baseball, or football player? Kids in America want to be like Lebron James and Reggie Bush, not Tyson Gay or Usain Bolt.

Guys like Bolt will make a ton of money with the endorsements he's going to get, but you're right that it won't be in the same sphere as what LeBron makes. At the same time, if track and field was celebrated as much as the major sports, these athletes would be making as much money. Tiger Woods is a great example - he brought interest in golf to a higher level than it's ever been and in return he is the highest paid athlete in the world.

IMO, kids need to be exposed to as many sports (and other extracurricular activities) as possible, so they can fine their niche or what makes them happy.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by landpoke

Exactly. And even with our second tier guys we're beating the rest of the world's first tier guys.

you have little conception of true poverty and sport. Less than a dollar a day kind of poverty.

[Colly Wolly]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

Guys like Bolt will make a ton of money with the endorsements he's going to get, but you're right that it won't be in the same sphere as what LeBron makes. At the same time, if track and field was celebrated as much as the major sports, these athletes would be making as much money. Tiger Woods is a great example - he brought interest in golf to a higher level than it's ever been and in return he is the highest paid athlete in the world.

IMO, kids need to be exposed to as many sports (and other extracurricular activities) as possible, so they can fine their niche or what makes them happy.

I think Tiger is the exception to the rule in America. We are all about our team sports. Golf and tennis I think are the main "sports for individuals" that have a following here in the US, but they are WAY behind basketball, baseball, and football.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by Colly Wolly

I think Tiger is the exception to the rule in America. We are all about our team sports. Golf and tennis I think are the main "sports for individuals" that have a following here in the US, but they are WAY behind basketball, baseball, and football.

You make a fair point, though the highest paid basketball guys are often the ones who lack the team concept and the city they play in.

It's also about marketability. Right now, there is nobody as marketable as Tiger. The guy has 3 flavors of Gatorade named after him - and none of them have helped me strike the ball like he does so it's just a scam, but I digress.